Cabling: Laser Safety Introduction

Course Overview

This laser safety course and assessment is accredited by the OCN, regional Open College Network. Successful candidates gain a qualification recognised as a level 2 award under the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) national framework. This award is broadly equivalent to a GCSE pass at grades A-C. We believe this is the first laser safety qualification recognised under the national framework.

Audience

Managers, engineers and other staff required to understand the basic principles of laser safety Staff requiring an awareness of the role of Laser Safety Officer Engineers and technicians using lasers in the laboratory.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Safety legislation, hazards & risks, BS EN 60825.
• Light Fundamentals
• Waves & the electromagnetic spectrum, LEDs & Lasers, CW & pulsed emission.
• Laser Beam Properties
• Intensity distributions, beam divergence, irradiance, modification with lenses, mirrors, scattering & optical fibres.
• Laser Radiation Hazards
• Optical radiation hazard spectrum, physiology of the eye, photo-thermal effect, photochemical effect, eye hazard, skin hazard.
• Laser Classification (2001)
• Classification standards, exposure parameters, accessible emission limit (AEL), 2001 revised classification structure, practical laser classification, maximum permissible exposure (MPE) & Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance (NOHD).
• Laser Safety Controls
• Administrative controls, engineering controls & PPE, control measures: housings; key switches; interlocks; protective eye-wear
• Using BS EN 60825-1 Laser Safety Standard
• Structure of the Standard, Manufacturers & Users, AEL & MPE lookup, worked examples & case studies.
• Course Review / Written Assessment
• All trainees will receive a certificate of course attendance.

Alternatively, following a short written assessment, delegates will receive a competency certificate applicable to working with laser based equipment in industrial or laboratory environments.