Are you in the dark about how poor lighting in the workplace could be affecting your productivity, your workforce, your environmental impact, and your pocket?
There are a number of issues that can be caused by unsuitable lighting, whether that be in an office, venue, warehouse, or factory.
Here are some of the main considerations.
Lighting for compliance
Regulation 8 of the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992 says that every workplace must have ‘suitable and sufficient’ lighting. This doesn’t give a great deal of detail in terms of what could be considered ‘suitable and sufficient’, but a working explanation is that it should be sufficient for people to work, use facilities and move from place to place safely and without experiencing eye strain.
Lighting to prevent accidents
Poor workplace lighting can pose additional risk to staff and lead to a costly claim if it is established as a proven factor in a workplace accident. It can be attributed as a cause of trips, falls, and other workplace injuries.
If you can’t see hazards clearly, they’re much more likely to become serious problems. Every area in the workplace should be well-lit. This includes outdoor areas such as parking areas and entryways as well as indoor rooms and spaces such as offices, warehouses, store rooms, and more.
Ensuring staff wellbeing
Accidents aren’t the only way lighting can harm your workforce. Eye strain and headaches are the most prevalent and easily-attributed physical effects of poor lighting, but they can also contribute to neck, back, and shoulder strain as people hunch over workstations to see better.
It can also negatively impact mental health. If we spend much of the day in artificial lighting, there is evidence that the lack of natural sunlight has an adverse effect on the body and the mind, and can result in conditions such as depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Enhancing productivity
Lack of visibility due to insufficient lighting can make it much harder for staff to do their job. This can have repercussions on productivity, impeding workflow and adding man-hours that is ultimately costing you money. This was one of the main reasons our client, Forterra, invested in an upgrade of their factory to LEDs. They have since noticed a significant improvement in productivity.
Minimise cost
Diminished productivity isn’t the only way poor lighting could be costing you money. Over the course of a year, more efficient LED lighting could slash energy bills by up to 50 percent.
Here’s a cost comparison illustration of the possible savings following a factory lighting upgrade:
Lower carbon emissions
At a time when companies are being called upon, more than ever, to consider environmental impact in the running of their business, LED lighting can offer a far greener solution. As the comparison graphic above highlights, CO2 emissions can also be drastically reduced with the installation of LED solutions.
Increasingly, business leaders need to prove they are meeting environmental targets to win tenders. It could actually cost you contracts if this isn’t taken into consideration.
If you would like advice on upgrading your workplace lighting to ensure it is safe, energy-efficient, and cost-effective then please give our team at NLT Electrical a call.
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