ILLUMINATION AT WORK

A well-designed illumination system is

important for industrial productivity and
quality, as well as operator performance,
comfort, and convenience.
MEASUREMENT OF ILLUMINANCE AND LUMINANCE

Iluminance
luminance
(illumination)

measure of light
light falling on a
reflected from a
surface
surface

measured in
candela per square
measured in lux
meter (cd/m2) also
called “nits”

In SI system:
Luminance (cd/m2) = Illuminance (lux)×Reflectance)/ π
 Some Lighting Terminology

Luminous Flux (lumen): quantity of energy of the light
emitted per second in all directions.

Luminous Intensity: ability of a source or illuminated

surface to emit light.

Luminance: the amount of light emitted by a surface.

Illuminance (lux) : amount of light falling on a surface.

Good visual acuity depends on appropriate
lighting conditions based on:

Good illumination

Sufficient contrast

Adaptation in the central and

peripheral visual field
 For visual comfort and good optical
performance, the following criteria apply:

1. Balanced arrangements of lights.

2. Suitable level of illumination (lux levels).

3. Avoidance of glare and reflection.

 Some Lighting Recommendations:
1. No source of light should appear in the visual field of any worker during
operation.

2. The line from eye to light source should be at an angle of more than 30°.

3. Lights should be provided with shades.

4. Rather use more lamps of lower power than fewer high powered lamps.

5. Reflective colours and materials should be avoided.

6. There should be a contrast in colour between working surface and

working materials.
 Natural Lighting:

1. High windows are more effective than broad ones since the light
penetrates further into the room.

2. Use clear glass as it has a transparency of 90%.

3. Positioning of work benches to avoid looking directly into the sun.

4. When working at a VDU windows should be at the side of the

monitor and lighting should be to the left or right and not directly
overhead, or behind.
 Signs of Visual Fatigue:

Painful irritation and reddening of the eyelids

Double vision

Headaches

Reduction in the power of accommodation and

convergence
 Flickering Lighting

Flickering light may influence basic brainwave

patterns – induce nausea, epileptic seizures.

Stroboscopic effect makes rotating or oscillating

machine parts to appear stationary or moving more
slowly.
Illuminance Recommended for Industrial Tasks
 Contrast
• Contrast is the difference in luminance between
two adjacent objects.

• It is calculated as a contrast ratio between the

luminances of the two areas A and B:
Contrast ratio=Luminance A/Luminance B

Both contrast and illuminance are important for

visibility.
• A very large contrast between large objects can
cause discomfort glare.

• For example, the contrast between a window and

an adjacent wall is often as large as 100:1

• It is a common recommendation not to locate

workstations so that the operator will face a bright
window.

• Discomfort glare may cause oscillations of the eye

pupils.

• Although discomfort glare is harmless, it is

nonetheless annoying and discomforting.
 Glare & Indirect Lighting
• Direct glare comes from light sources, such as
overhead luminaries, that are shining directly into
the operator’s eyes.

• The reflected or indirect glare is from light that is

reflected in the workplace from glass or plastic
covers, shiny metal, or key caps on a keyboard.

• One way of solving the problems of both direct

and reflected glare is to use task illumination.

• This involves directing lamps with a restricted

light cone towards the visual task.
 Examples of task illumination
(A) An overhead task light with a limited light cone is used to
illuminate a source document on a document holder.
(B) A table-top lamp can be used on a workbench to provide
task illumination that does not generate glare.
• The use of indirect lighting (reflected from
ceiling) minimizes both direct glare and indirect
glare.

• It minimizes direct glare because the light is

directed towards the ceiling rather than the
operator’s eyes.

• It minimizes reflected glare because the light

reflected from the ceiling is not directional, and
will therefore generate so-called diffuse
reflection.
 Efficiency of Light Source
• The efficiency of a light source is measured in lumens
per watt (1m/W).

• Tread-off between efficiency and the color rendering of

the light.

• The color rendering index (CRI) is a measure of how

colors appear under a light source as compared with
daylight. A perfect CRI score is 100.

