Warehouses are getting bigger. The average-sized warehouse in the UK increased to 340,000 sq. ft in 2020. Running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, warehousing is a nationwide success story. Behind the scenes, maintenance technicians have a responsibility to keep warehouse facilities in good working order. With high bay lights spaced at approximately 1 every 8 to 14 ft, it’s safe to say lighting accounts for a good portion of the maintenance schedule.
The challenge of working at height can be a constant headache when it comes to lighting. While the shift to more reliable LED warehouse lighting fixtures has reduced maintenance requirements, the need to access fixtures at a high level remains. In this guide, we explore the top 5 benefits of fitting a warehouse lighting winch to high bay lighting fixtures.
While lighting is essential, it is a burden on available maintenance hours. Technicians could put those hours to much better use. The beauty of working with a warehouse lighting winch, is the speed at which objects at height can be accessed. Building a scaffold tower takes time and itself requires maintenance. Install a series of lighting winch systems and say goodbye to that cumbersome scaffold tower. When a light fails, it’s a 5-minute job – at most – to lower the fixture, swap the bulb, and raise the fixture back to its ideal height.
Working at height has a significant price tag associated with it. Maintaining equipment – MEWPs and scaffold towers – and training such as PASMA, cost time and money. Accidents in the workplace – slips, trips, and falls – are more costly still. The solution is to eliminate the need to work at height all together. The simple answer to many health and safety challenges is to introduce a mechanical aid to reduce the risk of injury in the workplace.
When it comes to lighting maintenance, engineers have probably got bigger fish to fry. Free up engineer time to focus on value-adding tasks or preventative maintenance jobs that keep the wheels turning. Cleaning a fixture or changing a failed light takes minutes. Furthermore, the need to cordon off an area under the fixture is reduced or entirely eliminated, preventing disruption to warehouse operations.
A warehouse lighting winch is controlled by a wall-mounted push button, plug-in remote, or a full radio remote control system. Replace a traditional – resource-intensive – access system with the push of a button.
Warehouses can be dust- and moisture-rich environments. Such operations use IP-rated lighting to guarantee certain levels of effective sealing against ingress of foreign bodies such as dirt and high-pressure water. An IP54-rated warehouse lighting winch provides the same level of ingress protection in the most demanding warehouse environments, from cold-storage to building supplies.
For the most extreme warehouse environments, opt for an external cover with an increased ingress protection rating, from IP54 to IP65. This is a totally dust tight construction with full protection against dust and other particulates and protected against low-pressure jets from any angle.
For heavy-weight objects suspended at height, such as environmental control or sensor units, a heavy-duty winch lift will reduce the maintenance burden of suspended objects weighing up to 500kg. Essential features to look for are remote control, a suitable lifting capacity and lowering distance, up to 30 metres for instance, and a high IP rating.
Mechanical lifting aids fall under LOLER, Lifting Operation and Lifting Equipment Regulations. Warehouse lighting winch systems must be certificated to LOLER regulations. A key feature of winch lift design best practice ensures the suspended load has two means of support.
Compliance with LOLER regulation includes a continuation of compulsory annual checks. Servicing of lifting equipment includes examination and testing by a competent person throughout its life. Ensure any warehouse lighting winch not only comes with an installation service – unless opting for a self-installation winch – but also has an annual service program available to ensure lifting equipment remains complaint.
The benefits of installing a warehouse lighting winch system are far-reaching. There is a direct impact on productivity and safety when maintenance is reduced, simplified, made safer, and is designed to meet the needs of a demanding warehouse environment. On aggregate, small changes to operational efficiency contribute to healthier profit margins and satisfied customers.
Whatever the lifting challenge, Penny Hydraulics design raising and lowering systems to make almost anything that operates at a high level easily accessible. Winch systems can be powered by either a hand-cranked or electric motorised winch, capable of lifting 1kg to 1500kg.
Off-the-shelf warehouse lighting winch systems with the option of self-installation are available. For bespoke applications, Penny Hydraulics offer a custom winch service, configured to the specific weight, drop and location of the item to be lifted.
For expertise in mechanical lifting solutions, with UK in-house design, manufacturing, and support, discover a world of winch systems from Penny Hydraulics.
