New trends in professional-grade flashlights are resulting in more safety benefits for industrial workers than ever before. For example, new high-lumen products (500-2,000+ lumens) can light up entire work scenes, including hard-tosee peripheral areas as well as dark corners. Some also combine powerful downrange lighting, allowing industrial pros to troubleshoot problems at a potentially dangerous scene from a distance.
Avoiding workplace injuries
According to the National Safety Council's "Injury Facts," in 2014, "injuries from slips, trips and falls resulted in 247,120 cases involving days away from work and 818 worker deaths." Today's lighting tools offer multifunction features to help prevent accidental injuries, especially for workers in low-light conditions. Providing both a spot beam for illuminating distance and a floodlight for close-up work, such flashlights also allow users to combine the two beams simultaneously. This uninterrupted light pattern can eliminate the blind spots that often lead to falls and other accidents in the dark.
Keeping workers safe
Hazardous conditions are another leading cause of workplace injuries. Certain workplace settings are dangerous places for flashlights, which can act as an ignition source when flammable gas and liquids are present. Because the most hazardous conditions are often in dark places, certain manufacturers offer a complete line of Division I safety-rated lights (and/or lights with ATEX and IECEx ratings for use in Zone 0 locations) for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Scene lighting
The newest scene lights feature narrow footprints for easy storage, transport and deployment. Ideal for illuminating wide, open environments, modern scene lights also are flexible enough for tight, dark spaces -- manholes are one example -- where worker visibility is limited.
As lighting technology evolves, the newest flashlight options help increase worker safety in a range of environments.
Dawn Dalldorf- Jackson is the director of sales for Streamlight Inc.'s Industrial/Fire Sales Division. Since 1973, Streamlight has designed, manufactured and marketed high-performance flashlights, and today offers a broad array of lights, lanterns and scene lighting solutions for professional and consumer uses alike.
For more information, visit stream light.com or call (800) 523-7488.
