NOVEMBER 2004

How Many Men Does it Take to Change a Work-lamp Bulb?

 Only one but, if, due to rugged operating conditions, he has to change a bulb every few days, not only does it become an irritating task but, also the cost of his time spent obtaining and fitting replacements begins to add up to significant amounts.  

Groping about in the dark can be great fun. However, the personal and financial risks of manoeuvring a large loader or dump truck on a darkened work site or in a dusty poorly lit tunnel can be exceedingly serious. 

Health & Safety law requires that a workplace must have enough and suitable lighting. For transport safety, all roads, manoeuvring areas and yards should be sufficiently lit with areas around junctions, buildings, plant, pedestrian areas, and places where there is regular movement of vehicles requiring special attention.

Yet, outside of the world of health and safety managers, light quality is not a common topic of conversation. However, since inadequate lighting can lead to eye strain, migraine, fatigue, loss of concentration, serious errors of judgment and costly accidents, it makes all kinds of sense (and cents) to ensure your plant is equipped with the highest quality work-lamps.

No project owner wants the inconvenience and expense of unscheduled downtime, repairing or replacing damaged plant and equipment, and, in the event of personal injury, litigation and hefty compensation when, investing a few bob in state of the art lighting could significantly reduce the risk.

Developed in Finland, where dusk and night-time working are a natural part of life, Nordic's HID work-lamps are a logical addition to Brigade's range of 'visibility' safety products.

Leaders in mobile lighting technology, Nordic Lighting is dedicated to the development and supply of advanced work-lamps for the demanding requirements of  mining, forestry, drilling,  earthmoving and other users of dump trucks, loaders, excavators, dozers, fork-lifts and other heavy-duty mobile materials handling plant.

HID offers many technological and economic advantages over conventional halogen lights. HID promises longer life, minimum maintenance, lower energy consumption and safer working conditions.

Instead of passing an electric current through a filament to make it glow, with HID (high intensity discharge or gas discharge) - light is produced by an arc in a small Xenon gas filled quartz tube.

Where loaders and trucks are running over rough terrain such a quarry or mine, conventional lamps don't stand much of a chance. Damaged by jolting and vibration, conventional filament  bulbs need constant replacement. - some fail in less than 50 hours.

Nordic's lamp mountings absorb much of the attrition of off-highway working and their gas-filled, filament-free bulbs are hardly delicate flowers. Under similar 'off-highway' conditions, with no filament to break, Nordic's HID (gas discharge) bulbs average 5000 hours duty and some have been recorded as still lighting the way after 11000 hours.

 With halogen bulbs up to 70% of the power input is wasted in heat.

 With the unique no filament gas discharge lamp, less power is required and less heat is generated. One 35W bulb produces four times as much luminous flux/W as a halogen bulb or, simply put, twice the illumination for only half of the power consumption. The low power consumption of the Nordic's HID work-lamps also saves fuel by eliminating the need for a high output alternator.

Having greater luminous intensity and a higher colour temperature than conventional lamps, HID bulbs produce a light very similar to daylight in it's colour rendering making it easier for the driver to see, reducing eye strain and increasing safety.

Leading yellow plant manufacturers such as Caterpillar and Komatsu are fitting Nordic HID work-lamps as standard and, now, owners and operators of pre-owned earthmovers can also protect their plant and people and enjoy real savings by retro-fitting HID work-lamps.

All in all, when you factor in the true costs of poor 'visibility' - downtime, litigation - installing the best becomes the only option. The sums speak for themselves. Faced with the possibility of a massive fines  under the Health and Safety at Work Act,  compensation payments to the victim plus damaging publicity, investing in all-round 'visibility' does not cost. It saves. Don't wait for a serious accident to find out how much.

To discuss the Vehicle Visibility advantages of  BBS-TEK^®, Backsense and long-lasting HID work-lamps contact:

Brigade Electronics plc is based at:

 Brigade House, The Mills, Station Road, South Darenth, Kent DA4 9BD,  Telephone +44 (0) 870 774 1500  Fax +44 (0) 870 774 1502,

E-mail: sales@brigade-electronics.co.uk 

Websites:  www.brigade-electronics.co.uk and www.bbs-tek.com