WebRad User Manual

Table of Contents

 

1. Flow Chart

This flow chart shows the general flow of data in WebRad.  This provides a visual representation of the order in which data can be entered.

For the most part, each node in the flow chart corresponds to a single page in WebRad.  One exception to this is "Calculated Readings Entry", which consists of "LLRD Entry By Assayed Filter Method" and the general "Calculated Readings" page.

The "Post?" decision blocks should generally be answered all yes, or all no.  It is possible to start out posting data, and then stop posting subsequent data, however, data based on unposted data will not to postable.  For more information on posting, see section 11.

2. Overview

The main function of WebRad is to record radiation levels and personal doses in a systematic and traceable manner. Among other things, WebRad keeps track of which equipment was used to take the measurement and in which location the measurement was taken. To ensure that only valid locations and equipment are stored with the monitoring results, these parameters are selected from drop down lists.

Before we can enter the actual radiation data, we have to enter the parameters that will show up in the dropdown boxes. This includes information on the following:

In order to calculate personal exposures, we also have to tell the program how the exposure is to be calculated. 

3. General Navigation

WebRad's main navigation is done via the menu bar.  The user can mouse over the various categories to view the sub categories within it and from there click on the page they want.  Alternatively, clicking on a main category will bring you to a map of all pages within that category.

4. Location Setup

4.1 Location Information Structure

WebRad supports three levels of physical location information: Site, Sampling Area, and Location.

"Site" is the most general. Typical Sites would be "Mine", "Mill"...

"Location" is the most specific. It specfies the location where a measurement was taken. For example the face of a particular heading would be a "Location".

"Sampling Areas" are typically less specific than Locations and more specific than Sites. In other words, there would be several Locations in an Area and there are several Sampling Areas on a Site. In some circumstances, however, an Area could consist of only one Location. Or, an Area could consist of the entire Site. An example of Sampling Area could be one level in a mine.

The Site and Sampling Areas are used for generating summary reports, showing the number of readings taken during a particular time period and their average and maxima. Customers who are not interested in this type of summary reporting can just enter one Site and one Sampling Area and call it a generic name, such as "General". 

4.2 Setting up Location Information

4.2.1 Entering Sites

Set up your list of Sites first by: Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Sites", go over and click on the "Sites" link. Click on "New Site". Enter the Site name and make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" sites show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new site now shows up in the grid view. 

The grid view below the form allows you to Edit and Delete previous entries. However, it will not allow you to delete a Site against which other data has been recorded. If we try to delete "UG", we get the following error message, because we have Sampling Areas within the UG. To delete the UG, we have to first clean up any data that depends on UG.

Instead of deleting UG, we could simply make it inactive (uncheck the "Active" button). This just makes the UG unavailable for future data entry, but does not affect the integrity of the existing data.

4.2.2 Entering Sampling Areas

Next, set up your "Sampling Areas".  Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Sites", go over and click on the "Sampling Areas" link.  Click on "New Sampling Area". Enter the Sampling Area name and select which site it belongs to from the drop-down box.  Make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" Sampling Areas show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new Sampling Area now shows up in the grid view. 

In the example below, we have chosen to treat the entire pit as one Sampling Area and not to subdivide it further.

Note that WebRad can be used to track both area and personal samples, as shown below. 

4.2.3 Entering Locations

Next, set up your "Locations".  Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Sites", go over and click on the "Locations" link. Click on "New Location". Enter the Location name and select which Sampling Area it belongs to from the drop-down box. Make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" Locations show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new Location now shows up in the grid view. 

Again, we can add personal sample "Locations":

5. Equipment Setup

5.1 Equipment Information Structure

WebRad contains lists of the Radiation Equipment on site, the Types of Equipment (AlphaCounters, Gamma Meters, Pumps ...), the Calibration Dates, and Equipment Parameters Types (Efficiency, Flow Rate...), and the Equipment Parameter Values.

5.2 Setting up Equipment Information

5.2.1 Entering Equipment Types

Set up your list of Equipment Types first by mousing over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Equipment", go over and click on the "Add Equipment Type" link. Click on "New Equipment Type". Enter the Equipment Type and make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" types show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new type now shows up in the grid view.

