Once a survey and a RF safety report have been completed you must determine
whether an RF Safety Program should be developed. An RF Safety Report is
the first step in determining this.
Your organization should be operating
under an RF Safety Program unless it is compliant by design!
An area or operation is compliant by design and an RF Safety Program is not
needed if the RF Safety Report concludes:
There are no areas accessible to people that exceed the lower, more
restrictive tier in two-tier standards and regulations. For the FCC
Regulations this is the Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits for General
Population/Uncontrolled exposure. The IEEE/ANSI standard refers to the
MPE for Uncontrolled Environments.
There are no areas accessible to people that can exceed the "lower
tier", more restrictive tier in two-tier standards and regulations in
the event of a hardware failure.
If both conditions above are satisfied, the area or operation is compliant by
design and no further action is required unless something changes. The
addition, modification, or relocation of RF generating and transmission
equipment should always be followed by a reassessment, i.e., another RF Safety
Report.
A good RF Safety Program provides the following benefits:
Minimizes the risk to all people─employees,
visitors, and contractors.
Demonstrates compliance with all federal (FCC,
OSHA), state, and local regulations.
Minimizes liability risk.
Improves operational efficiency by allowing workers
covered by the safety program to work in moderate level fields that are
greater than the lower tier, yet lower that the MPE of the upper tier.
U. S. government agencies, such as the FCC and OSHA, have gone on record
numerous times concerning the need for an RF Safety Program. Both agencies
require an RF Safety Program for workers, or anyone else, to be exposed to field
levels greater than the limits imposed by the lower tier. And since the
lower tier limits are set to only one fifth of the limits for the upper tier,
operating under the tighter limits can have a bigger impact on operational
procedures.
RF Safety Programs from RF Safety Solutions are unique.
Complete safety programsmean that every thing
that you need now or in the future is included. There should not be
lingering doubts after you receive a safety program―everyone
that reads it should believe that it provides everything that you need.
Safety programs are comprehensive yet easy to use and update because they are
broken down into 10 to 12 modular sections. Take a look at the
program elements that should be
included in an RF Safety
Program.
Easy-to-readreports don't mean
that they are simple. They should be thorough yet make it easy for any
reader, regardless of background or level of interest, to read and understand.
The core "Company Requirements" document is typically 15-25 pages long.
Every employee that works at an RFR "site" should get a copy. It clearly
spells out the responsibilities and operating procedures for all that are
involved.
Tables
and drawings are used to bring clarity. Take a look at some
samples taken from actual RF Safety
Programs.
Contractor requirements
are clearly defined. Most companies use contractors. It is
critical that an RF Safety Program define contractor requirements and give
legal evidence that they have promised to comply. Without these
important documents, your organization is exposed to substantial liability
should an "incident occur.
A good RF Safety Program starts with a good RF Safety Report. It is
difficult to develop a safety program unless everyone involved understands the
current situation and where the risks are. And an RF Safety Program is of
little value unless it is understood, implemented, and believed
in. RF Safety Solutions understands
and implements all of the following in
the development of a custom RF Safety Program:
Understand the Operation. If you operate a radio or TV
broadcast site your operation and the RF safety concerns are very different
than a wireless services operator. If you process
semiconductors, the major concern should be during and post maintenance
operations. This is when leaks most likely occur. RF Safety
Solutions is very familiar with most systems that use significant amounts of
RF energy.
Understand the Objectives.
Everyone involved in the development of an RF Safety Program should agree on
the objectives. This will make it easy to make decisions. Unlike
an RF Safety Report, where there is limited involvement on the part of the
customer, an RF Safety Program cannot be created in a vacuum by a third party.
The role of RF Safety Solutions is to not only write the Safety Program but to
involve the client in its development to ensure that the end product meets
and exceeds everyone's expectations.
Understand What is Important.Under what conditions could somebody get hurt through a RF overexposure?
What procedures (administrative controls) must be included to prevent this from happening?
What RF hazard control equipment is required and where and when should it be
used? How do we deal with contractors and visitors to RFR sites? How should we deal with people that have medical implants with
electronic circuitry who may be vulnerable to RF fields
at levels far below the major standards. RF Safety Solutions' goal is to answer all these
questions.
