Mikronexis designs and develops embedded systems for safety-critical and explosive atmosphere environments. Every product we build is engineered to meet recognised international standards — so your system is certifiable, fail-safe, and production-ready.
A safety-critical system is one where failure could result in loss of life, serious injury, significant environmental damage, or destruction of high-value assets.
Unlike conventional embedded development, safety-critical engineering operates under a strict framework of standards, design disciplines, and documentation requirements. Every architectural decision must be justified, every failure mode analysed, and every line of firmware verified against the system's safety requirements. The goal is not just a working product — it is a certifiable product.
Safety engineering uses structured methodologies — FMEA, HAZOP, fault tree analysis — to identify and eliminate failure modes before they reach the field.
Products deployed in hazardous environments must comply with specific international standards to achieve regulatory approval and market access.
Every safety claim must be backed by documented evidence — test records, analysis reports, design justifications — forming a complete safety case.
Our engineering practices are aligned with the international standards that define safety requirements for gas detection instruments and explosive atmosphere equipment.
EN 50271 governs the software and digital design requirements for gas detection instruments. It mandates a disciplined software development lifecycle — from requirements through design, implementation, and testing — with full traceability and documentation at every stage. Compliance ensures that the detection software performs reliably under all foreseeable operational conditions and failure scenarios.
Formal definition of all software functions, safety functions, and their constraints — the foundation of the safety case.
Structured design with clear module separation, defined interfaces, and explicit handling of safety-relevant functions.
Systematic testing including unit tests, integration tests, and functional safety tests against all defined requirements.
Systematic identification of all software failure modes and their effects on the overall system safety.
Complete technical file: plans, specifications, design documents, test records, and safety assessment evidence.
Controlled processes for software updates, version management, and re-validation after any change affecting safety functions.
The IEC 60079 series is the internationally recognised framework for designing electrical and electronic equipment intended for use in explosive atmospheres — environments where flammable gases, vapours, mists, or combustible dusts may be present. The series covers multiple protection concepts, each suited to different hazard classifications and operational requirements. Compliance is mandatory for equipment deployed in classified hazardous areas.
Foundational requirements applicable to all Ex equipment: construction, testing, and marking for explosive atmosphere use.
Flameproof enclosure design where any internal ignition cannot propagate to the surrounding explosive atmosphere.
Intrinsically safe circuits that limit electrical energy below levels capable of igniting the surrounding hazardous atmosphere.
Zone 0/1/2 (gases) and Zone 20/21/22 (dusts) — appropriate protection concept selection based on area classification.
Maximum surface temperature analysis against the ignition temperature of the specific flammable substance in the hazardous area.
Guidance through ATEX (EU) and IECEx (international) certification processes with notified body coordination.
A structured, evidence-driven process designed specifically for safety-critical embedded development — not adapted from conventional software practice.
We begin with a structured hazard identification — HAZOP, FMEA, or preliminary hazard analysis — to define the safety requirements the system must meet.
Every safety function is formally specified — what it must do, under what conditions, with what response time, and how failure must be handled.
System and software architecture is designed with explicit fail-safe behaviour, redundancy where required, watchdog strategies, and hardware/software separation of safety functions.
Firmware is written to EN 50271 software development requirements — structured coding, defensive programming, runtime monitoring, and systematic error handling throughout.
All safety functions are independently verified through structured testing — unit, integration, and system level — with full coverage evidence against every safety requirement.
We compile the complete safety case — all design evidence, analysis, test records, and compliance justifications — ready for regulatory submission or third-party audit.
These sectors operate under strict regulatory frameworks where non-compliant products cannot legally be deployed.
Fixed and portable instruments for combustible, toxic, and oxygen-deficiency monitoring in industrial and field environments.
Control, sensing, and monitoring equipment for upstream, midstream, and downstream environments classified as Zone 1 or Zone 2.
Underground gas monitoring, personnel safety devices, and communication systems designed for methane and dust-hazard environments.
Process control, safety instrumented systems, and condition monitoring in chemical plants, water treatment, and heavy industry.
Medical gas monitoring, environmental safety systems, and embedded diagnostics where patient safety is directly dependent on sensor integrity.
A delivered project that demonstrates our safety-aligned embedded development capability.
A portable industrial gas detection device capable of monitoring multiple hazardous gases simultaneously with real-time threshold alerts, audible/visual alarms, data logging, and a ruggedised enclosure for field deployment. Designed with EN 50271 software requirements in mind throughout development.
Answers to the most common technical and commercial questions about safety critical embedded development.
Whether you're starting from scratch, need a compliance gap assessment, or are preparing an existing product for certification — we're ready to help you navigate the technical and regulatory path forward.