5.2.2 Entering Equipment

Next, set up your "Equipment" list. Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Equipment", go over and click on the "Add Equipment" link. Click on "New Equimpent". Enter the Make/Model and Serial Number. Select the Equipment Type from the drop-down. Make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" Equipment show up in drop-down menus.) Give the Equipment a simple name. This is the name that is commonly used for this piece of equipment on your site. For example, you may have a TM372 Alpha Counter manufactured by Environmental Instruments Canada Inc. with serial number 213, but you may just want to refer to it as "TM#1". You can also specify calibration and operational check frequencies, in days between calibrations. (This is optional and is not needed for entering sampling data.) Click on "Insert". The new Equipment now shows up in the grid view. 

5.2.3 Entering Parameter Names

Next, set up your "Parameter Names". This is optional. The required parameter names for entering radon progeny and LLRD data are included in your database by default. Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Equipment", go over and click on the "Add Parameter Names" link. Click on "New Parameter Name". Enter the Parameter name and make sure the "Active" check box is checked. Click on "Insert". The new Parameter Name now shows up in the grid view. 

5.2.4 Entering Parameter Values

Next, set up your "Parameter Values". Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Equipment", go over and click on the "Parameter Values" link. Click on "New Parameter Value". Select the Equipment Name and Parameter Name from the drop down boxes and enter the parameter value. Select the date the parameter was established. For example, if you are entering a pump flow rate, enter the date that it was measured. The program uses the lates value in drop-down boxes. Click on "Insert". The new Parameter Value now shows up in the grid view. 

5.2.5 Entering Calibrations

At any time, calibrations can be logged for equipment. Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Equipment", go over and click on the "Calibrations" link. Click on "New Calibration Data". Select the Equipment Name from the drop down box and enter the name of the person or company who has done the calibration in the "Done By" box.  By default the current date will be selected for the calibration date, this can be manually changed.  The next calibration due date will automatically be set to the number of days specified by the selected equipment's Calibration Frequency after the calibration date. 

6. Contaminants Setup

6.1 Contaminant Information Structure

WebRad not only contains a number of contaminants already entered, but allows users to enter their own contaminants.  These user entered contaminants can have Direct Entry Readings (area readings) and Personal Readings entered for them.  They can also have exposure calculations performed based on one of these two types of readings.

6.2 Setting Up Contaminant Information

6.2.1 Entering Contaminants

Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Contaminants", go over and click on the "Contaminants" link.  Click on "New Contaminant".

Enter the name of the contaminant and the primary unit.  This is the unit which Direct Entry Readings will be entered in.

Alternate units, dose rate units, alternate exposure units and their respective conversion factors currently perform no function in the database, but are included to facilitate enhanced functionality in the future.

Enter the exposure unit and conversion factor.  This is the unit that Personal Dosimetry Readings will be entered in.  It will be also be used to calculate personal exposures following the formula:

Exposure = Area Reading Value * Hours * Exposure Conversion Factor

Enter the effective dose unit and conversion factor.  The same effective dose unit should be used for all contaminants, by default this is mSv.  The dose conversion factor is used to calculate dose from exposure by the formula:

Effictive Dose = Exposure * Dose Conversion Factor

Check the "Use Personal Exposure Readings instead of Dosimetry Area Calculations for Exposure" if you want to enter Personal Dosimetry Readings and have them used for exposure calculations.  Leave it unchecked if you want personal exposures to be calculated based on area monitoring and occupancy time information.

Choose the Scheme that this contaminant will be in.  Make sure that the "Active" check box is checked.

6.2.2 Entering Direct Entry Methods

Direct Entry Methods allow contaminant concentration to be entered into the database using the contaminants "primary unit".  For example, if you set up radon gas as a contaminant and defined its primary unit as Bq/m^3, then the Direct Entry Method will ask you to enter radon gas concentrations in Bq/m^3.  Other data entry screens can be built, which convert between the units displayed on a particular instrument and the contaminant's primary unit.  However, this process is more complicated.

