Identify each enclosure the design protects with venting, then confirm the vents, their discharge path, and the structure and openings around them are drawn consistently across the process, architectural, and structural sets. AI can flag conflicts; the explosion protection engineer and the authority decide compliance.
What does NFPA 68 cover?
NFPA 68 is the Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting. NFPA describes it as applying to the design, location, installation, maintenance, and use of devices and systems that vent the combustion gases and pressures resulting from a deflagration within an enclosure so that structural and mechanical damage is minimized.
NFPA’s official NFPA 68 page identifies the 2023 edition as current when checked on October 3, 2026. Confirm the edition, local amendments, and project scope that actually govern the work. The publisher’s newest edition does not establish local adoption.
Venting is one explosion protection method; isolation, suppression, and other prevention methods are covered by the NFPA 69 explosion prevention guide. Dust collectors, silos, and process rooms are often reviewed together with the hazardous materials provisions of the International Fire Code or the adopted fire code. Record which method the basis of safety names for each enclosure.
Collect the basis of safety and the drawings around it
Bring the basis of safety or explosion protection narrative, the process and equipment layout drawings, the vent schedule and product data, the architectural plans and elevations showing wall or roof vent panels, the structural drawings for the protected enclosure, and the site plan showing the area outside each vent.
Vent sizing calculations come from the specialist; this review only compares what the drawings say. Record which enclosures have a stated basis and which do not.
Check each vented enclosure
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Protected enclosures | Basis of safety, equipment list, process drawings | Reconcile which enclosures the narrative and drawings say are vented. |
| Vent locations | Equipment drawings, vent schedule, elevations | Match each vent’s location and tag across sheets. |
| Discharge path | Site plan, elevations, roof plan | Identify walkways, doors, or equipment drawn in the path outside a vent. |
| Ducted vents | Mechanical or process duct drawings, details | Confirm vent ducts shown on process drawings also appear on building drawings. |
| Supporting structure | Structural drawings, equipment supports | Ask whether the structure was designed for the vented enclosure where the basis is unstated. |
| Indoor equipment | Floor plans, process layout, basis of safety | Flag indoor vented equipment with no discharge route drawn to the exterior. |
Carry structural questions into the structural drawing checklist and exterior wall panels into the architectural drawing checklist.
Example: a vent discharges toward a new door
Hypothetical example. The process drawings show a dust collector with a vent facing east. A later architectural revision adds an exit door and walkway on the east wall within the area outside the vent. The site plan still shows the earlier layout.
The current architectural plan adds an exit door and walkway on the east wall, in the discharge direction of the dust collector vent shown on the process drawings. Please confirm the vent orientation and the use of the area outside it.
The process engineer and architect agree to relocate the door or reorient the vent and revise the site plan. Whether the arrangement is acceptable is the engineer’s and authority’s decision.
Review deflagration venting documents with Groundbook
Upload the current project PDFs and relevant specifications to Groundbook. Identify the governing issues and add the applicable NFPA 68 reference from a copy you are licensed to use, where the license permits uploading it. State the edition, amendments, review area, and known exclusions in your instructions.
Compare the basis of safety, process equipment drawings, and vent schedule with the architectural, structural, and site drawings. Flag vented enclosures, vent locations, discharge paths, and supporting structure that differ between sources. Use the supplied NFPA 68 edition where applicable and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the sheets behind it. Treat an unstated basis of safety as a question for the specialist, not as a missing vent.
Document review does not size vents, calculate pressures or discharge distances, or confirm that a hazard exists. Those decisions remain with the explosion protection engineer and the authority having jurisdiction.