Furthermore, uplighting can provide more even light levels that are more comfortable for employees. Finally, the productivity payoff includes increased facility flexibility, since the position of workstations no longer is tied to the position of lighting fixtures. In some cases, the relationship between better lighting and improved productivity is easy to demonstrate. For example, when Hyde Tool Co. replaced an old flourescent system with new high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps, workers found they had an easier time seeing defects. And at West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., employees not only got daylight, they also got views of the outdoors.
Common sense says that it is impossible to separate lighting from other facility design issues.
The issue of glare is a good example. Edward Sullivan is managing editor of Building Operating Management. From the August 1995 issue.