 To add a new Direct Entry Method, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Contaminants", go over and click on the "Add Direct Entry Method" link.  Click on "New Direct Entry Method".

Enter a name and choose the contaminant from the drop down box.  This name is what will appear in the drop down box on the "Direct Entry Readings" page, so make sure it is clear what contaminant it is refering to.

6.2.3 Entering Calculated Entry Methods

Calculated Entry Methods allow contaminant concentrations to be calculated and stored based on an associated equation.  In order for this to work, the equation used to calculate the contaminant concentration must be able to follow the standard calculated readings equation:

Value = (Constant * (A - B) * C * P1) / (P2 * P3 * P4 * P5)

In this equation, A, B and C are calculation configuration values.  This can include counts, background or any user added value desired.  When entering data, the user will be prompted to manually enter the readings for these values.  If not used, A and C will default to 1, and B will default to 0.

P1 through P5 are equipment parameter values.  When used, they will have an associated equipment type (filter, pump, alpha counter) and parameter name (efficiency, flow rate, self absorption factor).  When entering data, the user will choose a piece of equipment of the appropriate type, then the appropriate parameter will be filled in automatically based on the choosen parameter name (ie. if the equipment type is pump and the parameter name is flow rate, then once the user selects a pump from the list, the latest flow rate parameter for that pump will be filled in and used in the equation).  If any parameters are not used, then their value in the equation will default to 1.

To add a new Calculated Entry Method, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Contaminants", go over and click on the "Add Calculated Entry Method" link.

Enter a method name which will make it clear what contaminant and type of calculation this method refers to.

Select the associated contaminant from the drop down list.

Enter the value of the constant that will be used in the equation.

Choose calc config values for A, B, and C.  If any of these three are not needed, then choose "None" from the drop down list.

Choose an equipment type and parameter name for any necessary parameters from P1 to P5.  If any of the parameters are not needed, choose "None" for the equipment type.  If the parameter name is left as "Other" then the parameter value will need to be manually entered instead of automatically being populated.

Make sure that active is checked, enter any comments, then click the submit button.

6.2.4 Entering Calculation Configuration Values

Calculation Configuration values are the names of values which are manually entered for calculated readings.  By default this includes counts and background, but could be any value necessary for the readings calculations.

To add a new Calculated Entry Method, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Contaminants", go over and click on the "Calculation Configuration" link.  Click on "New Calculation Configuration Value".

Enter the desired configuration parameter name.  Make sure the active check box is checked, and enter any comments.  Click the insert button.

6.3 Contaminants Concentration Readings Entry Structure

WebRad can be configured to keep track of any number of contaminants. Here, we describe how to enter the preconfigured LLRD and Radon Progeny entries as well as user added contaminant entries.

6.4 Entering LLRD By Assayed Filter Method

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "LLRD Entry" link.  Select the type of dust.  Enter a sample number (if applicable). Select the Sample Location from the drop-down box. Select the Sample Type. If the sample is to be used to calculate personal dust exposures, select "Routine Dosimetry" or "Non-Routine Dosimetry". If the sample was taken for monitoring purposes only and is not to be used in dose calculations, select "Routine Engineering" or "Non-Routine Engineering". 

Select any special Project or Purpose (if any) with which the sample is associated.

Enter how long the sample pump was running, in minutes, and select which pump was used. The program will automatically find the most recent flow rate of the pump. The user can change this value.

Enter the activity on the filter in Bq and the airborne dust concentration in Bq/m3 will be calculated, once you leave the field. The user can not overwrite this calculated value. 

Enter the date and time of the sample. Today's date is shown by default and the user has to enter the time in 24 hour format. Enter the assay date (if applicable). 

Once you hit "Submit", your data is saved and the form re-loads with the same values. This is intended to save some typing. Only hit "Submit" once, otherwise the same entry will show up in the database twice. At the end of a data entry session, you should read through the data in the grid view and delete any inadvertent duplicates. 

6.5 Entering Radon Progeny By Direct Entry Method

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Direct Entry Readings" link.  Select "Radon Progeny Direct Entry" from the "Select Method to use" drop down box. Enter the radon progeny concentration in WL in the "Value" field. 

