Safety has always been a major focus for Auto Electrical Imports.
SHINING ON: CIVIL
CONSTRUCTION AS CONSTRUCTION HOURS ARE EXTENDED TO ADHERE TO NEW SAFETY REGULATIONS AND WINTER DAYLIGHT HOURS RESTRICT SIGHT, LIGHTING FOR PROJECTS IS EVER MORE CRUCIAL. AUTO ELECTRICAL IMPORTS EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT LIGHTING CONFIGURATIONS.
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ighting is one of the most important factors in occupational health and safety on construction sites. Whether it is for fatigue prevention, improving visibility or increasing safety through awareness of moving objects, lighting is an essential factor for all construction works. In 1974 Norm Haupt, opened an electrical shop which began to boom around the time of the Commonwealth Games and World Expo. The business grew and eventually Haupt sold the shop before going into wholesale business. Starting with two people he grew Auto Electrical Imports to a team of 48. “Ensuring safety for clients is the biggest part of our business. A lot of 22
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the growth we have had is on the back of occupational health and safety,” Haupt says. “We made a conscious decision in the 90s to step away from rotating parts and focus more on safety products because that is where we could see the growth and it hasn’t stopped since.” The company is now a supplier of electrical products for plant and machinery, with expertise in the area of lighting. It is also the main distributor for NORDIC LIGHTS, a major lighting manufacturer based in Finland. “Our lighting expertise is something the company has learnt over the years. Most staff here have a background in auto electrical engineering. Since the mid
2000s lighting has become increasingly important and we have gained our knowledge as the technology evolved,” Haupt says. He says one of the main concerns for industry, when it comes to lighting is fatigue. As many construction projects work through the night and fatigue can be a real threat to safety. “If you haven’t got the right colour temperature lighting it can strain the operator’s eyes and fatigue the operator. With the introduction HID’s in the early 2000s, lighting was able to come up to a level close to that of natural light which the sun produces this took away the strain from operator’s eyes reducing fatigue,” Haupt says.
