The doseBadge Professional is a high specification noise dosemeter for monitoring a worker's exposure to high noise levels in the workplace. It mounts on a worker's shoulder in order to measure the total noise exposure throughout the working day or shift. This Professional version makes all the measurements of the lower cost Industrial doseBadge but adds a number of useful features for a deeper analysis of the sound levels, better measurement control and more detailed reporting.
The doseBadge Pro can be configured to comply with any occupational noise regulations, standards or guidelines. As it has four independent channels or integrators it can be configured to meet multiple regulations at the same time.
For the UK and elsewhere in Europe it meets the requirements of EU Physical Agents (Noise) Directive 2003/10/EC and the HSE's guidelines for assessing noise at work. As the doseBadge's four integrators are configurable, it can be set to meet other regulations should you need to use it outside the UK.
The doseBadge Industrial is a slightly lower cost noise dosemeter that offers the functions required by the noise at work regulations, but of course doesn't have many of the advanced features offered by the Professional.
The doseBadge Pro is a noise dosemeter that mounts on the worker's shoulder, attached to the clothing with two clips, to measure the noise levels throughout the day.
The measurement process can be started (see the Using It tab) and left running all day.
The battery in the doseBadge Pro is charged using the Docking station. From flat it takes about three hours to fully charge a doseBadge. One docking station can charge five doseBadges at the same time. The docking station also houses the USB link to a computer for configuration and download.
One of the issues with dosimetry is related to the microphone getting knocked - usually accidentally, but not always! This causes a spike in the noise level and a high Peak reading. The shock and motion sensor helps separate the genuine high Peak levels from those caused by knocks.
As well as the standard USB interface to your PC (via the dock), the doseBadge Pro also has Bluetooth as standard. A mobile phone app for both Android and Apple devices is available at no extra cost. This can be used to configure, start/stop and view ongoing measurements. See the Software tab for more information.
A noise dosemeter is designed to measure the sound levels that a worker is exposed to throughout the day. For the UK this will be the daily noise exposure (LEP,d) and the C weighted Peak.
With the multiple integrators you can measure in both UK/EU regulations and another, such as USA OSHA regulations. In this case you would also get measurements of Lavg, TWA and Dose % with 5 dB exchange rate.
Although a Time History is not a requirement of the regulations, it is an extremely useful feature, especially considering that you are not following the worker round all day. With a detailed graph of the sound level over time you get a clear picture of the noise exposure. You can pick out the noisy parts of the day, those jobs that need extra attention with regard to noise reduction and hearing protection.
To provide a high level of detail, the doseBadge Professional stores creates the time history by logging all integrators (Leq, Lavg, etc.), peak channels and octave band filter spectrum every second.
The doseBadge Pro can provide you with the C-A calculation for HML hearing protector selection, or you can take a more detailed approach using the real-time octave band filters.
The doseBadge Pro stores the overall octave band content, but it also stores a time history of the octave bands throughout the measurement period. You can select a period of interest (particularly high noise levels for example) and run further analysis and hearing protector checks for that time.
Leave the noise dosemeter to measure for the full working shift.
A summary of the measurements can be viewed using the mobile phone app, but it is normally more convenient to download the measurements to a computer using the docking station and software provided.
The doseBadges will charge on the Dock, taking up to three hours from flat.
The NoiseTools software runs on a Windows PC, working on Windows 7, 8 and 10. There is no charge for the software and there are no licence restrictions, so you can install it on as many computers as needed.
You can download the software with some sample data if you want to try it out before buying the kit, to be sure it operates correctly on your computer system.
Start and stop measurements, configure the doseBadge Pro and view measurement progress using the mobile app, which is available free of charge for iOS and Android phones or tablets.
As the CK120/x kits include everything you need there are very few options. Individual parts (doseBadges, Calibrator, etc.) can be bought by selecting the Parts tab in the Ordering box above.
The "Wand" can be used instead of the mobile app to start, pause and stop measurements, and to view mid-shift readings. Although not essential, in some circumstances it can more convenient than using a mobile or tablet.
It communicates with the doseBadge Pro over a Bluetooth connection.