Lasers have always enjoyed being one of the centrepiece lighting effects in nightclub and disco venues. In the past such lasers tended to be very costly purchase, and also had a bit of a reputation for reliability issues, needing water-cooling and three phase electrics. In recent years as technology has moved on, and the cost of owning laser with a decent output power has fallen dramatically. The days of having to alter the club to accommodate the laser system and all its components need to make it work, are a thing of the past too. Current technology is not much larger than standard lighting effects, and can quite easily be tucked up and out the way on standard lighting trussing.

Perhaps one of the only good things about the older traditional lasers is that as it was such and huge financial expense and logistical undertaking to commission a laser, there was a greater chance of the laser being manufactured and installed correctly. Today, laser products find their way into venues by a much wider range of routes, and with costs so low, they can be added to a lighting rig without too much worry.

Over the years the way laser light is created has changed, but the end result is that the output from laser effect the size of a standard video projector can be just as hazardous to look at as the same amount of light produced be a three-phase water-cooled laser. This type of light has the potential to cause eye injuries if proper care is not taken.

The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of both employees and the public that attend the venue rests squarely with the venue's owner and operators. In face, case law has shown that it is the venue owner that is actually liable for any work carried out at the venue, and that even includes the work of contractors. It is therefore extremely important to make sure that anyone that you have providing laser related work is doing so both competently and safely.

Any venue that has a laser installed should have had received suitable information about the installation, and had a proper set of handover documentation given to them. As a very minimum, some of the things to make sure you have are:-

- A venue specific risk assessment, with details of the control measures.
- Technical details of the laser system, and equipment used.
- Details of how the system is configured for your venue.
- Characteristics of the laser beam effects used in the system.
- Measurements of the laser energy levels present at the venue, especially if laser light is able to illuminate the audience.
- Operation and display approvals issued by the regulatory authorities.
- Details of training (operational and safety) provided to the staff members at the venue.
- Maintenance procedures, and details of parts of the venue where the MPE can be exceeded.
- Details of the training and competence received by the persons installing the equipment.

Sometimes having this information handed over by the laser installer isn't the case, especially when something has been supplied on the cheap, in a rush, or by people less concerned with laser safety. But to ignore the risks could be putting your members of staff at risk to eye injury, and also that of the public that visit your venue. And ignoring the risks most likely means that you are in breach of several health and safety regulations too.

If you think the laser supplier has not provided you with the right information, the first thing to do is try and do is obtain the things listed above from the supplier/installer. The person responsible for Health and Safety management in your organisation p rob ably needs to get up to speed on laser safety issues so that they can use the information to best effect. A good place to start is with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who have published a guidance document called HSG95 - The Radiation Safety of Lasers used for Display Purposes, which is available for £10 from www.hsebooks.co.uk.

How we can help…

Laser Visuals Research holds considerable expertise in the field of laser display safety and wider occupational health and safety. Equipped with our sound knowledge we are able to assist you in making sure you laser installation is safely installed, managed, and won't be the cause for any problems further down the line.

1. Staff Training
2. Laser Installation Safety Checks and Risk Assessment
3. Laser Radiation and MPE Checking
4. Preparation of Paperwork and H&S Policies

1. Staff Training
You may wish to have responsible members of staff in your organisation in lasershow safety management on our own Laser Display Laser Safety Training Days. Alternatively, we can come to your venue or organisation to provide specific tuition.

2. Laser Installation Safety Checks and Risk Assessment
We can visit your venue and perform a thorough overview of the laser installation and to identify any hazards that may be present. (We can carry out these checks ahead of a laser being installed too, working with you and your installation team to make sure any issues are thought about before money is spent on equipment). When the laser kit has been installed onsite, we can perform final checks and hand over our risk assessment findings and suggested control measures.

3. Laser Radiation and MPE Checking
We have a wide range of specialist instrumentation and custom software to help us determine laser exposure levels and MPE (Maximum Permissible Exposure). Our measurement techniques combined with equipment calibrated to national standards help to ensure the most accurate readings are obtained for your application

4. Preparation of Paperwork and H&S Policies
If required we can take care of all the documentation required to build up your Display Safety Record, including liaising with the relevant authorities. We can also assist you in developing and writing safety policies to help keep everything in order in the future.

To find out more about how you can benefit from our expert advice please contact us.