Select the Sample Location from the drop-down box. Select the Sample Type. If the sample is to be used to calculate personal exposures, select "Routine Dosimetry" or "Non-Routine Dosimetry". If the sample was taken for monitoring purposes only and is not to be used in dose calculations, select "Routine Engineering" or "Non-Routine Engineering".

Enter the date and time (in 24 hour format) of the reading and any comments and hit "Submit" to store the data. The new entry, complete with calculated WL, now shows up in the grid view.

6.6 Entering User Added Contaminant Readings By Direct Entry Method

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Direct Entry Readings" link.  Select select the name of the Direct Entry Method you have added for the desired contaminant from the "Select Method to use" drop down box. Enter the reading value in the "Value" field.  The unit of this value should automatically appear when the Method is selected. 

Select the Sample Location from the drop-down box. Select the Sample Type. If the sample is to be used to calculate personal exposures, select "Routine Dosimetry" or "Non-Routine Dosimetry". If the sample was taken for monitoring purposes only and is not to be used in dose calculations, select "Routine Engineering" or "Non-Routine Engineering".

Enter the date and time (in 24 hour format) of the reading and any comments and hit "Submit" to store the data.

6.7 Entering User Added Calculated Readings

Once a calculated method has been created, it can be used to enter calculated readings.  Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Calculated Readings" link.

Select select the name of the desired method from the "Select Method to use" drop down box.  Once a method has been chosen, the equation for that method will be displayed.

Select the Location, Project/Purpose, and Sample Type.  Enter the Sampling Date and time.

Enter a value for A, B, and C.  Each of these should say what they represent next to them.  Any that are not used will be greyed out, and not be able to have data entered for it.

Any of P1 to P5 which are used for the current method will have a drop down list automatically populated with any equipment of the appropriate type.  Next to these are the corresponding parameter names and their values.  When a piece of equipment is chosen, its associated parameter will automatically be filled in with the latest value from the "Parameters" table.  This can be overwritten or manually entered if the parameter is not stored in the "Parameters" table.

Once all this data has been entered, the calculated value can be previewed by clicking the "Preview Result" button.  If this value looks reasonable, then click "Submit" to store the calculated reading.

7. Employee Setup

7.1 Entering Employers

Licensees are required to monitor the radiation exposure of not only their own employees, but also of any contractors that are on site.  This screen allows you to set up the various employers on your site.

Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Employees", go over and click on the "Employers" link. Click on "New Employer". Enter the Employer's name and make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" employers show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new employer now shows up in the grid view. 

7.2 Entering Employee Groups

Employee Groups are arbitrary groupings that are only used for summarizing exposure results. 

Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Employees", go over and click on the "Employee Groups" link. Click on "New Employee Group". Enter the group's name and make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" groups show up in drop-down menus.) Click on "Insert". The new group now shows up in the grid view. If no special grouping is required, just set up one group called "All Workers".

7.3 Entering New Employees

Mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Employees", go over and click on the "Employees" link. Click on "New Employee". Enter the employee's first and last name. A default "Display Name" is generated automatically. However, the user can edit the "Display Name" after inserting the employee. The Display Name should be unique. All data is entered and displayed by "Display Name". 

WebRad only needs the Display Name to run. The rest of the demographic information may be required by the dose registry of the host county.

Make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" employees show up in drop-down menus.) Click "Insert". 

8. Time Card Setup

8.1 Entering Exposure Calculation Schemes

Time card information is entered so that personal exposures can be calculated. First, we have to tell WebRad the rules for calculating exposures. By default, WebRad is set up to handle two different calculation "Schemes": Area Monitoring and Task Monitoring. When Area Monitoring is used, the underlying assumption is that people working in the same area are exposed to the same contaminant concentration. For Task Monitoring,  the underlying assumption is that people performing the same task are exposed to the same contaminant concentration.

One calculation scheme can be used for several contaminants. For example, radon progeny, thoron progeny and radon gas exposures might all be calculated with the default Area Monitoring scheme. 

