Not only can workplace lighting affect workers’ productivity, it can also affect their health.
According to James Celenza, director of the Rhode Island Committee on Safety and Health (RICOSH), some older fluorescent lights can contain harmful elements such as Polychlorinated Biphenyl and mercury.
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“So even when you throw them away you have to be careful,” he said.
Celenza said fortunately there are not many instances of these problems reported to his office, but there is a standard on illumination in the Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA), which strongly recommends workers use individual lamps rather than overhead fluorescent lighting.
The encyclopedia does stress a need for universal lighting, however. In a section that outlines factors that determine visual comfort, the text describes the prerequisites that an illumination system must fulfill in order to provide the conditions necessary for visual comfort.
If a company is not in compliance with these suggestions, workers may report fatigue, low creativity or tired eyes and this may even lead to workplace accidents
In their report for OSHA, authors Fernando Ramos Perez and Ana Hernandez Calleja found that although natural light is ideal for uniform illumination, it is not a reliable enough standard.
“The interest in natural illumination has increased recently,” they said. “This is due less to the quality of illumination it affords than to the well-being that it provides. But since the level of illumination from natural sources is not uniform, an artificial lighting system is required.”
As far as optimal luminance goes OSHA’s suggestions include the qualitative criteria as well as the quantitative criteria.
“The first step is to study the work station, the precision required of the tasks performed, the amount of work, the mobility of the worker and so on,” said Perez and Calleja. “Light should include components both of diffuse and of direct radiation.”
The report recommends that when workers use individual lights they exercise proper maintenance, suggesting older lamps can get dusty and cause workers to strain their eyes.
Eliminating glare means moving the light source so that the light shining will not reflect off a worker’s computer screen. There are guards which workers can place in front of their computer screens to help minimize the glare of natural light during certain parts of the day.
Adequate contrast conditions and use of proper colors are similar specifications. According to Perez and Calleja selecting the proper color for a work site contributes a great deal to the efficiency, safety and general well being of the employees.
The report includes detail on “warm” and “cold” colors, and explains the degrees at which glare occurs off these colors when they are on the walls of an office.
“Pale colors with reflective factors of 50 to 75 percent tend to be adequate for walls,” they said. “While glossy paints tend to last longer than matte colors, they are more reflective. Walls should therefore have a matte or semi-gloss finish.”
