Case Study: Custom Explosion-Proof Verkada Housings for Specialty Oil Refinery

Overview

The client for this project is a leading producer of naphthenic base and process oils used in everything from transformer oils and rubber products to sealants and lubricants. With a production capacity of approximately 26,500 barrels per day, the refinery’s high-volume output of highly hydrotreated specialty products demands constant, high-level oversight to ensure operational integrity and safety.

Moving to a modern, cloud-managed security system was the client’s main objective, but the volatile nature of a refinery made this shift a major hurdle. Verkada’s software and cameras were the perfect fit, but electrical hardware requires specialized protection to mitigate explosion risks in such high-stakes operations. 2M Technology was commissioned to engineer custom explosion proof Verkada housings, certifying the cameras for use in strictly regulated, hazardous locations without altering their original performance. The result was a solution that made sure the client never had to choose between technology and safety.

Environmental Requirements

A sprawling refinery comes with a few environmental challenges. To achieve total site awareness, the solution had to address:

• Vast Operational Footprint: Monitoring massive tank farms, wide production zones, and high-value industrial assets.
• High-Traffic Access Control: Tracking constant vehicle and personnel movement at entry and exit gates.
• Extreme Weather Exposure: Ensuring continuous operation in harsh outdoor conditions and fluctuating temperatures.

Security Requirements

Beyond environmental resilience, the surveillance solution needed to support specific operational goals:

• Operational Intelligence: Implementing real-time alerts and AI-powered tools for vehicle tracking, incident response, and investigations.
• Centralized Control: Secure cloud-based storage and multi-site management from a single pane of glass.
• Future-Proofing: A scalable architecture ready for system expansion as coverage needs grow.

The Challenge

The client selected two Verkada models based on their specific optical strengths, but neither was natively rated for hazardous locations. Because refinery operations involve explosive materials, protecting the selected hardware was more than just a technical preference, but a critical safety and compliance mandate.

Verkada CF83-E Fisheye Camera

The first Verkada camera boasts 180° panoramic coverage, which the refinery needed to provide total site awareness across expansive tank farms and open production zones from a single vantage point.

Technical Specifications

• Video resolution: 12.5MP
• Lens type: Fixed
• Focal length: 1.7mm
• Field of View:
  
  • Horizontal: 180°
  • Vertical: 180°
  • Diagonal: 180°
• IR range: 20m / 66 ft
• Weather rating: IP66/67
• Impact rating: IK10
• Audio: One-way; Built-in microphone

Verkada CB52-E Bullet Camera

Featuring high-speed License Plate Recognition (LPR), this camera tracks vehicle movement over extended distances while capturing crystal-clear plate data at entry and exit points.

Technical Specifications

• Video resolution: 5MP
• Lens type: Varifocal; Motorized zoom
• Focal length: 2.8–8mm
• Field of View:
  
  • Horizontal: 99–41°
  • Vertical: 74–30°
  • Diagonal: 125–50°
• Optical zoom: 2.86x
• IR range: 30m / 98ft
• Weather rating: IP67
• Impact rating: IK10
• License plate capture speed: Up to 80 mph / 128 kph

Verkada Command Platform

In addition to the cameras’ imaging capabilities, it was essential that the refinery retain full access to the Verkada Command platform and its features:

• Real-Time Alerts: Immediate notifications for motion, people, vehicle, and crowd detection, including specialized loitering and line-crossing alerts for restricted zones.
• AI-Powered Analytics: Comprehensive people and vehicle search capabilities (based on attributes, faces, or motion), as well as trajectory analysis and selective face blurring for privacy compliance.
• Cloud-Managed Infrastructure: Seamless remote live access, secure video sharing, configurable data retention, and automated license plate indexing for rapid investigations.

The Engineering Obstacle

Our core mission was to enable the safe deployment of these cameras without losing the smart features or cloud flexibility that make the Verkada ecosystem valuable. We set out to design and manufacture custom explosion-proof housings that met four critical criteria:

• Certified Explosion Containment: Ensuring zero ignition risk in hazardous locations rated Class I, Division 1 by containing any internal spark or explosion.
• Uncompromised Camera Performance: Maintaining each camera’s original imaging clarity, full IR illumination distance, and audio sensitivity through the enclosure.
• AI Feature Integrity: Designing the housing’s optical glass and internal structure to ensure zero interference with Verkada’s people/vehicle analytics, trajectory mapping, or LPR accuracy.
• Seamless Cloud Integration: Making sure the cameras connect effortlessly to the Verkada Command platform with no signal degradation or latency.