To add a new Scheme, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Schemes", go over and click on the "Schemes" link. Click on "New Scheme". Enter the scheme name and description. Make sure the "Active" check box is checked. (Only "Active" schemes show up in drop-down menus.) Click "Insert".

8.2 Entering Dosimetry Areas

Workers log their time against "Dosimetry Areas". The amount of time spent in a Dosimetry Area is multiplied by the average contaminant concentration to arrive at an exposure value. The "Dosimetry Areas" should not be confused with "Sampling Areas". Both Dosimetry Areas and Sampling Areas contain "Locations". However, there are significant differences:

One "Location" is usually only a member of one "Sampling Area". That means "Sampling Areas" are mutually exclusive. However, that same "Location" can be a part of several "Dosimetry Areas". For example, the Location "Bottom of Ramp" is in "Sampling Area" "Pit Area". A loader operator would log his time in the "Dosimetry Area" "Pit", while a radiation technician would log his time as "Site Average". Both of these Dosimetry Areas would contain the "Bottom of Ramp" Location.

To add a new Dosimetry Area, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Schemes", go over and click on the "Dosimetry Areas" link. Click on "New Dosimetry Area". Type the name of the Dosimetry Area and select the time grid:

Where contaminant concentrations are potentially high and where there are large swings in values over time, as is sometimes the case for radon progeny in UG uranium mines, the daily grid should be used. In that case, the workers' time is matched to the contaminant concentration on a daily basis. 

For contaminants where the concentration is not expected to be very time dependent, larger grid values are used. Long-Lived Radioactive Dust exposures are sometimes assigned based on the average readings during the quarter. Using a lager time grid reduces the effect of unrepresentative samples and measurement error. It can also reduce time card data entry.

Usually, only one time grid is used for any scheme. However, WebRad can handle different time grids used with the same scheme. For example, you could have a monthly radon progeny area monitoring program for a uranium mill, but a daily one for the underground mine.

Select the appropriate calculation Scheme, make sure the "Active" check box is checked and hit "Insert".

8.3 Selecting Dosimetry Area Member Locations

To tell WebRad which locations are members of a particular Dosimetry Area, mouse over "Other Data" on the menu bar, go down to "Schemes", go over and click on the "Dosimetry Area Members" link. Select the Scheme for which you are entering data. For example, if you are entering Dosimetry Areas for radon progeny area monitoring, select "Area Monitoring". Select the Dosimetry Area from the dropdown box and select one of the Locations that is part of the Dosimetry Area. Select the relative weight that location has in the average. If you leave the default of 1, all readings contribute equally to the average. If you have a Dosimetry Area, consisting of two Locations, where workers spend 90% of their time in one location and only 10% of the time in the other, then you should give the first location a relative weight of 9. (An example of this situation might be a heading in an underground mine, where workers spend most of their time at the face, but some time in the access.)

Select the date that the Location became a member of the dosimetry area and a date when it stopped being a member of the dosimetry area. Usually, you would pick a date far in the future for the end date and edit the record, once the Location is no longer a member of the Dosimetry Area.

Click on "Add Location". The form will reload with the same information that you just saved. Select another location to enter as a Dosimetry Area member.

8.4 Entering Timecards

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Time Cards" link.  Select the Scheme for which you are entering data. For example, if you are entering time cards for radon progeny area monitoring, select "Area Monitoring". Select the Dosimetry Area from the dropdown box and select the Employee.

Select the date the employee was in the area and the number of hours spent in the area. Click on "Add Entry".

If you are on a monthly, quarterly or annual time grid, you do not have to enter time for each day. Instead, you can just enter the total number of hours for the month, quarter or year on any day (probably the first) of the month, quarter or year. 

9. Personal Readings

9.1 Personal Readings Information Structure

There are two different methods for exposure information to be entered.  The first is dosimetry area readings, which are entered via the "Direct Entry Readings", "Calculated Readings" and "LLRD Entry" screen.  These readings are used in conjunction with worker time cards to calculate exposures.  The second method is to use personal readings.  Personal readings allow exposure readings to be entered directly for an employee based on either a monthly or quarterly basis.  While dosimetry area readings are calculated at the daily, monthly and quarterly levels of exposure calculations, personal readings are introduced only at the quarterly level.  Each contaminant is configurable as to whether dosimetry area readings or personal readings are used for exposure calculations, though appropriate entry methods must be created to utilise either.

