LED work lamps provide additional safety for trucks, construction and municipal vehicles.

Good lighting at work should be a matter of course. You tire less, are more concentrated, and the risk of accidents decreases. This is not only true when working in an office, but is also especially true when working outdoors. Good lighting is all the more important when it comes to loading and unloading trucks or when using construction and municipal vehicles in different ways, which often involves heavy loads, different surfaces or unclear situations. High-quality work lamps, mounted to be glare-free, help to avoid dangerous situations and significantly increase the quality of work. By the way, they also look really good!

Legal framework (using Germany as an example)

According to the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO), multi-track vehicles may be equipped with one or more work lamps to illuminate work equipment and work sites. As a general rule, however, work lamps must not be used while driving, unless the vehicle is used for the constructing, maintaining or cleaning roads or facilities in the road area or for refuse collection and driving is expressly part of the work process. In other countries this is regulated in a similar way and, in some, the provisions are even broader.

Therefore, the national requirements should be checked before using work lamps. The following points should also be checked: According to the German Occupational Health and Safety Act, the employer must ensure the safety and protection of the health of employees and always strive for improvements. This is an additional argument in favour of using work lamps. As part of assessing the hazards that arise for the person insured in relation to their work, the employer must also determine which measures are necessary to prevent occupational accidents and work-related health hazards (risk assessment). Trucks, construction and municipal vehicles are also work equipment that require an assessment. If hazards arise due to insufficient lighting during work activities, appropriate measures must be taken. According to the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), one example is connecting and disconnecting (coupling) trucks and trailers using work lamps.

If vehicles are operated in the vicinity of workplaces (for example when loading and unloading at depots and loading ramps), the German Workplace Ordinance applies in conjunction with the “Technical Rules for Workplaces - Lighting”. These contain lighting requirements for work areas and workplaces, such as loading areas, handling areas or loading points. The list of potential work lamp applications could go on and on.

Number games

As far as the performance of work lamps is concerned, there is differing information available. The golden rule is this: The higher the luminous flux (the amount of light in lumens that a light source emits per unit of time in all directions), the more powerful the headlamp. But that is too short-sighted. Many suppliers quote the calculated lumen value, which does not correspond to the actual (measured) luminous flux. HELLA takes a different approach and refers to the measured lumen value, i.e. the actual light intensity, in the product specifications. The reason is that the luminous efficacy depends not only on the light source, i.e. the LED unit itself, but also on heat (25-35 percent) and bundling losses in the reflector and lens system (5-15 percent). Only the measured lumen value represents reality! Other factors also play a role. You should always pay attention to the colour temperature or the Kelvin value.

The work lamp's power consumption is generally specified in watts. So it can be said that a 6-watt LED lamp replaces an approximately 35-watt halogen lamp. In addition, LEDs consume up to 85 percent less electricity, do not heat up as much and have a significantly longer lifetime.

Protection against weather conditions.

As work lamps on commercial and municipal vehicles are usually also exposed to the weather, they have to withstand temperature differences, the effects of foreign bodies, permanent UV radiation and, above all, moisture. The IP class denotes for example the standard related to the penetration of water and dust. IP6K7 protects against the effects of foreign bodies and temporary immersion in water, IP6K8 against permanent immersion and IP6K9k even against direct treatment with a high-pressure jet cleaner. Both prevent ingress of foreign material. In addition, the chassis must be robust and protected against vibrations that can have a negative effect on the LED board and the reflector system. Furthermore, they must have electromagnetic compatibility. In winter, emergency vehicles, trucks and trailers must be resistant to salt spray.

Solutions for different applications

Retrofitted LED work or reversing lamps significantly increase operational safety and protect third parties. In addition, they are gentle on the 12 or 24-volt vehicle electrical system thanks to multi-voltage LED technology. On commercial vehicles, they illuminate the load compartment, the side loading zone or the area of the rear tail lift; on construction and municipal vehicles, they illuminate the front, side or rear sections. The Isolux diagram precisely describes the beam angle as well as the illumination range, which also provides information on the optimal mounting position and the mounting angle.

Since work lamps have to function optimally in summer as well as in winter, the Thermoactive series work lamps from HELLA VALUEFIT also have a sophisticated heat management system. Depending on the ambient temperature, the light output is optimal without overheating the headlamp. This extends the lifetime of the product. They are suitable for passenger cars and off-road vehicles as well as vans and trucks.

Innovations

At night, parked and unlit vehicles always pose a large potential danger. HELLA has therefore also developed the Park-Safety-Fix (PS-Fix) self-sufficient parking light system for truck trailers. A battery-assisted power source enables active illumination of trailers without a towing vehicle.

Recognising the original

So, not all work lamps are the same! When buying them, you should definitely also look out for the ECE R10 marking, and for the ECE R23 marking for reversing lamps with broader illumination. With quality products, you can trust the technical specifications. HELLA subjects every headlamp model to thorough laboratory tests, both internally and externally.

For buyers, it is often not obvious whether a headlamp meets strict quality requirements. Therefore, in addition to the technical data, the following properties that are visible on closer inspection can help you to decide. The chassis is not neatly finished or is improperly glued. It is more tricky with inner components. In most cases, low-quality reflectors are hard to detect at first glance, the same applies to the LED board. HELLA and HELLA VALUEFIT products present themselves with clear branding. The products feel good in the hand, the surface structure is homogeneous and intact.

And, what is more, Work lamps should always be retrofitted and mounted by a qualified commercial vehicle workshop – only then are vehicle drivers sure not to be in the dark at work!

Georg Blenk, Krafthand Medien