Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies

Overview

The Center is involved in research, and it develops recommendations on the use of direct reading and sensing technologies in occupational safety and health. These technologies are useful to:

• Detect and monitor hazardous conditions.
• Optimize, assess, and confirm intervention and mitigation strategies.
• Immediately trigger alarms in the event of unsafe conditions.

These technologies can provide more timely information than traditional time-delayed laboratory monitoring methods. In the case of sensors, they also provide time-series (in time) information. Direct-reading methodologies and sensors are increasingly utilized for health and safety applications in many workplaces, but guidance is needed.

Background

The Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies (CDRST) was established in 2014. As a virtual center, it interacts with many NIOSH programs. This includes the NIOSH Mining program, the NIOSH Oil and Gas program, the National Occupational Research Agenda Manufacturing Sector Council, the NIOSH Center for Motor Vehicle Safety, NIOSH Center for Work and Fatigue Research, and the NIOSH Total Worker Health program.

Program priorities

The Center focuses on increasing knowledge and skills among leaders, workplaces, and systems to advance the development and use of sensors for occupational safety, health, and well-being. Specifically, the Center:

• Develops sensor-relevant guidance documents and training protocols to help others learn how to select, use, and interpret the data of direct reading methods and sensor technologies.
• Partners with industries, end-users, governments, academia, and scientific and professional communities, both nationally and internationally. Examples include the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).
• Fosters and participate in research activities for the advancement of science and technology related to direct reading and sensor technologies.
• Promotes the development of new methodologies and technologies within NIOSH.
• Collaborate on a national and international research agenda for direct reading methods and sensor technologies.

What we've accomplished

In recent years, the Center had many accomplishments. The most important ones are:

• Trained over 150 industrial hygienists during several AIHA local chapter webinars on the correct selection and adoption of real-time sensors for aerosols, gas/vapor, fatigue, noise, and wearables.
• In 2022, organized a public webinar with external speakers on the transformation of sensors data into actionable information and knowledge for health and safety. Video recording is available.
• In 2023, organized a second webinar with external speakers on the transformation of sensors data into actionable information but specific for heat stress. Video recording is available.
• Published a revised chapter in the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods for measuring respirable aerosol with real-time optical monitors.
• Conducted an online survey among industrial hygienists to assess the current state of use and interest on Direct-Reading instruments and methodologies for occupational health and safety.
• Contributed to the discussion on the adoption of wearable sensors for physiological monitoring through podcasts, videocasts, trade journal articles, and peer-reviewed articles.

What's ahead

• Organize additional public webinars with external speakers on the transformation of sensors data into actionable information and knowledge for health and safety.
• Lead the creation and coordination of an international community of practice (CoP) on the aerosol monitors for occupational hygiene with the support of the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA).
• Analyze the occupational hygiene practices for specific hazards and workplaces in order to understand the steps needed for the adoption and operationalization of sensor technologies.
• Develop specific activities for students in occupational safety and health academic programs to present the potential and challenges of direct reading and sensor technologies.
• Collaborate with the University of Cincinnati Sensor Center for the exploration of monitoring tools and methodologies for occupational heat stress.

Contacts

NIOSH invites your participation in any aspect related to direct-reading methodologies and real-time monitors to improve the health of workers and the public.

Please contact the Center at sensors@cdc.gov.

Resources

Recent significant publications of the Center:

Using Core Elements of Health and Safety Management Systems to Support Worker Well-Being during Technology Integration (2022) - The results of the study provide an opening to use core health and safety management systems elements (i.e., management commitment and leadership, communication and coordination, and employee involvement) during direct reading and sensor technologies integration to demonstrate support for workers during times of ambiguity and change.

Standardization of data from hazard sensors: a new challenge and opportunity in occupational hygiene (2022) - Data are a fundamental, if not the most important, component of any field of science, theoretical and applied. This is certainly true for occupational or industrial hygiene and sensors data. While the standardization of data might be considered a trivial aspect, it is a critical step

The Challenge for Industrial Hygiene 4.0 - A NIOSH Perspective on Direct-Reading Methodologies and Real-Time Monitoring in Occupational Environments (2022) - Direct-reading methodologies and real-time monitors will play a crucial role in workers’ health and safety in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This article proposes that these technologies and other advancements will lead to a new stage of industrial hygiene, which may be called IH4.0.

Advanced sensor technologies and the future of work (2021) - This commentary discusses some of the benefits and challenges of placeable, wearable, and implantable sensor technologies in the future of work.

Wearable Sensors: An Ethical Framework for Decision-Making (2017) - As wearable sensors become more commonplace and useful for monitoring employee safety and health, values conflicts and ethical dilemmas arise that need to be addressed. This NIOSH Science Blog Post proposes an ethical framework that can be used as a decision-making tool.

Components for Evaluation of Direct-Reading Monitors for Gases and Vapors
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2012-162Expands the historical NIOSH methods for monitor development and evaluation testing to include performance characteristics, a summary of recommended tests to evaluate the monitors, and approximations for estimating accuracy.

Additional Info

See the NIOSHTIC-2 database search results on direct-reading and sensor technology. NIOSHTIC-2 is a database of occupational safety and health publications funded in whole or in part by NIOSH.