Professional Development Courses
The following are top-ranked courses from past AIHce and PCIH conferences.
Fees: $315 by October 10/$385 after October 10
1.0 IH CM Point/0.8 CEU/COC Points
Seats are limited; tickets are issued first-come, first-served.
 This
logo signifies this course is a “Green PDC.” Paper handouts,
both advance and on-site, will no longer be provided.
Electronic handouts may be downloaded from the web;
electricity will be provided in meeting rooms for laptop
use.Paperless handouts offer participants a variety of NEW benefits:
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Saturday
- PDC 1: Industrial Hygienists as Experts and Witnesses in Trials and Depositions
- PDC 2: Noise Control Engineering
- PDC 3: Life Safety Engineering
- PDC 4: Introduction to Risk Assessment for the Industrial Hygienist
Sunday
- PDC 5: Mold, Moisture, and the Science Within the Building Envelope
- PDC 6: Bayesian Statistics: Overview and Applications in Industrial Hygiene Data Interpretation and Exposure Risk Assessment
- PDC 7: Applied Industrial Ergonomics
- PDC 8: Vapor Intrusion Assessment and Management: A Fast Emerging IAQ Issue for the Industrial Hygienist
- PDC 9: Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Welding Health Hazards
- PDC 10: Protecting All Workers, Not “Nearly All” Workers
Saturday, November 8
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
1.0 IH CM Point/0.8 CEU/COC Points
PDC 1: Industrial Hygienists as Experts and Witnesses in Trials
and Depositions
Introductory
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Provide expert witness testimony in accordance with the laws and rules of the U.S. legal system and its litigation process.
- Use the rules of civil procedure and evidence to establish the functional framework for your testimony.
- Respond in the role of an industrial hygiene expert in depositions and at trial.
- Understand the business aspects necessary to support your expert witness services.
- More effectively communicate as an expert.
As an industrial hygienist, it is not uncommon to be called as a factual or percipient witness in regard to your routine industrial hygiene practice. As you progress in your career as an industrial hygienist, opportunities may arise for you to act as an expert witness in litigation. Or perhaps you may be thinking about self-employment as an authority for litigation on industrial hygiene and health matters. This course will provide you with a foundation of skills needed to take on that role as an expert witness.
This course is intended to provide a foundation for understanding the U.S. legal system and the methodologies incorporated into the rules of civil procedure and evidence to determine expert qualifications and admissibility of testimony. Participants will discuss the legal system with related civil procedure issues and where and how industrial hygienists are utilized within the system. A significant amount of time will be devoted to the practice of industrial hygienists as expert witnesses. The expert witness section will discuss the use of experts, the tests for admissibility of testimony, and the differences and functions of depositions and trials. The course will include a discussion of effective and persuasive communication.
Instructor: Neil Feldscher, CIH, CSP, Esq., New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Corona, NY.
PDC 2: Noise Control Engineering
Intermediate
Prerequisite: Familiarity with the fundamentals of noise and basic terminology such as A-weighted sound levels, decibel addition, octave-band frequencies, and noise dose and/or employee time-weighted average noise exposure.
Learning Aid: Laptop computer with spreadsheet software suggested but not required (actual use less than 5 percent of class time). AIHA’s The Noise Manual, Revised Fifth Edition, will be provided.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Identify the noise-generating mechanisms and prioritize items for noise control.
- Develop feasible engineering controls for noise reduction through equipment process redesign using commercially available products and/or materials requiring modification based on the customized needs of the problem.
- Work with the design contractor and suppliers to achieve the stated noise criteria.
A major component of a hearing conservation program is the noise control phase, which provides the best long-term solution to in-plant noise problems. With some advanced education and training, it is feasible for industrial hygienists with a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of noise to develop noise control solutions, establish noise control priorities, identify and select optimum products for retrofitting equipment, work effectively with design engineers to implement a proactive approach to noise control, predict the impact new equipment will have on the in-plant and community noise environment, and qualify new manufacturing or process equipment to determine whether it satisfies the stated noise criteria in the purchase specification.
Instructor: Dennis Driscoll, PE, Associates in Acoustics, Inc., Evergreen, CO.
PDC 3: Life Safety Engineering
Introductory
Learning Aid: A calculator and a copy of the Life Safety Code are suggested but not required.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Describe general principles of life safety.
- Apply the Life Safety Code to various environments and occupancies.
- Determine the occupancy designation of a building.
- Perform life safety egress calculations.
- Identify fire protection alternatives for a variety of life safety and fire hazards.
Life safety refers to the features of a building that enable its occupants to exit safely and/or seek refuge within a building in the event of a fire or similar emergency. Participants will learn the general principles of life safety for an occupied environment. The principles discussed will be based on the Life Safety Code, published by the National Fire Protection Association. Although the principles taught within this course are applicable to any occupancy, life safety concepts associated with industrial, business, health care, and storage occupancies will be emphasized. Numerous case studies of fires will be presented to reinforce lecture concepts and class exercises.
