Adaptive lighting for night-shift operations

TYRI’s INTELLilight^® system gives operators control over brightness and colour temperature to improve night-shift safety and comfort.

When TYRI visited Swedish contractor, Optoschakt’s yard, it was not the lighting that first caught the eye – it was the machine. The Huddig looked almost new: paintwork gleaming, windows spotless, every tool in its place. The same attention to detail is evident in the way its operator, Christopher Kindblom, approaches his work. “I like things to be clean and organised, both at home and at work. The machine is my office and I spend many hours here every day.”

Christopher’s connection to heavy machinery began early. He never attended nursery as a child; instead, he went to work with his grandfather. Today, he operates a Huddig for Optoschakt on projects ranging from groundwork to tramway maintenance and other critical infrastructure – much of it carried out at night to minimise disruption to traffic. “When you work at night, you need to be able to work both efficiently and safely,” says Christopher. “You have to see exactly what you are doing, but at the same time, the lighting must not cause problems for the people working around the machine.”

INTELLilight system

To meet these demands, Christopher’s Huddig is equipped with 25 TYRI lights, together forming a complete INTELLilight system covering both the excavator and tractor sections of the machine. Unlike conventional work lighting, INTELLilight is not designed to produce maximum light output. Instead, it delivers the right light for the situation. The operator can adjust brightness, colour temperature and where to focus the light to suit the task and surroundings, improving visibility while reducing glare for those working around the machine.

“The softer, warmer light makes a big difference for me. I’m sensitive to bright light and have tinted windows to create a more comfortable environment inside the cab. What’s interesting about TYRI’s lights is that you don’t necessarily notice the difference straight away. The longer you use the system, the more you realise just how much it actually affects the working environment,” says Christopher.

Wider worksite impact

On a worksite, the operator is rarely the only person affected by the lighting. Ground crews, traffic marshals and colleagues frequently work in close proximity to the machine. By enabling adjustment of both brightness and colour temperature, INTELLilight can improve conditions across the whole working area.

“It makes an enormous difference. Not just for me as the operator, but also for the people working around the machine,” says Christopher. “One person I work with regularly told me that he used to get a headache every time we worked at night. Since I started using softer lighting with the TYRI lights, he says the headaches have disappeared completely.”

Field-led development

For TYRI, product development is driven by real-world use. Feedback from operators such as Christopher informs the ongoing refinement of INTELLilight and the identification of further improvements to safety and working conditions.

“The best product development happens out in the field. Operators like Christopher give us invaluable insights into how our products perform in real working conditions and help us continue developing solutions that make a difference every day,” says Claes Laitinen, product manager for INTELLilight at TYRI.

Christopher’s own motivation aligns closely with that objective. “I want the machine to work as well as it possibly can. And if my experience can also help make things better for other operators, that feels really good.”

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