Adoption of LED lighting may reduce industrial accidents
Published on : Wednesday 05-08-2020
Upgrading to modern industrial LED lighting improves plant safety and saves money.
Safety is the number one priority in facilities across all segments of the manufacturing industry. Every year, companies invest millions of dollars in equipment upgrades and safety programs aimed at preventing injuries and lost time accidents by increasing awareness of risks and incentivizing safe work practices.
Yet still, an average of over 477,000 injuries and 328 fatalities occur in manufacturing plants across the U.S. each year. These incidents not only have a devastating impact on employees and their families, but also on the company’s reputation, recruiting/hiring efforts, and profitability. In fact, workplace injuries and deaths have cost U.S. manufacturers $170.4 billion over the last 10 years.
Aiming to improve plant safety, many companies have found that upgrading facility lighting to modern, high-efficiency industrial LED fixtures can have a major impact on lowering the risk and incidents of workplace accidents. Here’s how state-of-the-art LED lighting can improve safety.
A brighter work environment improves visibility – Poor visibility is the leading cause of slip, trip, and fall hazards and contact with moving objects—some of the biggest risks in any facility. With so many distractions, like excessive noise that forces workers to rely on visual information, it’s hard to keep an eye out for these kinds of risks. Adding to the problem, conventional high-pressure sodium fixtures create a dark, drab atmosphere that makes it difficult for workers to spot hazards around them. LED fixtures, on the other hand, produce bright, white, uniform light that improves visibility, helps workers spot hazards, and stay out of harm’s way.
LEDs can combat fatigue and improve alertness – Fatigue is a major risk for workers, especially those who work the night shift or a rotating schedule. When workers are tired, they’re less perceptive and have slower reaction times, which makes them less able to spot and avoid hazards on the job. The bright daylight-like quality of LED lighting has proven to encourage alertness and reduce fatigue by 5X compared to HPS, to help staff feel more awake and aware of their surroundings. In fact, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recommends bright white lighting to combat worker fatigue and reduce accident risk.
LED fixtures contain no hazardous materials – Did you know that a single HPS bulb contains enough mercury to poison an entire classroom of children? Even fluorescent bulbs contain toxic levels of mercury, phosphorous, and other rare earth minerals. And, of course, when HPS or fluorescent bulbs are broken (which happens frequently, especially during maintenance), those hazardous materials are released into the air, exposing everyone in the vicinity. Switching to LED lighting fixtures is a much safer alternative because LEDs contain zero hazardous materials. This not only makes for a safer environment inside the facility by eliminating the risk of exposure but outside as well by eliminating these pollutants from the earth’s atmosphere.
Improving facility safety should be a top priority for every industrial manufacturer, and making do with mediocre, antiquated lighting could be putting employees at unnecessary risk. Upgrading to modern, high-efficiency, industrial-grade LED lighting is a worthwhile investment that can lower the risk of accidents, injuries, and even fatalities inside the plant, and save money in the long run.