Outdoor lights for staff safety

outdoor lights for staff safety

Lighting affects our working lives in several ways. It has a major effect on our health and mental welfare and may protect life and limb in dangerous manual jobs. At either end of a working day employees enter or leave a workplace. It’s essential they’re able to do this without risk of accident or physical threat. Outdoor lights for staff safety deserve close attention. This article points you towards specific products to help keep employees safe.

Outdoor car parks

Take a closer look at the 400w metal halide floodlightEuropean Standard 12464-2 gives useful advice on car park lighting. It recommends surface illuminance of at least 5 lux for car parks with low traffic and 20 lux for busy parking zones. The size of the car park will influence your lighting choice. A light mounted high up covers more ground and avoids glare, but it needs to emit more light to maintain intensity. The distance covered by a floodlight is roughly twice its mounting height.

The Dextra 400W Metal Halide Floodlight suits a high mounting position. This fitting produces far more light than a 400W halogen equivalent. Good-quality colour rendering makes car recognition easier and aids crime detection. Our choice of metal halide floodlights caters for many applications.

For large areas of lighting, there is the Dextra 400W SON Floodlight. This floodlight is energy efficient and throws out even more light than the 400W metal halide lamp, but its colour rendering is poorer. Nonetheless, it allows some colour recognition and is suitable for many outdoor purposes.

Covered car parks

Take a closer look at the IP65 T8 Weathrproof Fluorescent - Twin 6ftCovered car parks have different lighting needs to open parking spaces. They are trickier to navigate, and their hemmed-in nature causes a sense of unease if poorly lit. The psychological effect of lighting is important; staff should feel safe as well as being as safe as possible. Suggested lux levels are 75 lux for driving lanes, entrances, exits and parking bays; a minimum 100 lux for pedestrian areas; and 150 lux for ramps, corners, and junctions.

A good choice for covered car parks is the Eterna IP65 T8 Weatherproof Fluorescent Batten. This inexpensive light source is dust-tight and resistant to jets of water. LED substitutes for fluorescent tubes last longer and are 30-40% more energy efficient. The Robus Vulcan LED Batten is an example. These lights are ideal for tunnels or sheltered paths, too.

Paths

Paths need good lighting for the safety and security of staff. An illuminance level of between 5 and 20 lux is recommended. The Eterna Outdoor Wall Light includes a photocell to trigger light at dusk and is suitable for a path alongside a building. The eye-lid design helps to reduce glare and protect visibility.

Take a closer look at Well Corner Light - BlackAny obstacle or change of direction along a path demands good lighting. Adequate corner lighting helps prevent accidents. The Eterna Well Corner Light comes with a special mount to allow this. It is wise to keep building extremities amply lit for reasons of personal security, especially when publicly accessible.

For brick buildings, a discreet way of lighting adjoining paths is with brick lights such as the JCC Fresco Low Energy Brick Light. This ensures enough lighting at ground level while also cutting out glare.

Post lights such as the modern Edit Detroit LED Post allow safe passage along isolated paths. Floodlights are useful for lighting large outside spaces and provide a safe environment for all employees and visitors.

Bike sheds

Fluorescent tubes are fine in bike sheds, but the Eterna 11W IP65 LED Bulkhead also satisfies. This compact fitting has a built-in photocell to trigger light automatically at dusk.

Security Camera

Security cameras deters criminals by capturing, relaying and saving video footage. You can remotely access cameras through a computer, tablet or smartphone. Lyco sells a wide range of security camera to keep your business and employees safe.

Lux measurement

Lux is a unit of illumination equal to one lumen of light spread evenly over a 1m² surface. It measures light intensity at the surface plane. As the distance of a lamp increases, so does the surface area that it lights, while light intensity (lux) decreases.

There are various light calculators available on the Internet, but a lux meter offers a cheap and reliable means of ensuring sufficient light for any application inside or outside a workplace.

Further info

For advice on related topics, please look at our security lighting feature. Our outdoor light buying guide may also be helpful.

For more useful information and advice please take a look at our Lighting Advice section.

andrew-author-bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.