Construction and mining jobs are among the most dangerous occupations worldwide. Each year thousands of injuries and accidents relating to machine and equipment operation are reported, making the fatality rate for this industry higher than the national average across all industries. According to the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics though, this situation is slowly improving.
Despite the improving record however, both construction and mining sites are still accident prone environments where lives are constantly at risk. In the US, nearly 6.5 million people work across different construction sites every day so keeping workers and pedestrians safe are the number one priority. Adequate illumination and the use of proper lighting equipment on the site plays an important role in reducing the hazards associated with the line of work.
While companies are taking steps to improve work safety for their employees, they are also taking bigger steps to reduce the environmental footprint. We look at how mobile lighting influences a safer jobsite and its ‘green’ impression.
Lighting Amount
A key factor to consider for construction and mining jobsites is the amount of light that is required by the state standards and Occupational Health and Safety guidelines. The American National Standards Institute has specific requirements about what is considered “safe lighting” for worksites that needs to be abided by. Most light tower manufacturers can also help with this information, but the requirements need to be determined before you know which tower can get the job done right.
Lighting Position
Sufficient lighting though isn’t enough to fulfill a safe jobsite, it’s just as important to position and adjust the light towers correctly. There are a number of ways to make lights less invasive and companies can manufacture towers with a softer glare, but ensuring they aren’t ‘blinding’ workers or creating a glare hazard for nearby motorists is essential.
Visor shields can normally be offered by manufacturers to provide protection while still giving adequate brightness, or some tower models can allow for the lights to be aimed directly down. When positioning lighting towers, it’s vital the light isn’t shined into a person’s eyes and becomes a safety issue – these applications to prevent the light from blinding those on or near the jobsite is critical. Certain types of safety glasses can adjust automatically to protect from glare as needed.
Environmental Safety
Nearly as much of a concern as the safety of workers, the environmental welfare is becoming an increasingly widespread decision. For lighting towers on larger or especially remote and hard to access jobsites, it’s beneficial for them to have a greater fuel capacity to help prevent spills. This will also reduce the amount of times the lighting tower will need to be serviced, allowing significant cost savings and eco-friendliness.
LED Lighting Towers – A Healthier Approach
This ‘green’ epidemic has led an increasing number of construction and mining companies to make the switch to LED lighting towers. LED lighting towers offer benefits for worksite safety, cost savings and environmental concerns.
As fuel capacity is major consideration, replacing a standard lighting tower with an LED one can save your company tons of litres of fuel and money. Typically they cost more to purchase but are more power efficient with a longer life expectancy, ultimately saving you more.
As opposed to Metal Halide lights which can take up to five– ten minutes to start and restrike, LEDs are instant and provide a better colour rendition making them extremely useful when dealing with electric wiring.
When it comes to the safety of workers, passer-by’s, and the environmental compliance innovations are always being driven to continuously meet the requirements with confidence. Safety features are standard, but going the extra measure to incorporate environmental friendly lighting will ensure a safer jobsite all around.
Author Bio
This article is written by Jayde Ferguson who writes for AllightSykes, one of the world’s largest suppliers of lighting towers; designed, engineered and built in Australia to meed the world’s toughest standards.