Lighting is crucial in workplaces, ensuring efficient and safe movement and work performance.
In the realm of work lighting, whether natural or artificial, it should facilitate:
- Safe work without compromising health
- Secure movement within the workplace
- Safe evacuation during emergencies
WorkCover Queensland emphasizes that lighting systems should be designed to:
- Make hazards visible
- Suit the work type and workplace nature
- Provide a visually comfortable environment
- Accommodate changes in work activities and settings
Inadequate lighting poses risks such as:
- Difficulty in swift and safe emergency exits
- Trips or falls
- Visual fatigue, discomfort, and potential injuries from awkward positions
To manage these risks, as a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), WorkCover Queensland underscores the primary duty of care to ensure health and safety. Adequate lighting systems maintenance and proper illumination are crucial responsibilities.
Additionally, PCBUs must consult with workers regarding hazards arising from insufficient lighting. WorkCover Queensland directs attention to relevant resources for workplace consultation and creating a safe work environment.
In construction sites, the principal contractor bears the responsibility under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011.
For general work areas, the Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 outlines recommended illumination levels measured in lux. WorkCover Queensland emphasizes the importance of maintaining 160 lux for general work areas, with higher levels for complex tasks.
Emergency lighting, critical for worker safety during emergencies, requires battery backup fittings to function in power failures. Placement of escape lighting units near doorways and highlighting potential hazards is essential.
Access and stair lighting, with a minimum recommendation of 40 lux, should ensure well-lit areas, while circumstances may necessitate higher lux levels.
Specific standards, such as AS/NZS 1680.2.4:2017, AS/NZS 2293.1:2018, AS/NZS 2293.3:2018, and AS/NZS 3012:2019, guide lighting benchmarks at construction and demolition sites. Compliance inspections consider these standards and assess actual lighting sufficiency.
Four-step risk management process
PCBUs must make sure workplaces have the minimum recommended levels of lighting. Every workplace, and different areas in a workplace, should be assessed individually to determine if higher lighting levels are needed. Following a four-step risk management process will help your business meet its responsibilities under work health and safety (WHS) laws.
You can also use the practical advice in the Managing the work environment and facilities code of practice 2021 (PDF, 0.57 MB) .
Step 1: Identify the hazard
Workers should have enough light to clearly see their path of travel, detect hazards in their path and easily view their work. There are a number of ways you can identify lighting hazards at your place of work.
Inspect your business
Check access and work areas at your workplace for issues that impact on visibility, such as:
- low light
- dark shadows
- changes in lighting, for example, moving from brightness to darkness
- glare or reflections
- dust/particles in the air.
The most important areas to assess are:
- entries, accessways, steps and stairways
- where there are flooring changes
- where spills and contaminants are possible
- areas used during the night/minimal daylight
- areas with known slip, trip or fall hazards.
Talk to your workers
As well as visually inspecting the workplace, you can talk to workers about whether they have enough light to perform their tasks and move around safely. You can do this through informal conversations or team meetings, toolbox talks and surveys. You could also draw a mud map of your workplace and ask workers and supervisors to indicate areas of poor lighting.
Remember that PCBUs have a duty to consult workers under section 47 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
Review available information
Make sure you read through all Acts and Regulations, codes of practice, and Standards relating to lighting at work.
You may find other useful sources of information, including:
- how other workplaces manage lighting risks (if those workplaces are meeting health and safety standards under WHS laws and current industry standards)
- hazard and injury reports.
Step 2: Assess the risk
Step 3: Control the risk
Some types of work and some areas need extra lighting and lighting requirements can change throughout the day. Too much lighting can result in glare. Measures to prevent low or excessive levels of lighting, glare or reflection include:
- providing additional lighting, such as a lamp on a movable arm
- changing the position of existing lights
- changing the location of the workstation
- increasing or decreasing the number of lights, change level of brightness of lights
- changing the type of lighting used, for example from white light to blue light
- changing the diffusers or reflectors on existing lights
- using screens, visors, shields, hoods, curtains, blinds or external louvres to reduce reflections, shadows and glare
- implementing a regular cleaning and maintenance program for lights.
For more information about lighting for computer work, you can refer to visual comfort while working on a computer.
You must also ensure that there’s sufficient lighting for people to exit safely if there’s an emergency.
Step 4: Review control measures
Lighting must be regularly maintained and reviewed. Lights are most efficient when they’re new. Over time, they age, become covered in dust, or simply stop working. Lux levels can decrease and drop below minimum required standards without anyone noticing.