• For eg. Low-pressure sodium light, which is intensely

yellow, makes faces look grey and should not be used
indoors.
Efficiency of Light Sources and Their Color Rendering Index (CRI)
 Noise
• noise is the most important ergonomics
problem in factories.
• compared to many other ergonomic problems
noise is very obvious and concrete.
• four different aspects making noise
unacceptable in the working environment….
1. Noise can cause hearing loss
2. Noise can affect performance and productivity
3. Noise can be annoying
4. Noise can interfere with spoken communication
 Negative Impacts of Noise…

Damage to hearing

Disturbance of sleep

Poor performance of required task due to
increases in muscular tension, accelerated heart
rate

Impaired alertness

Increased fatigue, tiredness and irritability

Hypertension, Heart Rate
 MEASUREMENT OF SOUND

• A sound-level meter gives a visible reading in decibels

(dB) on three scales (A, B and C).

• dBA scale has achieved widespread use in work

environments.

• This scale approximates the sensitivity of the human

ear.

• The dBA scale is referenced to a sound pressure level of

0.00002 N/m2, which corresponds to the threshold of
hearing….
… Thus 0 dBA= 0.00002 N/m2
Sound Intensity:

Is perceived as loudness which is generally

measured in decibels (dB)

Frequency:

Pitch of the sound measured in Hertz (Hz)

Examples of Activities and Corresponding Noise Levels
Permissible Noise Exposures in the U.S.
• For every 5 dBA increase beyond 90 dBA, the
exposure time is to be reduced by half. (For example,
if the noise is 95 dBA, then the maximum exposure
time is 4 hours, and for 100 dBA it is 2 hours).
• According to Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulations in the U.S., noise
exposure of different intensity can be added
according to the formula:
D = Ci / Ti
D = allowable noise dose (should be 1)
Ci = number of hours of exposure to a noise level i
Ti = permissible no. of hours of exposure to noise level i
 Example: A machine subjects its operator to
90 dBA when it is idle and to 95 dBA when it is
used at full power. Assume 7 hours of use per
day, with 2.1 hours at 90 dBA and 4.9 hours at
95 dBA.
 The total noise dose is calculated as…
D=2.1/8+4.9/4=1.487
…Since the noise dose is greater than 1.0, this work
exposes its operator to excessive noise that is not
permissible.
 NOISE EXPOSURE AND HEARING LOSS

Conductive Hearing Loss Neural Hearing Loss

caused by mechanical rupture or caused by prolonged noise

dislocation of the eardrum and the exposure leading to auditory
bones in the middle ear nerve damage

Complain of others in Loss of hearing of the higher

conversations do not speak frequencies at around 4000 Hz.
loud enough.
Difficult to hear a woman’s voice
Understanding is not impaired but s easier to hear a man’s
if the sound level is lower pitch.
sufficiently high.
Difficult to understand words
Can be benefit from the use and sentences and hearing aid
of a hearing aid. may not help.
 Detrimental effects of noise
• Associated primarily with knowledge-based tasks,
where operators must apply their knowledge of
different scenarios, think hard, and make tentative
conclusions.

• This involves heavy use of the short-term as well as

long-term memory, and the short-term memory
capacity is likely to be exceeded.

• For example, 68–70 dBA noise level significantly

impaired the detection of grammatical errors
(knowledge-based) in a proofreading task, but the
same amount of noise did not appear to have any
adverse effects on the ability to detect spelling errors
(rule-based task).
 ANNOYANCE OF NOISE AND INTERFERENCE WITH
COMMUNICATION
• Due to psychological effects of noise, people reportedly
become irritated and annoyed.

• Noise is the primary source of dissatisfaction or

annoyance.

• The nighttime tolerance level for noise is about 10 dB

lower than the daytime tolerance.

• Comparative studies have demonstrated that

individuals living in Rome, Italy, tolerated a 10 dB
greater noise level than did people in Stockholm,
Sweden. (Is this a case of stiff Swedes and laissez faire
Italians? )
INTERFERENCE OF NOISE WITH SPOKEN COMMUNICATION

• Noise disrupts communication, and some

ergonomics standards have postulated that
the noise level should be no greater than 55
dBA in office environments, in order to
facilitate communication.
 HEARING PROTECTORS
• Ear plugs:
designed to occlude the ear canal, made of rubber, neoprene, and plastics.

• Ear muffs:
designed to cover the entire external ear, consist of ear cushions made of soft
spongy material or specially filled pads to ensure a snug fit.

 Ear plugs provide a sound attenuation of between 15 dB for low

frequency sounds and 35 dB for higher frequencies.