Instructor: Leo Old, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.
PDC 4: Introduction to Risk Assessment for the Industrial
Hygienist
Introductory
Learning Aids: Calculator required; laptop computer for memory-stick downloads.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Define/recognize options and responsibilities as an industrial hygienist and practicing risk assessor (e.g., that published exposure limits are subject to interpretation, understanding, and judgment relative to their documentation and level of acceptable risk to society).
- Describe and demonstrate that true risk is never known but is typically overestimated vis-à-vis the precautionary principle: to err on the side of safety in the face of uncertainty. That is, in the face of scientific uncertainty, a precautionary approach is typically applied, advising practitioners to err on the side of safety, either by overestimating risk or obtaining more information.
- Recall that the degree of risk overestimation is inversely proportional to the resources applied to the estimation.
- Recognize that the IH is a working technologist who uses science and that the heart and soul of this science is in the building, testing, and use of models.
- Describe “expert judgment” as legitimate and valued to the extent that the assumptions and data underlying it can be revealed and explained.
- Demonstrate that human health risk is driven equally by the actual exposure experience and the health effects per unit exposure for any particular agent or mixture.
- Realize that the essence of the human health risk assessment process in most settings today is simply the comparison of estimated human exposure to an exposure limit.
- Describe risk assessment as a typically tiered or iterative approach starting with relatively inexpensive evaluations that generally overestimate and proceeding to more expensive but more accurate analytical tools.
Almost everyone involved with IH is doing risk assessment at some level. This course is designed to show the relationship between IH and risk assessment and its elements. It is designed to be a general and broad overview, providing the IH with an appreciation of where he or she is in this scheme as well as to learn and do to grow in the profession. The course also uses case studies for hands-on experience.
Instructors: Michael Jayjock, PhD, CIH, The LifeLine Group, Inc., Langhorne, PA, and Susan Arnold, CIH, The LifeLine Group, Inc., Roswell, GA.
Fees: $315 by October 10/$385 after October 10
Seats are limited; tickets are issued first-come, first-served.
Sunday, November 9
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
1.0 IH CM Point/0.8 CEU/COC Points
PDC 5: Mold, Moisture, and the Science Within the Building Envelope
Intermediate
Prerequisite: General knowledge of construction methods, building science, and architectural elements.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Assess a building envelope and list its functional components, assemblies, and systems.
- Identify weaknesses in suspect envelope assemblies.
- Differentiate moisture sources and prepare corrective actions.
- Recognize controllable sources of moisture and design control strategies.
- Realize building material’s strengths and weaknesses and choose appropriately.
- Comment on building designs to minimize moisture risks in new construction.
A discussion of functional elements that make up the building envelope, the science behind the building envelope, and the moisture forces acting on the envelope will be presented. The course is applicable to those assessing buildings for molds, IAQ, and general sick building investigations. A building envelope is described in its three basic functional elements, each constructed differently to shed/resist moisture. Moisture forces acting on the envelope will be discussed, including controlled, induced, and occupant loading among others. Building materials, building methods, and engineering systems will be discussed as applicable to moisture control and resistance. Computer modeling of moisture movement in building materials and wall assemblies will be introduced.
Instructor: Michael Geyer, PE, CIH, CSP, KERNTEC Industries, Inc., Bakersfield, CA.
PDC 6: Bayesian Statistics: Overview and Applications in Industrial Hygiene Data Interpretation and Exposure Risk Assessment
Intermediate
Prerequisites: Familiarity with AIHA’s Strategy for Assessing and Managing Occupational Exposures; experience in exposure assessments and monitoring data interpretation.
Learning Aids: Laptop computer; software for performing Bayesian decision analysis calculations will be distributed.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Describe a Bayesian framework for decision analysis.
- List the three common distributions associated with a Bayesian framework of decision analysis.
- Relate a Bayesian framework for decision analysis to the AIHA Exposure Assessment Strategy.
- Relate Bayesian decision tools to the implementation of a performance-based exposure risk assessment strategy.
- Use a software tool to perform a Bayesian decision analysis of industrial hygiene monitoring data.
The Bayesian statistical framework offers exciting opportunities for improving the accuracy, efficiency, and transparency of our exposure judgments. Bayesian techniques can be used to formally combine our professional judgment regarding a particular exposure and its uncertainty along with the statistical analysis of current exposure data. The language and framework of the approach holds promise for expressing the output of exposure assessments in a manner more easily understood and communicated than the output from more traditional statistical analysis. Best of all, the Bayesian decision analysis approach formalizes traditional exposure assessment processes already used by industrial hygienists today. The course will provide an overview of the Bayesian framework for decision analysis and will explore, through discussion and workshops, opportunities for its application in industrial hygiene data interpretation and exposure risk assessment.
