Factory Lighting Tips

Worker Safety

Proper factory lighting is indispensable for ensuring the safety and well-being of workers. Complying with lighting standards for manufacturing set forth by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in the U.S. or the International Organization for Standardization ISO is not just a regulatory requirement; it's crucial for worker safety.

Inadequate or poor-quality lighting can lead to accidents, mishandling of equipment and even long-term health issues like eye strain and fatigue. On the other hand, well-planned, high-quality industrial factory lighting improves visibility, helping workers to navigate the factory floor with ease and execute tasks with precision. Another essential form of illumination at the workplace is emergency lighting, which aids in clearly marking emergency exits and hazardous areas, facilitating quicker response times in critical situations.

Ceiling Height

When deciding on your factory lighting, one of the biggest determining factors for what type and how many factory light fixtures you will need is your facility’s ceiling height. Most factories have higher ceilings than other locations. When measuring ceiling height, be sure to measure the distance from the ceiling to the floor as well as the ceiling to the work plane. In order to anticipate the lumen expectancy of the building, you will need these measurements ready to go.

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Ceiling Height & Fixture Selection

A general rule is that you need one foot-candle per square foot of space, but this depends on other factors as well, such as the amount of accent and natural lighting the area will also receive. To achieve the recommended lumens per square foot, your lighting layout will need to feature the right type of factory light fixtures with ideal spacing between them.

Because the floor and workspace are further away from the light source, taller ceilings require more lumens to light the space adequately. This means installing more powerful fixtures and adjusting how far apart they are to achieve ideal lighting. Factory lights come in many different shapes and sizes, but they can generally be classified into the following categories:

• UFO High Bay Lights
• Linear High Bay Lights
• Vapor Tight High Bay Lights
• Low Bay Lights

High bay lights are designed for use on ceilings ranging from 20-45 feet, which are most often seen in industrial and commercial spaces. Low bay lights are intended for use on ceilings 20 feet and lower, as often seen in retail stores and public buildings.