In addition to exposure readings, personal readings can also be used to input any other type of generic employee readings, whether based on a contaminant or not.

9.2 Entering TLD Readings

Before TLD Readings are entered, the employee and employer information should already be entered.

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Personal Readings" link.  From the Method list choose "TLD Entry".

Next choose an employer, this will automatically populate the employee list with all employees associated with that employer.  After selecting an employee, choose the reporting type to be used.  Both monthly and quarterly TLD entries can be used, and will be included in the quarterly exposure calculation.

Enter the rest of the TLD report information, note that the dose units are mSv.  Choose the method for the doses.  Actual value means that the value came directly from a TLD report, while estimated means that the actual dose value is unknown and an estimate is being used.

The start and end dates represent the date range that the employee was issued the TLD, this is not used for exposure calculations and is just present for your records.

TLD Status indicates whether the TLD for the current record is the original assigned to the employee, or a replacement.

Enter any comments, and click the "Submit" button.

9.3 Uranium Bioassay

Before Uranium Bioassay readings are entered, the employee and employer information should already be entered.  Note that these entries are for reference and reporting purposes only, and are not used for any exposure calculations.

Mouse over "Routine Data" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Personal Readings" link.  From the Method list choose "Uranium Bioassay".

Next choose an employer, this will automatically populate the employee list with all employees associated with that employer.  After selecting an employee, choose the reporting type to be used.  Both monthly and quarterly entries can be used.

If necessary, enter the name of the equipment used, otherwise, leave the equipment box blank.

Enter the employees uramium reading in µg/L.  Choose the method for the reading.  Actual value means that the value came directly from a uramium bioassay report, while estimated means that the actual value is unknown and an estimate is being used.

Enter the sampling and assay dates for the reading

The Sample entry indicates if the reading is an original sample, or a re-sample.

Enter any comments, and click the "Submit" button.

10. Exposures

10.1 Exposures Overview

Exposure calculations are broken into four stages:

The general idea behind exposure calculations is that they should be performed twice.  The first time using unposted data, and then the second, posting all data as you go along.  The reason for this is so that the first time through you can check the data to make sure that it seems reasonable at each stage of calculation.  If there are problems with it, then you can go back and fix the entered data that the exposures are based on.  Once this has been done, then the next time you perform the calculations is for finalized exposure values.

10.2 Initial Exposure Calculations

The following is the procedure that should be followed for performing initial employee exposure calculations

10.2.1 Calculating Dosimetry Area Readings

Before calculating the final Dosimetry Area Readings, all desired Dosimetry Areas and Contaminants should be added to your Schemes, and all Dosimetry Area Member Locations should be added to these Dosimetry Areas.  Also, all Contaminant readings for the given month, quarter or year (depending on the Dosimetry Areas in the Scheme) should be entered. 

Note: Preliminary calculations can be performed before all readings data is present, but should be repeated after all the data is entered.

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Dosimetry Area Readings" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant you wish to calculate Dosimetry Area Readings for.  Check whether you want to perform calculations based on all readings, or just posted readings.

Click the "Calculate Values" button and wait for the calculated values to appear in the grid below.

Calculations are performed sequentially for each Dosimetry Area that is part of the same Scheme as the selected Contaminant.  The type of calculation performed depends whether the specified time grid for the Dosimetry Area is daily, monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Calculations can be performed again any time so that new readings will be taken into account.  The new results will overwrite any old results which have not been posted.

Note that the method not only keeps track of whether the entered value is calculated or a manual user overwrite, but also whether a zero value is truely zero or is actually a null.  A null will occur when no readings are present in one of the Dosimetry Area's associated member locations over the applicable time frame.  A non null zero merely indicates that readings do exist, but their value is truely zero.  If nulls do occur, this probably indicates that the entered contaminant readings are insufficient, and there should be contaminant readings entered for that Dosimetry Area.