 At frequencies above 1000 Hz, muffs provide about the same

protection as plugs.

 At frequencies below 1000 Hz, certain muffs provide more

protection than plugs.

 Ear plugs and ear muffs may be worn together in intense noise
situations. This combination provides an additional attenuation of
approximately 5 dB.
 ANALYSIS AND REDUCTION OF NOISE
Two main methods for measuring noise….

Dosimeter: attached to the worker’s body, e.g., on the

chest. It summarizes the noise exposure over one
working day, providing a measure for assessing
whether an individual, with his or her particular work
habits, has been overexposed to noise.

Sound level meter: to analyze the working environment

and obtain readings of the noise produced by various
machines. A sound level meter can be set at different
frequencies and a curve is constructed.
Approaches to Reducing Noise
Example of noise control measures that can be implemented in an industrial building
 Vibrations

segmental vibration sea

whole-body sickness
(hand vibration)
vibration

induced by hand-held exposure to

vehicles of all tools such as power slow vibrations
types including drills, saws, jack in the range 0–1
forklift trucks, hammers, concrete Hz.
long-haul trucks, vibrators, and chain
earth-moving saws etc.
equipment, and
other industrial
moving machines
etc.
The resonant frequencies of different parts of the body of a seated driver.
 Vibration : Discomfort & Effect on Health &
Performance
• Laboratory studies have confirmed that vibrations between
3 and 5 Hz are likely to be physically uncomfortable.

• Physiological responses…

 Moderate level of vibration causes an increase in heart rate, about

10–15 beats/min above the resting level.

 The heart rate returns to its normal level after the vibration ceases.

 Blood pressure can also increase, particularly for vibration

frequencies around 5 Hz.

 Some investigations have revealed a slightly increased breathing

rate and oxygen consumption.
• At vibrations of about 10–25 Hz, the visual
acuity level decreases. (This frequency range
is thought to represent the resonant frequency
of the eyes, and as a result there is often a
reduction in the operator’s performance level).

• Whole-body vibration also effects both

cognitive and motor performance.

• Whole-body vibration impairs learning.

 Psychological impacts of Vibrations…
The nature of the task.
For example, riding in a recreational boat is usually associated with
pleasure, although the same magnitude vibrations would be perceived as
very stressful in an industrial environment.

The person’s degree of training or familiarity with the task.

For example, a skilled horseback rider can compensate for much of the
vibration by rhythmically contracting certain muscles. Likewise, an
industrial worker can compensate for some of the movements of a vibrating
forklift truck or piece of industrial machinery.

There are also individual differences in sensitivity to vibration; heavy

individuals suffer more from vibration than do light individuals.

The presence of other stressors acting in combination.

For example, vibration in combination with noise produces a greater level
of stress than vibration alone or noise alone. This will affect the
physiological arousal of the individual, which in turn has implications for
the performance level.
 Effect of Segmental Vibration

Reynaud’s disease Dart’s disease

(white finger disease)

caused by hand-tool
caused by vibration
vibration in the
frequencies around
frequency range
100 Hz.
50–100 Hz.
Reynaud’s disease
Dart’s disease
(white finger disease)

Caused by a reduction in blood flow to

the hand and to the fingers, which is
due to constriction of the smooth
muscles of the blood vessels in the
hand and fingers.
Both the nerves and the blood vessels
in the hand are permanently
damaged.
The symptoms are the
opposite to those of white
finger disease.
In Dart’s disease, blood
pools in the hands, which
become blue, swollen and
painful.

The reduction in blood flow causes

stiffness and numbness of the fingers
and gradual loss of muscle control of
the hand. Workers have difficulty in
holding, grasping, and manipulating
items.
Physiological outcomes from vibration frequencies:

(Hz)
Tactile sensation 0.1 – 105
Giddiness and instability 0.1 – 103
Motion sickness 0.2 – 1
Vibrating hand tool diseases 75 - 100
Major body resonances 3, 4-7.5, 11
Respiration difficulties 4-8
Abdominal pain 4 - 14
Muscle tone 10 - 20
Lumbosacral pain 7.5 - 20
Head sensations 9 - 20
Disturbances of vision 1 - 95
Speech difficulties 7.5 – 20
Urge to defecate & urinate 10 – 20