Industry 4.0 is upon us: A manufacturing regime characterised by smart production systems powered by data and AI and putting to work such transformational technologies as robotics, augmented reality, and, perhaps most importantly, the Internet of Things (IoT). Lighting, too, plays a critical role: Smart, intelligent networked lighting can improve productivity, reduce energy consumption & carbon emissions, can provide for asset tracking & occupancy analysis, whilst improving employee safety & wellbeing and, the overall operational efficiency of a warehouse.
The role of lighting:
The first simple step is to swap out the old inefficient legacy warehouse lighting, where it still exists, for new efficient LED lighting. LED lighting can be up to 80% more efficient and can lasts more than 5 times than conventional sources, so you not only get the significant energy & costs savings, but also reduced maintenance costs, which due to the ceiling heights in warehouses, can be a very costly.
But the possibilities get even brighter.
Enabling a smart Warehouse :
Three dynamics are shaping the warehouse sector today:
- Digitalisation: the widespread adoption of a number of overlapping cutting-edge technologies, including AI, robotics, data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Employee safety and well-being: the need to reduce or eliminate the risk of accidents and injuries, and to provide a productive and healthy working environment
- Sustainability: the push to make operations “green,” with carbon neutrality as an important goal
Smart or connected lighting can play a significant role in enabling a warehouse to become even more digital, even more sustainable, whilst providing a safer and healthier & more productive place to work. One such smart lighting system is Interact from Signify. Intelligent drivers and sensors are embedded into the light fixtures to create a wired or wireless infrastructure allowing for full remote control and management of the lighting. Interact Warehouse offers an intuitive, flexible, cost-efficient, and scalable connected lighting system that meets unique needs and is easy to understand and operate.
Our wireless cloud-based system can also allow multiple sites to be connected to one common dashboard, allowing the user to take complete control of all the lighting across multiple sites anytime and from anywhere.
There is so much Interact can offer:
Intelligent Occupancy sensors, embedded into the lighting, gather data about presence and footfall within the space. Heat maps can be created to show which areas are used more frequently. This data can help further optimise the lighting regimes and improve operational costs by optimising stock locations and as a result orderpicking times.
Environmental sensing is also possible with the smart sensors. Temperature can be continually monitored and optimised, ensuring the right amount of heating/cooling is applied. Similarly, CO2 levels & VOCs can be monitored to keep an eye on air quality.
The Green Halo is one that cannot be ignored. A sustainable warehouse—appropriately lit, appropriately heated, and carbon-neutral—will also make employees more comfortable and productive. A sustainable warehouse can be a differentiator in the labour market, attracting the best people, especially among the younger working cohorts.
The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) estimates that warehousing in the UK accounts for 566 million sq ft of property – a rise of 32% over 2015. It is a significant part of the UK’s building stock and can therefore play a significant role in the UKs overall net zero ambitions.
To gain more insight into our Interact system please visit the Interact website – www.interact-lighting.com – or contact Clark Morrow our UKI Marketing & strategy manager clark.morrow@signify.com
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