Smart solutions streamline the testing process

Managing emergency lighting over multiple sites and estates can be highly time-consuming and therefore costly. The emergence of new technologies has facilitated upgrades to emergency lighting compliance, and has revolutionised the sector in many ways. Rene Joppi, Managing Director at Mackwell, explains more.

To comply with regulations, emergency lighting must undergo monthly function and yearly duration testing. Traditionally, this has been carried out manually – turning a key switch on the wall, observing the result and maintaining the logbook.

It’s clear to see that this is a time-intensive activity, especially for those managing emergency lighting across numerous sites or large estates.

While automatic testing systems within new buildings – most commonly using DALI – have become common practice, this is not the case in existing properties. Many are still run by a single facilities management team.

To overcome this, smart, automated solutions that streamline the process and use technology to assist in these challenges are thankfully now available. Mackwell’s N-Light Ecosystem of emergency lighting test and monitoring solutions is one such example.

Solutions, such as the N-Light, remove complexity and focus on safety. They provide an advantage that was not previously available – being able to view the status of emergency installations at any time, from anywhere all on one single interface. It is a complete, scalable and integrated monitoring solution that allows wired and wireless monitoring as well as cloud connectivity all in one system.

This, in turn, offers a great number of benefits. Firstly, it removes the need for continuous site safety checks, saving a significant amount of time. It also improves the accuracy of detecting faults by offering real-time system updates. This allows management teams to know exactly which part of a building and site needs attention.

Having smart infrastructure and automated processes in place makes the entire operation easier to run, saving time so that facilities managers can focus on more complex tasks. Furthermore, it allows for more secure record-keeping, accurately logging the record of each test being performed, its result, and any previously detected issues. Test reports can be accessed easily from any location through a device such as a laptop or tablet.

Putting this into perspective is a recent success story at Wealden District Council, a local government district in East Sussex and home to over 160,000 residents. As part of the path to net zero, the council is seeking opportunities to minimise its carbon emissions output at every opportunity.

Through this commitment, as well as the need to create a more streamlined approach to managing council-owned properties throughout the region, the council sought to deploy a cloud-based automatic test system for emergency lighting with 106 blocks of general needs flats within the district.

Each building had previously relied on traditional emergency lighting, where estate wardens would have to physically visit each block and manually test that they were working correctly. The 106 blocks span five postcode areas, meaning estate wardens regularly had to cover a large geographical area when testing. One of the key goals of the upgrade was therefore to reduce the time spent on testing, while ensuring the emergency lighting complied with regulations.

A full emergency lighting solution was specified from Energy Lighting and Compliance (EL&C), which is a sister company within the Mackwell Group. A cloud-based automatic test system for the emergency lighting is now fully operational across the communal areas of the blocks of flats.

With the new solution, the onsite testing and scope for human error have been completely removed. This has improved the council’s compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, as well as allowing smarter use of the system to detect lighting faults and ensuring swift repair or replacement is undertaken to ensure compliance further.

Following the resounding success of the project, an additional phase was developed in April 2022 and is to be completed by mid-2023, incorporating 12 retirement living courts into the project.

It is clear to see the contribution that technologies such as the N-Light Ecosystem have offered to the emergency lighting sector; making a huge difference to those with responsibility for monitoring and testing, while aiding compliance and overall safety.

Mackwell, mackwell.com

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