Safe use of lasers in the building and construction industry
Lasers are commonly used within the Australian construction industry, this article will go over the Safe use of lasers in the building and construction industry.
Lasers are commonly used for alignment, levelling, control and survey tasks for construction work. The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations impose certain requirements in relation to the safe use of laser equipment at the workplace.
The WHS Regulations prohibit the use of laser classes 3B and 4 in construction work.
Laser classes that can be used for construction work are classes 1, 2 and 3A,
3B Laser Levels are (Restricted). Although class 3B (Restricted) lasers can be used for construction work they should not be used in dimly lit work areas.
The table below sets out the system of classification of laser devices and the potential hazards of the laser classes from Australian Standard 2397:1993 – Safe use of lasers in the building and construction industry. Further information on the safe use of lasers for construction work is available in this standard.
| Laser Class | Description |
For use in building and construction industry |
| Class 1 | Safe for use under all conditions of exposure. |
Yes |
| Class 2 | Low-powered lasers that may require some administrative controls but present little hazard (for example, eye protection is usually provided by normal blink and aversion responses). |
Yes, with Administrative Controls |
| Class 3A | These lasers emit higher levels of light and their use requires more stringent engineering and administrative precautions in order to ensure they are not used with optical instruments (for example, a builder’s level or theodolite) which would concentrate the beam so that it would all enter the eye. |
Yes, with Administrative Precautions |
| Class 3B(Restricted) | These lasers operate at the same power levels as Class 3A but have higher levels of irradiance (power density).
These lasers can be used for building or construction applications but should not be used in dimly lit building or construction applications (that is less than approximately 100 lux). |
Yes, with Administrative Precautions and not in a <100 lux environment |
| Class 3B | These lasers emit either invisible or visible radiation potentially hazardous to the eye and skin.
These lasers must not be used for building or construction tasks. |
No |
| Class 4 | These lasers are high-power devices capable of producing diffuse reflections hazardous to the eye. Skin exposure to the direct beam of a Class 4 laser is also hazardous.
These lasers must not be used for building or construction tasks. |
No |
Content based on AS 2397-1993, Section 2.2
- Administrative Controls – Training Procedures, Warning Signs, Barriers and Personal Protection. Some of these should be used when using a class 2 laser.
- Administrative Precautions – Training Procedures, Warning Signs, Barriers and Personal Protection. Must be used when using a class 3A or 3B laser on site.
