What changes when you run around the clock
A daytime-only warehouse can lean on rooflights for a large part of the year. A 24/7 logistics operation cannot. The specific risks are:
- No daylight safety net. Night shifts work entirely under artificial light, so any shortfall in the lighting design is exposed for hours at a time.
- Fatigue. HSE guidance on managing shiftwork highlights the fatigue risk of night work. Fatigued drivers and pickers are less able to cope with poorly lit areas, glare or sudden transitions.
- Faster depreciation. Luminaires burning continuously accumulate operating hours several times faster than in a single-shift site, so lumen output falls sooner and maintenance factors assumed at design stage are reached earlier.
- Deferred maintenance. With no quiet period, failed fittings over live aisles are often left until a planned shutdown.
- Aggressive controls. Presence detection and dimming save significant energy at night, but badly set sensors leave pedestrians walking into dim aisles.
Standards and lux targets
The legal duty is the same as any workplace: regulation 8 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, with HSE guidance in HSG38 Lighting at work. Design values come from BS EN 12464-1:2021. The table below shows the zones that matter most on a logistics site; uniformity, glare and colour rendering limits apply too and are covered on our warehouse standards page.
| Zone | Maintained illuminance |
|---|---|
| Store and stock rooms | 100 lx |
| Manned rack aisles (floor level) | 150 lx |
| Loading ramps and bays | 150 lx |
| Dispatch, packing and handling | 300 lx |
| Shift offices and control rooms | 500 lx |
The key word is maintained. The value must be met at the end of the maintenance cycle, not on the day the fittings were installed. On a 24/7 site that point arrives sooner, which is why periodic measurement matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Who asks for evidence
HSE
HSE enforces health and safety in warehousing and treats workplace transport as a priority. Incidents on night shifts will prompt questions about lighting and fatigue management together.
Clients and insurers
Third-party logistics contracts often include service-level audits of site conditions. Insurers may request evidence of lighting checks, particularly after a forklift or pedestrian incident.
Fire risk assessors
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, emergency lighting needs regular testing. On a 24/7 site, full-duration tests leave batteries recharging for hours, so BS 5266-1:2025 testing should be planned so that occupied areas are not left without adequate backup. Our emergency lighting check can be scheduled around your shift pattern.
What we measure on a 24/7 site
- Night-time readings. We prefer to survey after dark or with rooflight contribution excluded, so the results reflect night shift conditions.
- Controls in operation. We check light levels in aisles in their normal controlled state, the time taken to reach full output after detection, and whether any zones dim while occupied.
- Representative aisles of each racking type, with horizontal floor readings and vertical readings at pick faces.
- Docks and marshalling, including transitions from yard to interior.
- Luminaire condition: failed modules, dirty optics and fittings that appear visibly dimmer than their neighbours.
We work around live traffic, with hi-vis and site induction as standard, and coordinate with your shift managers so aisles are surveyed when safe to access. No shutdown is normally needed.
Planning maintenance with data
Repeating a survey at a fixed interval lets you see how quickly output is falling and plan cleaning or replacement before zones drop below target, rather than reacting to complaints. Our guide on how often to test explains how to set a sensible interval, and common lighting failures covers the usual culprits.
Book a 24/7 logistics survey
We survey logistics warehouses across London and the South East, including the Thames Gateway, Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire. Our warehouse lux survey starts from £320 and can be booked for evening or night attendance. Prices are confirmed before booking. Book a survey and tell us your shift pattern.
Frequently asked questions
Should a 24/7 warehouse be surveyed at night?
Ideally yes, or with daylight excluded. Night shifts rely entirely on artificial lighting, so readings taken with daylight contribution can overstate what workers actually get.
Why does lighting degrade faster on a 24/7 site?
Luminaires accumulate operating hours several times faster than on a single-shift site, so lumen output falls and dirt builds up sooner. Maintained illuminance targets can be missed earlier than the original design assumed.
Do you need us to stop operations for the survey?
No. We work around live traffic after a site induction and coordinate aisle access with your shift managers.