Data should be reviewed to make sure that it all seems reasonable before proceeding the the next step of exposure calculations.

10.2.2 Calculating Daily Personal Exposure

Before calculating Daily Personal Exposure, make sure that the Dosimetry Area Readings calculations have been performed.  Also, all employee Time Card entries for the month should be entered.

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Daily Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant you wish to calculate Daily Personal Exposures for.  Choose the employee group which you want to perform calculations for, or choose "All Groups" to perform calculations for all employee groups at once.  Check whether you want to perform calculations based on all data, or just posted data.

Click the "Calculate Values" button and wait for the calculated values to appear in the grid below.

If there are no Time Card entries for an employee during any given day of the month for a Dosimetry Area that is part of your selected Contaminant's Scheme, then there will not be an entry made for them on that day.

If an exposure is based on a null Dosimetry Area Reading, then this will be kept track of by the Method being "Calculated Null".

10.2.3 Calculating Monthly Personal Exposure

Before calculating Monthly Personal Exposure, make sure that the Daily Personal Exposure calculations have been performed.

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Monthly Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant you wish to calculate Monthly Personal Exposures for.  Choose the employee group which you want to perform calculations for, or choose "All Groups" to perform calculations for all employee groups at once.  Check whether you want to perform calculations based on all data, or just posted data.

Click the "Calculate Values" button and wait for the calculated values to appear in the grid below.

If there are no Daily Personal Exposure entries for an employee for any day of the month in any Dosimetry Area that is part of your selected Contaminant's Scheme, then there will not be an entry made for them in that month.

If an exposure is based on a null Daily Personal Exposure, then this will be kept track of by the Method being "Calculated Null".

10.2.4 Calculating Quarterly Personal Exposure

Before calculating Quarterly Personal Exposure, make sure that the Monthly Personal Exposure calculations have been performed.  If you are doing Quarterly calculations for gamma, then also make sure that all TLD Readings for that Quarter (or the months in that quarter) have been entered.  The same goes for any other contaminants for which you are using Personal Readings for exposures.

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Quarterly Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the quarter, year and contaminant you wish to calculate Quarterly Personal Exposures for.  Choose the employee group which you want to perform calculations for, or choose "All Groups" to perform calculations for all employee groups at once.  Check whether you want to perform calculations based on all data, or just posted data.

Click the "Calculate Values" button and wait for the calculated values to appear in the grid below.

If there are no Monthly Personal Exposure entries for an employee for any month in the quarter, (or no Personal Readings for contaminants configured to use them) then there will not be an entry made for them in that quarter.

If an exposure is based on a null Monthly Personal Exposure, then this will be kept track of by the Method being "Calculated Null".

11. Posting

11.1 Posting Overview

The concept behind posting is that once data is posted it is finalized.  At this point, the data can only be changed or deleted if it is unposted first, although this should be avoided.  If there is data in subsequent tables that were calculated from this value, then it is up to the user to redo these calculations to reflect the change (for example, if a contaminant reading was edited, then the exposures for that month would need to be recalculated).

11.2 Posting Data and Final Exposure Calculations

Before performing final exposure calculations, all of the data that the calculations are based on must be posted.  The reason for this is that WebRad keeps track of whether exposure data is based only on posted data or not.  Only exposure data that is based on posted data can be posted.  You can tell if exposure data can be posted based on whether its "Method" says that it is "postable".  Raw readings data, on the other hand, can always be posted.

The first step is to post all of the readings data for the contaminants for which you intend to calculate exposures.

11.2.1 Post Contaminant Concentration Readings

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down to "Posting", go over and click on the "Post Readings" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.2 Post Personal Readings

Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down to "Posting", go over and click on the "Post Personal Readings" link.  First select the reporting type of either monthly or quarterly.  Next choose the month/quarter, year and contaminant from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.3 Post Time Cards

 Mouse over "Exposure Calculations" on the menu bar, go down to "Posting", go over and click on the "Post Time Cards" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant from the drop down lists.  Individual time card entries can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed time card entries can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.4 Calculate Dosimetry Area Readings

See section 10.2.1.  Make sure to select "Use Posted Readings".

