This guide provides information on the quantity and quality of lighting on industrial painting projects that is conducive to achieving quality surface preparation and coating application, productivity, inspection/quality control, and accident prevention.
This guide is intended for use by facility owners, specifiers, designers, and contractors.
Lighting standards have been established for most industrial applications by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). One standard addresses the temporary lighting conditions common to most industrial painting projects. ANSI Z117.1, “Safety Requirements for Working in Tanks and Other Confined Spaces,” establishes minimum requirements for safe entry, continued work in, and exit from
tanks and other confined spaces. The ANSI standard sets entry procedures which include the use of a permit to authorize illumination of the space. No specific criteria on illumination are stated.
Adequate illumination improves productivity and motivation while poor illumination increases the risk of accidents and costs of operation. Additional illumination beyond recommended levels may be beneficial but not essential to achieving these objectives. In addition, unnecessarily high lighting levels add to the cost of procurement, installation, and maintenance and may have a negative impact on safety and productivity due to increased glare. Light with substantial color bias, regardless of foot candles, can hinder the observation of the true condition of the work surface.
While natural lighting or use of white containment materials may provide adequate levels of illumination, once the decision to use artificial lighting to illuminate a work area is made, portions of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on portable lamps and wiring installation have direct application. However, an integrated guide specific to the coatings industry is necessary to help establish minimum standards on quality and quantity of light, as well as consolidate applicable electrical hazard controls.
Refer to any and all appropriate sections which pertain to portable lamps: NFPA 70, “National Electric Code” and OSHA regulations 29 CFR Sections 1926.402-408.
The recommended levels of illumination contained in this guide are a result of both objective and subjective examination of lighting conditions in a variety of work spaces: tanks, containments, blast and paint rooms, shop floors, and other situations where similar conditions exist. The resulting lighting recommendations are believed to be comfortable for the workers, contributing to distortion-free work surfaces and adequate levels of illumination for performing general surface preparation, painting and inspection activities in the work space. Natural lighting, artificial lighting, or a combination of the two may be used to achieve the levels specified in this guide.
