Creating Well Lit Automotive Shops

Automotive shop lighting often escapes consideration until it causes a problem. Technicians cannot repair, detail, or maintain what they can’t see. Customers cannot navigate unfamiliar spaces without proper visibility. Effective automotive shop lighting positions auto shops for success by enhancing safety and maximizing project visibility.

Auto Shop Lighting Drives Efficiency

Quality work and top-tier service can be linked directly to clean and well-lit workspaces. Good lighting is an important tool for automotive workspaces, and can mean all the difference between a great repair or detailing job and a dissatisfied customer. Proper auto shop lighting improves these areas:

• Detailing: You can’t clean what you can’t see.
• Repairs: Poor lighting may cause mechanics to overlook damaged or worn vehicle components.
• Cost: Dark spaces lead to accidents or mistakes, which can result in injuries, delays, and/or compromised work quality.
• Brand: Auto shops rely on word of mouth to drive new business. A poorly lit auto shop may make customers uncomfortable.

Key Considerations for Auto Shop Lighting

Good shop lighting blends into overall structure and shop design, highlighting the tools, equipment, and Technicians within. Areas not reached by your standard fixtures should be equipped with task lights or other lighting supplements to provide full shop illumination.

Consider these details of your lighting design:

• Is it bright enough?
  Every bulb or fixture has a lumen rating. Lumen ratings are standardized, offering a reliable baseline for measuring brightness. An auto shop should possess a lumens-per-square-foot rating of 100 or more. To find the lumens-per-square-foot rating of your shop, divide the total number of cumulative lumens in your fixtures by the floor space of your shop.
• All fixtures are not equal
  Overhead fluorescent lights provide wide coverage. Compact fluorescent bulbs offer a warm quality with minimal energy usage for less environmental impact. Individual work lights create customizable options for specific projects, and flashlights offer spot lighting as needed. In recent years, various sizes of LED lights have become popular in many applications due to their light intensity, energy efficiency, and affordability.
• Don’t compromise safety
  Specialized emergency lighting makes any shop safer. Illuminated exit signs, backup lighting, and emergency strips support both staff and visitor wellbeing.

Work Station Innovations from NEOS

NEOS Shop Furniture allow technicians to excel. Our designs integrate optimized lighting directly into units, along with storage, tool boxes, and digital technology. Our workstations also feature:

• IT resources, computer systems, and display screens
• Custom storage configurations to accommodate tools and parts
• Service controls
• Fire extinguishers, safety equipment, and first aid amenities
• Fluid management and reel modules
• Personal lockers

NEOS systems bring functional, focused LED task lights directly to the bench with custom fascia. Available as a stand-alone element or in a continuous formation, with or without a complete wall system, NEOS Fascia incorporate illumination into a workspace with the flexibility to enhance or even retrofit existing shop lighting.

To learn more about NEOS systems, including finishing kits and optimized bench top lighting, contact us to speak with an expert or request a quote today.