Instructors: John Mulhausen, PhD, CIH, 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, Paul Hewett, PhD, CIH, Exposure Assessment Solutions, Inc., Morgantown, WV, Perry Logan, MS, CIH, 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, and Gurumurthy Ramachandran, PhD, CIH, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
PDC 7: Applied Industrial Ergonomics
Introductory
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Identify contributing factors to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
- Determine ergonomic criteria for manual work, including applied forces, working postures, frequency of movements, and exposure to vibration.
- Evaluate workstations and equipment for good ergonomic design.
- Identify high priority jobs/workstations for ergonomic improvement.
- Apply ergonomics to workstation retrofit and design.
This course provides the resources and tools to make simple, yet effective, human performance improvements in the industrial workplace. Hands-on problem solving methods will help participants recognize, evaluate, and control ergonomic risk in the industrial environment. Participants will learn to conduct complete ergonomic risk assessments using proven methodologies.
Instructors: Walt Rostykus, CIH, CPE, CSP, and James Mallon, CPE, Humantech, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
PDC 8: Vapor Intrusion Assessment and Management: A Fast Emerging IAQ Issue for the Industrial Hygienist
Intermediate
Prerequisite: Basic expertise in indoor air quality.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Develop conceptual model for vapor intrusion at site.
Understand fundamental fate and transport processes related to vapor intrusion and the potential negative impact of vapor intrusion on indoor air quality. - Understand regulatory framework for soil vapor intrusion assessment.
- Prepare sampling strategies and design for soil vapor intrusion assessment development.
- Understand soil vapor sampling techniques and key quality assurance/quality control measures.
- Relate building-related characteristics and measurements to vapor intrusion processes.
- Gain awareness of screening approaches and modeling tools, including the Johnson and Ettinger model.
- Be able to identify vapor mitigation approaches and techniques.
At breaks and lunch there will be hands-on demonstration of sampling equipment.
Instructor: Ian Hers, PhD, P.Eng, Golder Associates Ltd., Burnaby, BC, Canada.
PDC 9: SOLD OUT
Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of
Welding Health Hazards
Intermediate
Prerequisite: General knowledge of ventilation principles.
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Anticipate and identify health hazards associated with common welding processes.
- Plan for control of welding health hazards associated with common welding processes.
- Apply both dilution ventilation and local exhaust ventilation to control welding fumes.
- Anticipate scenarios associated with elevated manganese and hexavalent chromium exposures.
Approximately 3 million people worldwide engage in welding and thermal cutting processes as part of their everyday tasks. Welding and cutting are among a very few trades with significant routine airborne exposure and limited engineering control. Dozens of welding processes have been developed, and many of these may be associated with overexposures to fumes consisting of oxides of iron, manganese, cadmium, chromium, zinc, and nickel. The most common welding and thermal cutting processes are described along with the associated health hazards and control techniques.
Instructor: Michael Harris, PhD, CIH, Hamlin and Harris Inc., Baton Rouge, LA.
PDC 10: Protecting All Workers, Not “Nearly All” Workers
Intermediate
On completion, the participant will be able to:
- Demonstrate that exposure limits like TLVs and RELs are guidelines intended to be modified by individuals trained in IH to compensate for specific or unusual conditions.
- Identify when adjustments to the original standard are required.
- Develop numerical exposure limits to protect at risk subpopulations such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, sensitized workers, and workers with preexisting medical conditions.
- Adjust existing standards to allow for unusual work schedules, exposure to complex mixtures of chemicals, exposure by different routes, high physical exertion, and changing exposure levels over time.
Developed and taught by practicing IHs just like you, this course
is intended for the practicing hygienist with five or more years of
experience. The handout contains formulas, models, tables, and
examples to guide you as well as a quick reference guide for
hundreds of chemicals.
Hygienists at large workplaces face the challenge of protecting
workers who are sensitized, older, pregnant, or who have
pre-existing health issues. Many workplaces have unusual work
schedules, multiple chemical exposures, unusual physical exertion,
or other routes of exposure such as skin absorption. Under these
conditions rote application of exposure guidelines will not protect
all workers. This course will show hygienists how to adjust exposure
guidelines to ensure the protection of workers for a wide range of
individual susceptibilities or unusual working conditions.
The workers who depend on you will thank you for taking this course.
Instructors: John Elias, MPH, CIH, ROH, CRSP, OHG
Consulting Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and Douglas Wylie, CIH,
ROH, CRSP, OHG Consulting Inc., East St. Paul, Manitoba, Canada.
| A $50 replacement fee will be charged to issue lost documentation including course certificates and letters verifying attendance at PCIH. For full policy information please visit the general information listed at www.PCIH2008.org or contact EduAssistant@aiha.org. |
The PCIH is sponsored by AIHA's Academy of Industrial Hygiene