Be seen, be safe
Posted on 11th June 2024
The MSE team likes a challenge. For one of our clients the lack of lighting on this service road was a health and safety concern.
Trailers often parked next to the building so floodlighting mounted directly to the side wall would be blocked.
Our solution was to instal 10 6-metre stanchions with LED floodlight units to project the light over the trailers and cover the road. These provided a perfect spread of light along the service road and staff members were impressed by how much the area and the car park opposite have been improved.
Getting your lighting right
Transit areas and car parks need good lighting to allow pedestrians and vehicles to move around safely. European lighting standards for indoor and outdoor workplaces (EN 12464-1 and EN 12464-2) are helpful.
Your lighting design needs to allow for all sizes of transport from forklift trucks and motorcycles to articulated lorries and trailers. Good lighting also helps people to feel safe at night when they are moving around these areas.
Requirements can vary, depending on the type of space. For example, light surfaces in an indoor car park can help create a reassuring level of light compared to an outdoor car park where brighter lighting might be needed.
Positioning is also important to highlight access ramps and structural features such as columns and beams. Where lighting columns are needed they must be carefully positioned to reduce the risk of a collision.
Entrances, exits, and pay points for indoor car parks need to be well lit to keep pedestrians safe as well as places where vehicles will be stationary at exit barriers or when waiting to join the traffic on a busy road, for example.
Best practices
The requirements for lighting columns can vary and a larger number of lower power lights might be needed in areas used by larger vehicles such as buses or lorries to reduce shadows.
Lighting can be used to highlight entrance and exit points and boundaries and special attention might be needed in areas allocated to family or disabled parking where users might be unpredictable or less mobile.
In indoor spaces wall-mounted fixtures need to be positioned to make sure visibility isn’t affected by parked vehicles. Directing some lighting on to walls can increase its impact and add to the feeling of safety. Emergency lighting will also be needed in case there is a mains power failure.
Photo cells and dimmers can be used to control lighting according to the levels of daylight and movement to help manage energy costs. Long-life efficient luminaires will also help to manage costs and maintenance requirements.
In large outdoor areas it is important to control light levels to prevent light pollution.
Please get in touch to discuss your commercial lighting requirements.
Tagged as: Lighting design, Warehouse lighting
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