Qualitative Fit Testing Device
With the enforcement of annual respirator fit testing for occupational exposure to tuberculosis, there are a large number of employees now requiring annual fit testing and training. National Jewish Health offers a more efficient and cost effective method of fit testing.
Cost Effective Solutions for Fit Testing
National Jewish Health has developed the Qualitative Fit Test Device (QFTD), a unique fit testing device that allows up to 8 people to be fit tested simultaneously - compared to the traditional method of testing one person at a time. In addition, the QFTD reduces the stress of the respirator fit technician's arm by eliminating the manual squeeze bulb. This device was approved by OSHA in May of 2000 and by California OSHA in November of 2000. By using this device, qualitative fit tests can be completed for more than 440 people in one day!
Hi, my name is Christina and I work as the coordinator of the Respiratory Protection Program in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.
Today I would like to share with you details about our revolutionary approach to performing high volume qualitative respirator for testing.
As many of you know, OSHA requires annual respirator fit testing for workers required to use a respirator.
The standard states that these employees using tight fitting respirators must pass an appropriate respirator fit test.
The fit testing ensures that a respirator properly seals to the user's face to protect them from exposure to hazardous substances.
The problem with traditional methods of fit testing is that it is not efficient for busy healthcare environments which have large number of employees requiring annual fit testing.
National Jewish Health conducts over 6,500 fit tests annually for healthcare facilities in Colorado and have used our expertise to develop a system that can fit test groups of people at a time.
Our proprietary equipment, the automatic qualitative fit tester, and the method for qualitative fit testing has been approved by OSHA as well as the California OSHA.
Our fit tester is an automated device that meters out a specific amount of fit test solution per trigger squeeze through a nebulizer device. This delivers a more consistent dosage of fit testing solution aerosol than using the standard squeeze bulb, which is used in the traditional qualitative fit test.
Let me show you how easy it is to fit test a group of individuals with this device. Using the traditional manual squeeze bulb method for respirator fit testing requires
85 squeezes to complete the fit testing of a single worker or 5,400 squeezes and an eight hour day to complete the fit testing of only 64 workers.
This required force and repetition are ergonomic risk factors that will limit the amount of fit testing that can be done by one technician.
In comparison, our automatic qualitative fit tester only requires 17 trigger pulls to complete a single worker's fit test.
That means in an eight hour day, one technician can easily perform over 440 respirator fit tests.
Using our OSHA and CalOSHA approved system, high volume qualitative fit testing is now possible and will allow day to day operations like you would find in a busy health care or industrial setting to be less disruptive and be administered in a much more cost effective manner.
To learn more about how our automatic qualitative fit tester can help you, please call us at
303-398-1539.
Thank you.
To learn more about our service, please call 303.398.1539.