Product category:
Access Systems - Ladders, Trestles and Scaffolding
News Release from: Panasonic Electric Works UK | Subject: Luxlift
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 05 August 2004
How To Maintain High Light Fittings
Safely
Matsushita saw lighting access as a problem a long time ago and developed a system that eliminates the risk of falling when maintaining light fittings -Luxlift lower them to floor level.
Accessing light fittings at high level for cleaning and maintenance can be a costly and more seriously a dangerous task Statistics from the Health and Safety Executive state that in 2001/2002 68 people died and nearly 4,000 others suffered a serious injury as a result of a fall from height in the workplace
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 30 Jun 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury and the second most common cause of major injury to employees, accounting for 15% of all such injuries.
It is essential that light levels be maintained in working and public environments so that day-to-day business can be carried out.
Imagine the situation where a factory does not maintain its light fittings and the production staff cannot see the quality of the product produced or if the escalator areas on the London Underground were in partial darkness.
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Legislation in this area has increased and the Health and Safety Commission has identified 'Falls from Height' as a priority and is working towards meeting new targets for the reduction in injury rates in the workplace.
Matsushita saw lighting access as a problem a long time ago and developed a system that eliminates the risk of falling when maintaining light fittings.
Quite simply, the device, called Luxlift is an electro-mechanical system that once installed in conjunction with a light fitting will lower and raise the fitting to the floor allowing maintenance or cleaning to be carried out by an operative with his feet firmly on the ground.
Cost versus benefit.
Apart from the fact that light fittings are out of reach and are awkward to maintain, every Luxlift application is different.
They have varying numbers of fittings in a very wide variety and shape of buildings each with their own access problems.
To illustrate this consider the following applications: London Underground.
Some London Underground stations require specialist climbers to maintain light fittings especially where there are uneven floors like stairs and escalators or as is often is the case where access is restricted and machinery like cherry pickers cannot enter.
This maintenance can usually only be done outside of opening hours and cannot be sanctioned every time a lamp goes out due to the high cost.
This means that a typical lighting installation will have more fittings than necessary to compensate for the periods where there are dead lamps.
With members of the public and staff safety to consider maintaining the correct level of illumination is essential.
Royal Opera House.
The high atrium in the ROH has a wooden floor that makes access machinery undesirable due to the possible damage that it may cause and in this prestigious situation a dead lamp looks unsightly and a quick way of re-lamping is essential.
Any other means of reaching the fittings that are suspended approximately 12 metres from the floor would not be as quick as lowering the fitting to the ground with a Luxlift.
A member of staff can then carry out re-lamping.
As each installation is different so is the payback time of the cost of purchasing and installing the Luxlifts.
In a new build there is little extra labour charge since new light fittings will be also installed and only the cost of the Luxlifts need to be accounted for.
However, in a retrofit situation in an application where access is already a problem then the costs can be high.
This must be weighed up against the future cost of maintaining the light fittings and consideration should be given to the potential for accidents whilst maintaining the fitting and the consequences of not maintaining them quickly enough should lamps fail.
More and more companies are designing out the risk of injury and realising that safety is paramount.
The Luxlift offers a new dimension to building design and maintenance with its two-pronged assault.
Firstly, the Luxlift enables light fittings to be lowered to the ground for maintenance and secondly, since there is no need to wait for specialist access systems lamps can be replaced immediately.
This means that the level of light designed for the illuminated area is kept as it should be.
In today's litigious climate that means less risk of injury to members of the public and employees.
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