Shadow free lighting for hazardous area maintenance
01 September 2008
One of the first customers for a new range of hazardous area portable lighting was British Airways, which had completed an evaluation of the Nitech Guardian floodlight before adopting the ATEX equipment for general use in aircraft maintenance.
BA’s hangar areas are well lit from above and the Guardians complement this high standard of fixed lighting with powerful, shadow-free and day-light colour balanced illumination, which can be directed as required at areas normally shaded from overhead light sources. And critical areas such as engine assemblies can be specifically illuminated to a very high standard.
British Airways also benefit from a significant reduction in hazardous area risk assessment due to the complete absence of trailing cables, raised temperatures or high voltages. Guardians can operate at full power for up to 12 hours on a charge, which gives complete autonomy.
Achieving ATEX certification involved a number of critical technical and design requirements. Traditionally, explosion proof portable lighting products are characterised by the disadvantages of high cost, relatively poor performance in terms of light output and duration, cumbersome design and highly restrictive maintenance requirements. Nitech was determined to achieve compliance whilst avoiding these crucial drawbacks.
Product approval specialists Epsilon was chosen to assist in the compliance achievement programme and a close relationship developed. This was a vital requirement and ensured Nitech retained their overall design criteria while meeting the highly specific mandatory objectives of the relevant standards.
A particularly important part of the product development was the goal of achieving realistic component and build cost objectives for the new ATEX version of the floodlight.
Currently Nitech offers ATEX certified floodlights, handlamps and headtorches. Each product has been specifically designed for professional use and will provide totally reliable service in extreme environmental conditions. The products are all rechargeable, although standard battery products are also available.
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