The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-11-18

''The baniShment of spectacleS plus Increased Production in our factories through kind treatment of the Optic Nerves might have been the sub ject of L. B. Marks, consulting en- gineer on illumination. of New York city who addressed the members of evening. The lecture which was illus trated with steriopticon views follow ed the regular monthly dinner of the Association in the breakfast room of The Stratfield. The subject was Fac tory Lighting" He said in part, I'm proper lighting of factories injures the eyes and prevents workmen from do- ign good work, and the cost of good lighting is so little more than poor lighting that it would pay every fac tory manager to give the matter ser1- ous thought. Good lighting does not mean that the light should be intense. On the contrary, sometimes the very poorest lighting is that in which the light is most intense.
 I have figures taken from tests in a number of the biggest factories in the United States where the manager thought they had good lighting. be- cause the light was intense. It was found in the tests that the workmen could not see nearly as we'll with 1n- lSHS6 Lighting lIlCy SOoio "AeAA e very moderate amount of light we'll distributed and diffused. In one case in a large factory which is represen- tative of the average factory lighting installa tion it was found that the workmen could actually see better when the intensity of the light was reduced eighty per cent, and the light was even over large surface instead of being concentrated on a small DOT tion of a machine. A manufacturer can in such a case actually save mon ey in the cost of his lighting ana greatly improved his illumination, with a resultant improvement in the quail ity of his work and the quantity pro- duced.
 'The Human eye cringes when it is forced to look at a light which is too intense for it to bear. The pupil Of the eye automatically closes or be- comes smaller when the eye is expos ed to very bright lights or to ma chimes, or surfaces that are highly il- are polished, thereby reflecting an ex- cessive amount of light directly into the eye. When such brightly lighted surfaces, whether polished or unpol- ished, are immediately adjacent to dark places the contrast in intensity of illumination between brightly light ed machines or spaces, and the darker
 
 the eyes of the workmen and lmpairs the eyesight if the work is carried on long enough.
 This condition is found in the aver age factory especially where the well known local lighting system Or drop lamp is used.
 s:The actual cost of artificial light ing is after all only a small propor- ton of the total cost of the manu- factured product. Usually the light ing costs less than one per cent of the cost of labor. Under ordinary condi- tions therefore, if an operators wages are s per day for example, the cost of light for that operator for one day will be approximately cents. There fore the cost of lighting for a ten hour day per operator is equal to about minutes of the operators time Now if we can improve the in such way as to save only six minutes of the operators time in Q day. it follows that we can afford to practically double the cost of the lighting and still be the gainer, es- pecially if by the change instituted the quality of the work is Improved. The factory manager must therefore consider, not whether he can cut down his lighting bill, but whether he can cut it down and secure ultimate econ omy thereby.
 "In considering ultimate economy he must take into account the effect produced by diffusion and direction of the light, the intensity of the light, and the quality and color of the light.
 '"The study of these factors in the