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Health & Safety Handbook on Mine Occupational Hygiene Measurements3 also


uses a similar adage “if you don’t measure, you won’t know”. It goes on to say that “the cardinal importance of selecting the most appropriate instrumentation, the correct use thereof and the correct interpretation of results to assist in the making sound professional judgements on the working environment and worker exposures cannot be over-emphasised in protecting the health of workers”. The rear cover also attributes yet another play on the adage to Lord Kelvin in the 19th Century, “if you can not measure it you can not improve it”.


The construction sector can be another extreme environment and studies have been undertaken comparing FS measurements and TB assessments with varying degrees of correlation. One such study reported in the AIHA Journal4


concluded that TB estimates


include a substantial degree of error compared with a FS measurement approach. Research like that being headed by Pam Susi, Director of Exposure at CPWR, the (US) centre for construction research & training, is ongoing into the use of TA.


Most instrumentation vendors see themselves just in the measuring business and tend to be vertical in nature, specialising in just one discipline. By contrast, Casella Measurement is positioning itself to provide a complete solution for workplace assessment across a range of physical and chemical agents. This has been facilitated by a significant investment in Casella Insight data management software.


Rather than using several software applications to download from many instruments, Casella Insight allows data from a range of supported instruments to be downloaded and stored into one versatile package. Data is stored on a centralised database which may be managed by Person, Place or Process criteria. Data can be viewed in tabular or graphical format and analysed as necessary.


When an instrument is connected to Casella Insight, it automatically downloads stored data. Casella Insight manages all the instrument’s re-calibration dates and gives notification when they are due, as well as storing the actual calibration certificates. Users of existing Casella CEL software packages e.g. dB35 can import previously downloaded data. While data within Casella Insight can easily be exported and sent to other colleagues or users, allowing data to be shared easily across larger organisations.


Exposure levels can be colour coded by a simple ‘traffic light’ system, making it easy to see which individuals or locations exceed action levels. These limit values can be user defined if a more stringent action value is desired. Graphs can be further analysed by adding zones (shown below) which subsequently provides exposure levels, inside and outside these zones.


Clearly, the same method used in a small engineering shop would not be relevant to a mining operation employing thousands of miners. Mining is a good, albeit extreme example, of simultaneous exposure to several agents i.e. gas, noise, vibration, (high) temperature & humidity. Major mining nations such as South Africa already have highly developed regimes for near continuous sampling of noise and dust exposure of so-called homogeneous employee groups (HEGS) to ensure statistical validity (as highlighted in the matrix). Interesting that the foreword to the


This allows the exclusion of extraneous events, breaks etc to provide comparative exposure calculations. Any exclusion zones added to data are retained with the data file.


A simple ‘tree view’ can be created with which to store and manage data by Person, Place or Process since, once data has been downloaded, files can be ‘dragged and dropped’ to the relevant tree location and all data subsequently stored within a central database. Templates are provided to view data, which can be further customised, displayed and reported as simply or as comprehensively as required.


Reports can be stored in multiple formats (e.g. .pdf, .jpg, or .csv)


allowing them to be shared and viewed easily, as well as exported to other applications. To create that all-important report, 'right clicking' on the appropriate part of the tree view activates the report wizard and allows reported parameters to be selected as required and report settings to be retained for the next time it is used. Notes can be added to data, which appear on reports as required, typically including details about the measurement and subsequent conclusions and recommendations required to reduce exposure.


A unique feature of Casella Insight is that exposure data from multiple agents may be viewed and reported simultaneously and being able to correlate noise and dust exposure is advantageous to those tasked with process improvement aimed at minimising exposure.


Casella Measurement’s vision is one of an integrated bodily worn system that conceptually allows remote monitoring of relevant agents via a local network or indeed the internet.


This vision is shared, perhaps not surprisingly, by several in the global mining community but there are many integration challenges to be overcome not least power/battery requirements as well as the user interface (all of which tend to drive size and weight) plus wireless communication around the body and beyond. Trends in technology will deliver new chipsets and batteries that mean the vision will become a reality but “invent a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door”5


,


remains patently untrue. The key will be incisive technology roadmapping, innovative products inevitably emerging from the point in time where technology push meets marketing pull.


References 1. www.phaseto.com


2. Workplace Solutions, Safety & Health, (US) National Safety Council, Feb 2007


3. Handbook on Mine Occupational Hygiene Measurements, (SA) Mine Health & Safety Council, 2007


4. Comparison of task based estimates with full shift measurements of noise exposure, Seixas N, Sheppard L, Neitzel R, AIHA Journal, Nov/Dec 2003


5. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)


PC Software Simplifies Evaluation of Electromagnetic Field Measurements


Narda Safety Test Solutions (Germany) offers a remote control, analysis and management software package for the frequency-selective field measuring set SRM-3006. Called SRM-3006 TS, the PC software simplifies the acquisition and storage of the results of electromagnetic field measurements, enables subsequent analysis and the automatic generation of user-specific test reports.


Large quantities of data often result from electromagnetic radiation measurements designed to protect people or the environment. Data acquired by the Selective Radiation Meter SRM-3006 from Narda Safety Test Solutions can now be managed, analysed and recorded using the PC software SRM 3006 TS.


Database functions facilitate storage by measurement location and measurement project. A separate data field contains extra information about the measurement location and conditions, such as GPS data, cartographic representations or voice comments recorded on-site.


All results can be subsequently analysed. For example, the software can automatically search for peak values in frequency spectra or determine average values over time periods. Integration over a selectable frequency range enables automatic determination of the field exposure due to an entire radio communication service, such as GSM-1800 downlink, or due to an individual service provider. Similarly, later analysis enables identification of pilot channels, as well as the use of individual extrapolation factors to determine the maximum field exposure when a transmitter is operating at full load.


The PC software SRM-3006 TS can import data from earlier SRM-3006 software and print out all results directly or export them to Office applications using custom style sheets. This enables the simple production of user-specific test reports. The main users of the software will be the operators of radio and mobile communications transmitters, authorities, and companies providing measurement services.


Reader Reply Card No. AET Annual Buyers’ Guide 2012 www.envirotech-online.com 130


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