Methods for monitoring, measuring and controlling hazards in the workplace for compliance and risk reduction are about to undergo a dramatic shift the likes of which have not been seen since before the advent of the microprocessor chip. A good example of the growing awareness of this trend is the recent launch of the NIOSH Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies in August 2014. According to Dr. John Howard, MD, Director of NIOSH, "The future of direct-reading devices and smartphone applications may help to revolutionize the practice of industrial hygiene and safety evaluations"

Emergent Technology Megatrends Will Impact Safety and Health Monitoring

Technological advances in consumer products like powerful low cost hand-held devices (HHDs) such as smartphones and tablets, connecting with cellular and other wireless networks, electronic ‘erector sets’ with odd sounding names like ‘Arduino’ and ‘Raspberry Pi’ as well as specialized industrial electronics including miniaturized, low power sensors, plus web-based data storage and analysis, are fueling rapid evolution of measuring instrumentation and innovative new ways of monitoring site conditions in realtime for Safety, Health and Environmental Compliance purposes. IoT, which stands for the "Internet of Things" is a powerful new technological megatrend that is impacting our daily lives already as devices as simple as thermostats and as advanced as luxury automobiles become IP enabled, or ‘addressable’. According to Business Insider, "The Internet of Things Will Be The World's Most Massive Device Market And Save Companies Billions Of Dollars" (John Greenough, Feb 11, 2015) Self-contained ‘apps’ running on smartphones are already being used for measuring many physical agents including noise and vibration, some with a degree of accuracy rivalling traditional instruments as documented in "Evaluation of Smartphone Sound Measurement Apps", (C Kardous, P Shaw, CDC/NIOSH). All of these trends are predicted to manifest between now and the end of this decade.

How do these imminent and rapid developments affect the average Safety, Health and Environmental practitioner? All of these advances point towards a fundamental shift in available sampling methodologies for risk reduction and regulatory compliance as the proliferation of lower cost, multi-parameter unattended indicative measurement systems will enable better understanding of the work environment and act as effective screening tools that can logically and statistically ‘rule out’ areas where hazards are not present so the Safety and Health professional of the future can concentrate their efforts on areas most likely to present higher risk exposure and safety hazards. Positional data and work activity monitoring add to the information base on which a practitioner can make sound decisions on where to concentrate his or her risk reduction efforts or bolster the case for better engineering controls and effective use of PPE.

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