Like Goldilocks’ Porridge, Workplace Lighting Has to Be Just Right

A nightshift worker is struck and killed by a front-end loader while working in a shed. The loader operator is not aware that the worker has been struck and the victim’s body is not discovered for hours.

A farmer dies after being thrown from a tractor while mowing weeds as darkness approaches. He suffers non-survivable chest injuries after falling under the attached rotary mower.

Insufficient lighting was a major factor in both these deaths. In the first instance, visibility in the shed was poor because of dust and weak lighting, and in the second case the farmer did not see a tree stump before the tractor ran over it and he was thrown from his seat.

The possibilities of workers suffering serious injuries or death in low-light conditions are ample. Poorly illuminated areas put workers at risk for attack from people lurking in shadows, and burned out lights set the stage for everything from fatal falls to potential impalement on unseen protruding objects on shelves.