11.2.5 Post Dosimetry Area Readings

Once the dosimetry area readings have been calculated, their "method" field should indicate that they are now postable.  From the "Dosimetry Area Readings" screen, click the "Post Dosimetry Area Readings" link.  Choose the month, year and contaminant from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.6 Calculate Daily Personal Exposures

See section 10.2.2.  Make sure to select "Use Posted Readings".

11.2.7 Post Daily Personal Exposures

Once the daily personal exposures have been calculated, their "method" field should indicate that they are now postable.  From the "Daily Personal Exposure" screen, click the "Post Daily Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the month, year, contaminant and employee group from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.8 Calculate Monthly Personal Exposures

See section 10.2.3.  Make sure to select "Use Posted Readings".

11.2.9 Post Monthly Personal Exposures

Once the monthly personal exposures have been calculated, their "method" field should indicate that they are now postable.  From the "Monthly Personal Exposure" screen, click the "Post Monthly Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the month, year, contaminant and employee group from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

11.2.10 Calculate Quarterly Personal Exposures

See section 10.2.4.  Make sure to select "Use Posted Readings".

11.2.11 Post Quarterly Personal Exposures

Once the quarterly personal exposures have been calculated, their "method" field should indicate that they are now postable.  From the "Quarterly Personal Exposure" screen, click the "Post Quarterly Personal Exposures" link.  Choose the quarter, year, contaminant and employee group from the drop down lists.  Individual readings can be posted by checking the "Post/Unpost" check box next to them and then clicking "Comfirm Post/Unpost Selections".  Alternatively, all displayed readings can be posted at once by clicking the "Post All" button.

12. Reports

12.1 Quarterly Report

The quarterly report provides summary information of employee exposures during a given quarter as well as year to date effective dose.  The report contains data on gamma, radon progeny and LLRD.  If you have added other contaminants to the database they will not appear on the report, but their effective dose will be factored into the total dose.

A quarterly report can be generated once you have finished calculating your quarterly exposures.  Ordinarily this would not be done until you have finalized and posted your quarterly exposures, although it can be done at any time, and includes both unposted and posted data.

Mouse over "Reporting" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Quarterly Report" link.  Choose the quarter and year you wish to generate the report for from the drop down lists.  The menu bar at the top allows you to move through the pages for multiple page reports.

Note: Only employees who have quarterly exposure data will appear on the list.

 

12.2 Location Report

The location report provides summary information of contaminant readings based on sites, sampling areas and locations.  This data can be used to quickly analyse what locations have high or low readings, or to determine which locations should have readings taken more or less frequently.

Mouse over "Reporting" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Locations Report" link.  Choose the date range you want to view readings over.  By default this will be the first and last day of the current month.

This report takes the form of a drilldown report.  Click the [+] icon next to a site name to view the sampling areas within the site and the [+] icon next to sampling area names to view the locations within the sampling area.

Note: If there are no readings of any contaminant for a location it will not appear on the list.

12.3 Quarterly Exposure Letter

The quarterly exposure letter contains the same information as the quarterly report, but is formatted in the style of a letter that could be distributed to employees to inform them of their effective dose for the quarter.

Mouse over "Reporting" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Exposure Letter" link.  Choose the quarter, year and employee group you wish to generate the exposure letters for from the drop down lists.  Each employee letter will be on  a seperate page.

13. Account Management

13.1 Change Password

To change your password mouse over "Account" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Change Your Password" link.  Re-enter your old password and then choose a new one.

13.2 New User

To add a new user mouse over "Account" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Create a New User" link.  Enter all appropriate data and click "Create User".  A warning will appear if any of the data needs to be changed.

The following are the roles for user accounts:

13.3 Manage Users

To manage your users mouse over "Account" on the menu bar, go down and click on the "Manage Users" link.  From here you can change their role, change whether they are active or not (an inactive user is not deleted, but will not be able to log in), and delete users.