Hi All An engineer has asked to to find out if there are any Lux levels and what they should be for general work and for inspection. We make precision bearings. Ive looked at PUWER which says light levels should be suitable and suffiecient and better for inspection. The HSE light at work also provide basic info but no levels. Does anyone know of any lower lux levels of lighting for the workplace? My initial though is - suitable and sufficient. Thanks in advance

This is nothing to do with H&S its a quality issue What do your none destructive test methods standards say?

You may find the detail you need at the following; http://www.cibse.org/soc...ll/lighting-publications

This may also be of some use. http://www.arca53.dsl.pi...dex_files/lightlevel.htm

Wouldn't the inspection of precision bearings have something to do with safety? As in if a defect was missed, the part may fail and depending on where the bearing was placed have an effect on safety?

The Society of Light & Lighting, which is a part of CIBSE has authoritative guidance for lighting levels, not only to undertake tasks safely , but also effectively ( as both tend to be inter-related. Not having adequate lighting for inspection may have adverse effect on eyesight ) In its lighting handbook, for the approaches to industrial lighting in context of visual inspection:- Rapid visual inspection calls for off-axis detection of defects. How well this can be done will depend on the visibility of the defect and, if there are other objects in the area to be searched, the conspicuity of the defect. There are many different methods of lighting for visual inspection. All depend on the use of lighting to make the defect more visible and more conspicuous. factor to consider are:- (a) To prevent veiling reflections, light must not coincide with angle of view. (b) The observation of specular detail on a diffuse background is aided if reflected light does coincide with angle of view. (c) Low-angle lighting used to emphasise surface irregularities. (d) Reflected light from a source having a large surface area facilitates detection of blemishes in a polished surface. (e) Diffuse lighting from an extended source aids typesetting. (f) Irregularities in transparent materials are revealed using a transmitted light from a diffuse source. (g) Silhouette is an effective means of checking contour. (h) Directional lighting is needed to reveal form and texture. There is likely to be more detail in SLL Lighting Guide 1: Industrial lighting.

walker, he was also asking about general work in premises where engineers make precision bearings....

Not convinced about that argument. If you have taken light readings in a room you will be surprised in the difference in lux level between the back the room and nearest the windows. I know I was. Our eyes are not very good at perceiving actual light levels. Instead they try to adapt. The problem with that is as the light levels get lower our brains start to fill in the gaps, we assume that things are when in reality they are not there. Perception is weird thing and is as much to do with our internal ‘model view’ of the world as with what our senses perceive. That is what causes optical illusions Here lies the danger, we may see things that aren’t there or miss things that are there.

I read this as a question about light levels for NDT inspection. Everyone else seems to think its about general engineering workshop light levels which I agree are safety significant. NDT is far more than "a bloke having a look at components" (eg magnetic particle and dye penetrant crack detection) and there are quality standards covering this, particularly precision bearings, but it would also cover light levels for initial visual. I was just trying to point him in that direction. 500 lux min sounds about right to me.

Agree: typo on my part

I'll say again, look at the original post, it wasn't just about inspection, I quote: So safety is an issue if general work involves machinery John

There is a health angle as well - assuming we include eye strain and its possible implications. If anyone is complaining about low light, this is something you should be thinking about.