Here's a brief review of the Professional Laser Display Safety Training Course run on 7th September by James Stewart (http://www.lasershowsafety.org).
I was one of half a dozen delegates to attend this course, held at the Hunton Park Hotel near Watford, another being Martin Pelosh of Kvant. The course started at 9:30 am with James introducing himself and giving us an overview of his experience in the laser industry, which spans a couple of decades and has recently included overseeing laser safety at the O2 and Glastonbury.
The course itself was split into 6 modules, the first 3 of which - Laser Basics, Safety/HSE Standards and Legal requirements, and Manufacturing and Installation requirements - were covered in the morning session. James gave us a good grounding in the development of modern laser display systems and then delved into the current legislation surrounding the operation of lasers, focussing on the current guidelines (HS(G)95) and the new laser safety standard, BS/EN 60825. He then went through the relevant requirements of the Health and Safety at Work act and the Entertainments License requirements and described the forthcoming EC regulation contained in the Artificial Optical Radiation Directive.
Fortunately, we did not have to write much down, as we were each supplied with a bound set of notes that not only covered the presentation but added more in-depth material - several days worth of bed-time reading!
The final session of the morning covered projector manufacturing standards, including the ILDA standard projector and also the requirements of BS/EN 60825-1, with reference to housings, interlocks, safety shutters, scan fail devices and other safety considerations such as labelling.
After a short break for lunch, we resumed with the fourth module, Evaluating Laser Effects. This was most useful, as James worked through an example of calculating MPE (Maximum permissable exposure) for various different laser setups, an essential safety requirement if audience scanning is part of the show. The implication of this is that, if you do any audience scanning, you should calculate and document the MPE figures for each ILDA frame involved, something that could take some time! He also covered the detailed requirements for taking measurements for use in such calculations. He then described the measurement of diffraction grating effects, and finally introduced a simplified approach to scanning assessments.
The fifth module looked at laser shows in practice, with a variety of suggestions to help run a safe show. The last module covered Show Documentation, looking at Risk analysis and Display Safety Records (DSR), covering examples for a number of different situations.
The course ended with a group discussion and the handing out of course completion certificates, which could be very useful if someone requires proof that you have undertaken some safety training.
So - worth doing? - yes, I'd definitely recommend the course to anyone who puts on public laser shows, particularly if your show involves any audience scanning. Lasers are potentially hazardous, and it's a good idea to accumulate the necessary knowledge to be able to demonstrate that your show is safe. The course notes will also be very useful reference material. James runs these courses every 3 months or so, see his website http://www.laservisualsresearch.com/training.htm for details of the next one.