NIOSH MINING PROGRAM

Milestones in Mining Safety and Health Technology 

Technology

No. 557 

News

March 2017 

EVADE 2.0 Software Helps Identify Hazardous Exposures 
 

Summary 

The EVADE 2.0 software is now 


available from NIOSH as part of the 


Helmet-CAM system to help identify 


hazardous exposures in workplace 


environments. The software synchro­


nizes playback of video clips and data 


from almost any type of data logger 


to allow safety and health personnel 


to identify the tasks, machines, and 


locations associated with high expo­


sures. Armed with this knowledge, 


supervisory personnel can then take 


actions to reduce or eliminate these 


identified exposure sources. 


By Gregory Cole and William Helfrich 

Background 

The ability to log personal exposure via 

data logging monitors has existed for 

some time; however, the data from these 

devices have only revealed the level of 

exposure and not the specific job activity 

and work environment (such as equipment running) at the time of the worker’s 

exposure. Recent advances in video recording technology have allowed for the 

creation of cameras and recording equipment that can be mounted on a helmet 

(as in NIOSH’s Helmet-CAM system) and 

used to record video, running on battery 

power, for an extended period of time. 

Once the user has synchronized the start 

point of the video and exposure data, 

the video time index can be combined 

with the time indexes in the exposure 

log to determine the job activity in which 

This screenshot from the EVADE 2.0 software shows the expanded multi-channel capabilities 

of the program. In this example, three separate video channels have been created and are 

displayed next to their associated exposure plots. 

the worker was engaged at the time an 

exposure took place. The newly updated EVADE 2.0 software, a component 

of NIOSH’s Helmet-CAM system, is the 

first software that enables users to easily 

combine video and logged exposure 

data, allowing them to quickly fi nd specific occurrences of high exposure in their 

workplace. 

Software Development 

The goal of researchers from the National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH) Mining Program was to 

develop software that enables quick 

searching, playback, and simultaneous 

analysis of the logged video and exposure data in order to identify not only the 

times of high exposure but the specifi c 

job activities in which workers were 

engaged. Based on the success of the 

EVADE 1.0 software and feedback from 

the EVADE user community, the functionality and capabilities have been expanded to make a more generic and more 

powerful tool. The EVADE 2.0 software 

now allows for the playback of any video 

stream against any logged data stream, 

and can import log files for analysis from 

almost any type of data logging monitor and video from almost any type of 

digital camera. Once the data and video 
A NIOSH researcher reviews an EVADE project with a mine worker. An area of interest on the 

exposure chart is identified and the video window helps isolate the activity where the 

exposure occurred. 

are imported and synchronized by the user, the software 

presents a video playback window (or windows) and a graph 

of exposure amounts from a single or multiple log fi les. Users 

can quickly zoom in or out of a graph to a specific segment of 

interest or the graph can be viewed in its entirety. As the user 

plays the video or navigates to a specific location, the software 

automatically keeps the positions in the graphs and videos 

continuously in sync, allowing the user to quickly view and analyze high-exposure occurrences. In addition to being able to 

search through the logged video and exposure data, the user 

can modify a graph’s vertical scale and add threshold lines to 

quickly identify when the exposure exceeded a specifi c value. 

As these high-exposure occurrences are found, bookmarks can 

be created to keep track of them, enabling quick navigation 

between them. The data and video can span the length of time 

needed to perform a specific task or can cover a portion of a 

shift (normally 2–4 hours), depending on the needs of the user. 

Technical Details and Requirements 

The video playback system used in the EVADE 2.0 software 

allows for the viewing of virtually any video that the user’s system can play back as long as the appropriate codec is installed. 

The video codec is typically either already available on the 

user’s computer or is provided by the camera manufacturer. 

A wide variety of cameras will work with 

the EVADE 2.0 software, allowing users to 

select one that is the most appropriate to 

their video recording needs. The EVADE 

2.0 software was built to handle log fi les 

of long duration (8 hours or longer) and 

to graph the resulting data without causing aliasing even when displaying the 

graph for the entire log file. This prevents 

short-term spikes in the exposure data 

from being hidden when a large time 

period is viewed. The maximum duration 

of the time recorded is generally only 

limited by the camera’s file size capacity 

and the battery life of the camera. 

Additional features for version 2.0 

include an expanded project editor that 

allows for the creation of multiple video 

channels and multiple logged data channels. This allows for multiple cameras 

and/or multiple data logging monitors 

to be used, and viewed, in a single study. 

Two examples of this would be a single 

worker simultaneously monitored for both dust and noise 

exposure or two workers involved in the same task, with both 

wearing the same type of monitor for comparison. There is also 

a new capability to create and add custom data importer and 

analysis functions without the need to recompile and redeploy 

the program. These functions can be added to EVADE 2.0 to 

address proprietary or task-specific needs and can, optionally, 

be shared back to the greater EVADE user community. 

To Obtain the EVADE Software 

The EVADE 2.0 software is now available for download from 

the NIOSH Mining website at www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/ 

works/coversheet1867.html. 

Next Steps 

Efforts will continue to disseminate EVADE 2.0 and the Helmet-CAM technology to industry. This will include creating 

some instructional videos demonstrating the basic functions 

and application. The NIOSH Mining Program also hopes to vet 

and make available to the EVADE user community any custom 

importer or analysis plugins submitted for sharing by EVADE 

users. 

For More Information 

For more information on EVADE 2.0, contact Gregory Cole (gpcole@cdc.gov), William Helfrich (whelfrich@cdc.gov) or the NIOSH Mining 

program (mining@cdc.gov). 

To receive NIOSH documents or for more information about occupational safety and health topics, 

contact: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636), 1-888-232-6348 (TTY), or request information at the 

CDC website at www.cdc.gov/info, or visit the NIOSH website at www.cdc.gov/niosh. 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2017–138