Why 2M Technology

Partnering with 2M Technology means more than just sourcing an explosion-proof enclosure; it’s a collaborative engineering effort. We work directly with our clients and Verkada to design security solutions customized to specific operational needs and hazardous-area certification standards.

Hazardous Location Expertise

With extensive experience in explosion-proof systems and regulations, we specialize in designing housings that meet NEC/UL, ATEX, and IECEx requirements for hazardous industrial settings.

Manufacturer Collaboration

By working directly with manufacturers when designing and producing custom explosion-proof enclosures, we ensure each housing is a perfect fit that preserves the camera’s native smart features while meeting safety requirements.

Long-Term Partnership Approach

We recognize that many of our clients want to expand their deployments after the initial rollout. Our solutions are built with scalability in mind to accommodate future growth, compliance changes, evolving security needs, and advancements in technology.

The Solution

2M Technology designed and manufactured custom explosion-proof housings specifically for the client’s selected Verkada cameras. Each enclosure was fabricated to withstand the extreme rigors of a refinery while ensuring the cameras could “see” through the protective layers without distortion. The housings act as a protective shield, containing any internal ignition risks while preserving all original functions, including optical clarity, network connectivity, and one-way audio performance.

Engineering Highlights

• Industrial-Grade Explosion Containment: Rugged, certified design engineered for total ignition prevention in high-risk, volatile atmospheres.
• Multi-Model Compatibility: Bespoke internal architectures that perfectly fit the panoramic fisheye and varifocal bullet models.
• Environmental Shielding: Stainless Steel 304 construction provides maximum protection against corrosive chemical contaminants, harsh outdoor weather, and the extreme temperature fluctuations common in refinery settings.
• Optical Clarity Preservation: Made with high-grade materials that support 4K-ready resolutions, ensuring no impact on AI-driven detection or LPR performance.
• Full Feature Retention: Integrated support for built-in microphones and high-speed network infrastructure, maintaining the native cloud-managed experience.

Technical Specifications

• ATEX/IECEx Rating: Exd II CT6 Gb
  • Ex d (Flameproof): Engineered to contain internal explosions and prevent flame propagation.
  • IIC (Gas Group): Rated for the most volatile gas hazards, including Hydrogen and Acetylene.
  • T6 (Temperature Class): Highest safety rating; maximum surface temperature remains below 85°C.
  • Gb (Protection Level): High-level equipment protection suitable for Zone 1 environments.
• Zone Classification: Zone 1 (Hazard is not present continuously but likely to occur under normal operating conditions).
• NEC Classification: Class I, Division 1, Groups A/B, T6
• Material Construction: Corrosion-resistant Stainless Steel 304
• Enclosure Protection: IP68-rated for total dust ingress protection and long-term immersion in water.

By engineering these custom explosion-proof enclosures, 2M Technology enabled the refinery to leverage cutting-edge cloud technology without compromising strict safety or compliance standards.

The Result

With our custom explosion-proof housings, the client safely deployed the cloud-managed Verkada cameras throughout their refinery. This solution allowed the refinery to retain full access to the advanced features needed to streamline security and improve visibility across their most critical zones, all while adhering to strict safety and compliance standards.

Key Outcomes

• 100% Feature Retention: The refinery maintained full access to Verkada’s AI-powered analytics, including LPR, trajectory mapping, and people search, without any optical interference from the housing.
• Certified Safety Compliance: The custom-engineered enclosures met all NEC and ATEX/IECEx standards, ensuring the high-performance cameras posed zero ignition risk in volatile refinery zones.
• Rapid Investigation Capabilities: By preserving the native cloud-managed architecture and AI-powered search tools, security teams reduced the time required to locate specific events from hours to seconds.
• Centralized Oversight: Full integration with the Verkada Command platform provided a single-pane-of-glass management experience for remote oversight and day-to-day coordination.
• Scalable Infrastructure: The success of the initial deployment established a proven blueprint for refinery-wide expansion, enabling the addition of new coverage areas instantly as operational needs evolve.
• Uninterrupted Visibility: Specialized internal mounting and high-grade glass ensured that the fisheye models retained their full 180° field of view, providing total site awareness across expansive tank farms.

Future Outlook

Following the success of the initial implementation, the refinery placed a second order for custom explosion-proof housings to further expand their surveillance coverage. Now that 2M Technology has proven that it is possible to safely deploy Verkada hardware in hazardous-rated areas, the customer is outfitting additional sections of the refinery with Verkada cameras, all protected by our custom enclosures. This follow-up order serves as a powerful endorsement of the client’s confidence in the reliability of 2M Technology’s engineering and the effectiveness of the Verkada platform in hazardous zones.