8 potential risks to buying substandard work lights
TYRI Lights are a premium manufacturer of work lights, as such it is logical that they would argue against low cost and low-quality work lights. “However, buying bad work lights can actually have larger implications than most buyers are aware.” says PeO Axelsson, Marketing Manager at TYRI Sweden
There are different risks associated with choosing ineffective work lights depending on whether you are a manufacturer, re-seller or an end user. Whatever the situation, there is potential risks in all cases.
OEM/Manufacturer and agents/re-sellers
Most companies have demands to save costs and increase profit. This theory might be sound, so long as it is the same quality at the reduced price. This is not the case in work lighting.
1. Bad for a premium brand image
When you produce a premium machine that costs hundreds of thousands of Euro, it is risky to kit it out with low cost work lights. The saving of some hundred Euros might affect your quality brand image substantially should the lighting fail.
2. Expensive complaints
The differences between good and bad work lights are many. TYRI for example provides thorough testing for vibration, corrosion, dust, water and EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) . Lower cost lights have lower quality. Lower quality shows soon after delivery in many cases. It can be very expensive to rectify and may damage a customer option of your brand, which may prove irreversible, especially if the same fault occurs happens repeatedly.
3. EMC –disturbance of other technical equipment on-board the machine
If the light is not EMC 5-certified it has the potential to disturb the surrounding electronic equipment. If could affect the radio, the cell phone or the machines interface. This can be high risk and not an easy or cheap problem to solve.
4. Environmental issue
High quality lights will last much longer than low quality lights. Often, this can be as long as the lifetime of your machine. TYRI offers a 5-year warranty for their products. Quality LED lights also draw less power, which is better for the machine life and environment. Environmental issues are rapidly increasing in importance for buyers and suppliers.
Driver/End user
1. Bad work lighting – ineffective working environment and less efficiency
Good work light has uniform illumination, minimal risk of glare, a suitable colour temperature and good colour rendering. To achieve this, you need both knowledge and good high-quality work lights. If work lighting is bad, the driver will get tired and the productivity will be reduced. At its worse it will create a safety risk for the driver or the people working around him.
2. Too many lights
Effective work lighting does not necessarily need many light sources. With the right knowledge you can use an optimal number of lights. In many cases, customers buy too many lights – and not the right light output.
3. Down time due to broken lamps
A broken, low quality lamp will mean the machine will be out of order until the light is replaced. This cost will increase very quickly the more time the machine is out of action. If investment is made in high quality lights, these are less likely to fail and so your machine can continue to work.
4. Bad economy in the long term
Too many lights, lights failing, and machine down-time will soon make the low cost alternative very expensive. if you calculate the cost over the long term it will be even more obvious, high quality lights are a higher initial investment but a lower ongoing cost. There is a saying in the UK – “Buy cheap, buy twice”.
