Use the tool and quit smoke school.
Certification
Smoke school is where industry and regulators learn how to read visible emissions, either in person or virtually for opacity compliance.
Visible Emissions Certification. Calibrating the human eye.
At a traditional smoke school opacity training, a smoke generator produces plumes at known opacity values using a transmissometer, and observers read the visible emissions ‘by eye’ with enough accuracy to pass.
Both in person and virtual - visible emissions certifications - need to be recertified every 6 months to ensure their eyes stay calibrated.
Opacity compliance should not be a perishable skill. The recurring certification is what keeps Method 9 Observers calibrated, and it is the cost most facilities notice first.
Configuration Certification
The other route
Instead of calibrating ‘by eye’, DCOT allows Configuration certification where cameras and software are configured to measure visible emission. These are the requirements:
A camera configuration
Tested by four independent users
Across blue sky, trees and heterogeneous backgrounds
Six passing runs within a six-month window
Certification holds three and a half years
A DCOT operator
One 4-hour DOCS II training course, delivered virtually
Certified for as long as they use the DOCS II camera
Both the configuration and the operator must be current on the observation date
SKIP THE SCHOOL.
USE THE TOOL.
For stationary and fugitive sources. We provide every part needed for configuration certification as well as DCOT and Alt-082, in order to make sure your teams results are consistent, reliable, and ready.
DOCS II app for smartphone, with map-based setup
Certified camera configuration, supplied and maintained by us, recertified every 3.5 years through the national smoke school network
Analysis and analyst verification on every observation
The 4-hour DCOT training course ALT-082 requires, delivered virtually
Records export for permit reporting and agency submittal
Certification records and technical support through a proceeding, if a reading is challenged
WHAT WE PROVIDE
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR TEAM
No more smoke school.
Method 9 observer
Every 6 months
Smoke school for every observer, with the travel, the time away from their actual job and the cost. A scheduling gap is a coverage gap.
DOCS II operator
One 4-hour course
Training can be delivered virtually and operators are certified for as long as they use the DOCS II camera.
Train once.
We handle the rest.
Tell us what you operate or regulate, and we'll walk through a real observation end to end — capture, analysis, confirmation, and what you're left holding.