Be it a small office or a large workspace, a shopping mall or a movie theatre. All of these places if equipped safely against hazards will have these red lights common which will guide you to safety. These emergency and exit lights are the visual aids to safety. Emergency lights are mostly found on door tops which lead to a safe pathway, and also during the same time illuminate the pathways so that people don’t topple over or get confused through the exit ways.
All the shopping malls and office spaces or places with masses on the building need to abide to the safety norms which, which also include people evacuation. And also these lights need a continuous check to ensure that they work when they are required to. So here are a few points listed to let you know what all you need for emergency light and exit light testing.
1. Testing Modes
Emergency lights and exit lights can be tested in various ways and modes. These tests can be manual, automated or the lights can be self-diagnosed. It completely depends upon the person in charge to opt for one kind of the testing method.
- MANUAL – The manual testing requires the person to manually go to each and every possible light in the premises and push the emergency button. Once done, the person needs to fill in the records for further references.
- AUTOMATED – The whole system can be put online through a computer, and the computer can do the tests for you and also record the data. This activity is less time consuming and can be repeated more times than the manual checking system. Also, there are very few changes of the data to be misplaced.
- SELF DIAGNOSIS – The self-diagnosis is the test which is very similar to that of manual testing. Only that in the self-diagnosis mode the person in charge will have to test the light over a 90 minute period and then record the data.
2. Testing Standard
One of the most important things that most people ignore while testing their emergency and exit lights is the fact that they are not following any standards. The standard AS/NZS 2293.2:2019 is one such standard. The AS/NZS 2293.2:2019 provides the clients with standard practices that are required to be followed to test the emergency and exit lights. The standard rationalizes the whole system into two sub parts The central system and the Single point systems. The central systems consist of the batteries, inverters, chargers, the distribution and control equipment while the individual systems consist of emergency luminaires and exit signs. The standard builds relationships between Routine service schedules, identifying and reporting activity failures and failure rectification. The standard not only gives a systematic approach to the activity of testing but also makes the place ready for any safety audit. As all testing is done as per the standard no one can have objections against the safety of the building.
3. Biannual Testing
Annual testing is one part of emergency light and exit light testing. The annual testing is a 90 minute test that needs to be done. The whole system in the building needs to be online at once for these 90 minutes. Make sure the test is done while the building and its premises are empty except for the safety officers who are conducting the test. Also, the test needs to be done when there is quite an amount of time in the building reopening, this is because the test will drain down your batteries and charging them will take some time. In the test check the main supply of the building is shut and the lamps are lit for 90 continuous minutes. The test is done to check the batteries and their capabilities. Also, to check is that part that the brightness of the lamps in the 90th minute of operation is same as that of the 1st minute of operation. This can be visually inspected or can be checked using LUX equipment.
Most people underestimate the need for emergency and exit lights but in case of some hazard or accident these small lights play the most important role in people’s safety. No one would ever want people to be stuck inside a building due to the failure of the safety system of which these lights are a vital part. Therefore, it is important to keep the lights tested time and again, as per the standards. Because these small measures from one’s side, can save lives of many.
