The CompEx Exam
The CompEx exam is one of the hardest exams available for practising electricians. It is essential for those who would like to get into the oil and gas industry.
At the end of the five day course the candidate will have to undergo a two day assessment, consisting of both theoretical and practical exams.
Entry requirements:
All candidates must be appropriately qualified electro-technical craftspersons with a minimum of NVQ Level 3 qualification.
Candidates must be time served and experienced in terminating steel wire armoured glands (SWA glands) and braided cables, as well as to perform safe isolation procedures and carry out inspection and testing on electrical installations.
Duration and assessment:
CompEx is a five day course from which the last two days are reserved for the practical and written exams.
After registration and payment the course provider is expected to provide the candidates with several books or similar printed materials. These materials (usually a "Toolbox Guide" and a "Course Notes") will be expected to be studied by the candidate before attending the course. It is advisable to take this very seriously, since the three days available on the course for actual studying is very little time in relation to the scope of the material for the CompEx exam.
After completion:
Successful candidates will be presented with a CompEx certificate of core competence, which is valid for five years. After five years a refresher course must be completed.
The CompEx Practical exam
The CompEx practical exam consists of four sections:
- Low Voltage installation construction
- Low Voltage installation inspection
- Intrinsic Safety installation construction
- Intrinsic Safety installation inspection
Two of these sections will have to be completed on the fourth day, and the remaining two together with the theoretical exam on the fifth day of the course.
Each candidate will have its own examination bay for the practical exam. It will be similar to the ones seen on the C&G 2391 exam or on the AM2 exam with one significant change - the bay is divided in EPL`s and a Safe Zone. The candidate will need to install and inspect all equipment in accordance with the CompEx requirements.
Low Voltage installation construction
The bay will have certain specialised equipment installed on it such as luminaries and switchgear, together with several enclosures.
The candidate will have to connect all of this equipment in accordance with the wiring diagram provided. During this process the candidate will have to use and terminate SWA cable, braided cable with or without Ex `d` and Ex `d` Barr glands.
The allowed time for this part of the CompEx practical exam is 3h and 35mins.
Low Voltage installation inspection
During the second part of the CompEx practical exam the candidate will be presented with a sample installation completed in accordance with CompEx requirements.
On the Low Voltage installation there will be certain errors introduced.
The candidate must identify all the errors and describe how they should be repaired in order to bring the installation up to the CompEx standards.
The allowed time for this part of the CompEx practical exam is 1h and 15mins.
Intrinsic Safety installation construction
During the fifth day of the CompEx course, the candidate will have to complete this part of the practical exam.
Again, there will be a ready made installation devided in to EPL`s and a Safe Zone.
The candidate will have to connect all the electronics equipment in accordance with the wiring diagram provided and in accordance with the CompEx requirements.
The allowed time for this part of the CompEx practical exam is 3h.
Intrinsic Safety installation inspection
As the final task of the practical exam the candidate will have to inspect an intrinsically safe installation full of errors and non-compliances.
The candidate will have to identify all of these mistakes and describe how to bring the installation up to CompEx requirements.
The allowed time for this part of the CompEx practical exam is 1h and 15mins.
The CompEx Theoretical exam
On the fifth day of the course, after the practical exam is completed, the candidate will have to take the theoretical exam.
The CompEx theoretical exam is a closed book, multichoice exam with 60 questions. The allowed time is 1 h 30 mins.
At the end of this Guide you will find several pages with sample questions. We advise everybody who is about the take the theoretical exam to practise answering these questions.
