Is the Lighting Where You Work Satisfactory?
Guest Post
Workplace safety is a major concern for employers. From hardhats to hi-vis jackets to handrails, protecting employees is not only good business practice – it’s the law. One area of workplace safety that sometimes gets overlooked is lighting.
Adequate lighting is an important part of safety for two reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that performing difficult tasks in the dark is dangerous. Clear lighting of work areas is absolutely essential to prevent accidents. The second reason is less immediately obvious but equally important. Performing tasks that require detail perception in low light can lead to eye strain and visual fatigue. Not only can this lead to accidents later on, but long-term detail work in poor light can result in harm to an employee’s vision.
Given these risks, it’s little wonder that the HSE imposes strict regulations on the levels of lighting appropriate in the workplace. The level of light needed is measured in lux, a standard international unit of "luminous emittance" – or, more simply, the amount of visible light. A typical sitting room light probably generates around 50 lux, while direct sunlight clocks in at over 30,000 lux. The light required for a workplace depends on the nature of the task being performed; as a result, different areas of the same site may have very different lighting requirements.
The lowest level of light permitted in the workplace is 5 lux. This level applies to simple tasks like walking from place to place or unloading supplies. These jobs don’t require any perception of detail and can legally be done in conditions only slightly brighter than twilight — although it should be emphasised that these are minimum requirements.
For most tasks, however, a little more illumination is needed. If there are any potential hazards that need to be avoided, for instance, the minimum illumination for even these simple tasks rises to 20 lux. Once any level of detail perception becomes necessary, no matter how slight, the minimum rises to 50 lux, the typical level of illumination found in the home. Even this level of lighting is only adequate for what the law terms "limited perception of detail". Tasks such as carpet laying or roofing require this level.
The exact level of detail involved in a task is the key to estimating light requirements. HSE rules separate tasks into those requiring limited perception of detail, perception of detail, and perception of fine detail. Each level of detail has its own required illumination: 50 lux for limited, 100 for typical, and 200 for fine detail. Fine-detail tasks include jobs like reading site plans or detailed wiring. In addition, the minimum lighting can vary depending upon other factors, such as the age of the workers involved.
While the difference between these levels of detail can seem hard to measure, the solution is relatively simple. Even the highest level of lighting, 200 lux, is not high compared to most environments. The typical light level in an office building, for instance, is between 300 and 500 lux. When in doubt, lighting work areas to the highest standard eliminates any possibility of lighting being inadequate. Given the relatively low levels of illumination required, illuminating even fine detail work can be simple and affordable.
Activity |
Examples of construction work |
Minimum Brightness in lux |
Average Brightness in Lux |
Movement of people, machines and vehicles |
Driving, general pedestrian movement, unloading equipment or supplies |
5 |
20 |
Movement of people, machines and vehicles in hazardous areas; rough work not requiring any perception of detail |
Less detailed carpentry, concrete pouring. |
20 |
50 |
Work requiring limited perception of detail |
Brink laying, carpet laying, slab levelling, drain laying, roofing, scaffolding. |
50 |
100 |
Work requiring perception of detail |
Electrical work, fine detail carpentry, plumbing, surveying, tiling. |
100 |
200 |
Work requiring perception of fine detail |
Viewing site plans, fine detail electrical work, fine finishing of plastering. |
200 |
500 |
BIO: Rashed is currently guest posting on behalf of national tool and equipment hire supplier HSS Hire who specialise in DIY tools and equipment such as carpet cleaners, dehumidifiers, floor sanders and drills. HSS have additional resources on healthy and safety at work as part of their commitment to helping people hire out safely.
Image reference: http://www.flickr.com/photos/81223571@N00/3055803296/sizes/m/in/photostream/
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