At Glamox, we take lighting very seriously, as we believe light plays a significant role in our lives and our health and wellbeing. Light can stimulate our moods and activity levels. Therefore, good lighting is essential to maintain and enhance our living and working environments.
Human Centric Lighting
Our body is affected by light. Natural light is the factor that resets and maintains our biological clock, whilst cold, white light suppresses the melatonin levels in our body.
Our focus on Human Centric Lighting (HCL) has proved very successful in many oil and gas projects. When implementing HCL solutions, we focus on three parameters: Spectrum, Intensity and Timing.
Light is important for maneuvering safely around in the environment and the required levels for the visual tasks are well regulated through the relevant standards.
Another important factor to consider is the physiological and psychological impact that light has. Lighting affects the circadian rhythm and our wellbeing. In 2017, the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a trio of American scientists “for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.” Through these mechanisms our metabolism, hormonal regulation and many vital functions are finely adjusted to the daylight cycle outside.
Color temperature, intensity and timing are all important factors to consider when planning the living and working environment indoors, especially in areas with little or no access to natural daylight. Fortunately, we can mimic these conditions through the use of artificial light or Human Centric Lighting. If planned correctly, HCL can help alleviate some of the adverse effects that shift work has on human physiology and psyche.
Light design with Aveva E3D/PDMS plugin & OptiWin
Light design in accordance with applicable regulations ensures correct lighting at designated areas, as well as comfortable illumination in cabins and common areas. Light quality in the form of correct color temperature and lux level is equally important in a drill cabin as it is in the dining area. Our Glamox OptiWin software and Aveva E3D/PDMS plugin are just some of our unique, user-friendly tools that will help you in your engineering work.
The accommodation areas and living quarters consist of various types of rooms and application areas. From cabins, offices and collaboration rooms, to common areas such as recreation rooms, gyms, dining rooms and galleys with storage and freezer facilities. Furthermore, utility functions such as switch rooms, control rooms with Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) are placed in the living quarters. Different areas and rooms require different lighting; certain spaces require comfortable lighting, while others have strict requirements in terms of Ingress Protection (IP) rating, tolerance for ambient temperatures and functionality.
Comfortable and Safe Living Environment
There are various standards that set minimum luminance levels required to allow personnel to work safely in normal and emergency conditions. However, for the comfort and safety of personnel working and living offshore, lighting design must consider different applications for the various spaces, i.e. cabins require two different lighting solutions: one for sleeping and relaxation, and the other as a workspace, which these areas are often used for. This requires lighting at both ends of the spectrum – one nice and warm with illumination levels of around 2500 K; the other should be bright and cool with illumination levels of around 5000 K.
Our LED light fittings range from main room lighting to comfort lighting and can be supplied complete with dimming and integrated USB, as well as induction charging to make life that little easier for you.
Similarly, control rooms and recreational areas require daylight, but can also be made to simulate the natural day. We can help here by providing you with a light design and layout plan, as well as offering you our advice and guidance on choosing the right lighting systems.
Areas within living quarters
Recreational areas
The staff or crew recreation area, which often forms part of the lounge area, can easily be divided up using different light levels and light fitting styles. If there is a gym, the lighting can imitate a sunny day, inspiring enthusiasm and energy.
In recreational areas, a relaxed atmosphere can be created through the use of low intensity and warm CCT of around 2700 K to 3000 K. This is particularly beneficial when the area is used by staff early in their waking cycle or in the hours just before bedtime. Exposure to light with high color temperatures or high intensity during these times can result in unwanted phase-delaying effects that make the exposed individual go to bed later than usual and therefore not get the appropriate amount of rest. During lunch time, it is also beneficial to have warm lighting that creates a relaxed atmosphere.
Changing rooms
Changing rooms are a 24-hour working requirement. During the course of a day or night, the work force is in and out of these areas between shifts and in some cases, this includes the morning and afternoon tea breaks.
Lighting in changing rooms and shower areas should provide a safe working environment by achieving a good level of light intensity, a good color rendering and color temperature. The lighting needs to be reliable and maintain a high Ingress Protection (IP) to withstand water and moisture.
Cabins
Cabins in offshore living quarters are designed for both comfort and functionality. Staff should feel comfortable in their living quarters, but equally important is that they have an effective lighting system that allows them to organize their personal belongings in the cabin. This means the lighting should create a warm, cosy feeling but with added functionality such as USBs and charging. Our MOTUS desk light, for example, has built-in induction charging, while our AL42 bed head lights have double USB sockets as standard and seamless dimming.
Medical facilities
The medical facilities or hospital on an offshore facility are designed to combine functionality with hygienic aspects. Medical staff must be able to differentiate between different colors and so should be provided with bright lights that enable them to see fine details and conduct intricate procedures.
Glamox is renowned for its medical lighting for hospital operating theatres. We have a range of lighting products that are suitable for small offshore medical facilities. Examples include our LHH LED G2 arm-based examination table light or our AIM LED ceiling-mounted lighting array for minor surgery and procedures.
Offices
Offshore staff typically work during the day and at night, so lighting installed in these areas must provide good light quality. This is where our HCL or Dali dimming systems can help. We can also apply our standard LED lighting with appropriate lighting levels and color rendition.
Control rooms and task areas
The majority of offshore control rooms have no natural daylight. This where our Human Centric Lighting (HCL) systems come to the fore, imitating the changes in the natural day. This helps to enhance the health, comfort and wellbeing of operations staff.
For task areas where shift work takes place, we recommend following a full daylight cycle of 12 hours twice, with the use of fittings with variable correlated color temperature (CCT) from 2700 K to 6500 K, CCT timers and manual controls. For tasks that require prolonged focus, concentration and attention, a high intensity and high color temperature has proved beneficial. It is therefore useful to be able to override the daylight cycle in case of a meeting or if a critical situation arises.
Technical rooms
In technical rooms, a color rendering index of at least 80 and a color temperature from 4000 K and higher can be justified, as tasks in these areas require a high level of contrast to identify spots on clothing, the colors of wires and cabling, etc. In galleys and laundries, an ingress protection (IP) rating according to the environment should also be taken into consideration when selecting the light fitting.