GreenLIGHT Lamps in the Workplace

Working at night adversely affects the health and performance of workers.

It is well established that night shift workers have problems remaining alert during the night shift. Alertness and judgment of night shift workers are often impaired, and studies indicate this impairment exceeds the level of leagally impaired drivers. A number of studies and research groups have claimed that this impairment could be substantaily reduced if the worker's internal clock would be aligned with his work schedule, rather than the external envirionment. The only way of doing this is through regulating the internal body clock with light.

Improving Alertness and Performance of Night Shift Workers Safely and Comfortably

The effectiveness of the GreenLIGHT technology at low intensities makes this technology uniquely adaptable for use in the workplace. Not only is it comfortable to use, but because GreenLIGHT lamps screen out the short wavelengths of light associated with the blue light hazard, these lamps present less ocular hazard than do normal fluorescent lamps used for ambient lighting.

Using low-intensity GreenLIGHT lamps, the U.S. Coast Guard developed a light management protocol to regulate circadian rhythms in a night work adaptation program,their Crew Endurance Management System(CEMS). This program, using GreenLIGHT lamps has been tested and found effective in trials on Coast Guard Cutters as well as commercial vessels operating on inland and coastal waterways. Based on the results of these trials, the US Coast guard , and the American Waterways Operators (AWO), agreed to implement the program on commerical vessels.

CEMS is generally a very broad and well designed program. CEMS includes nutrtional education and guidelines, excercise programs, guidelines for noise reduction and darkness in sleeping quarters, courtesy protocols and excellent protocols for crew training and implementation of the program. Unfortunately, there are errors in the CEMS operational guide regarding the nature of light needed for light management to be effective.

See Using the GreenLIGHT System for counteracting night work fatigue and
Studies with GreenLIGHT lamps in the Workplace.