SPORTS LIGHTING
LIGHTING MAINTENANCE
Rob Eadson, maintenance manager at Abacus Lighting, explains why effective, regular maintenance is essential to ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of all sports lighting systems
W W
ith rising costs and every- one feeling the pinch, your lighting installation may be an easy target for cutbacks.
However, this could be an expensive mis- take, which can lead to the need for bigger capital investment further down the line.
COST-EFFICIENCY Keeping high-value equipment in con- tinual operation is key to maximising investment – whether it’s generating stadium income by enabling HDTV broad- casting or keeping sports enthusiasts happy at a local community sports centre.
Just one faulty lamp can cause major
problems for an entire venue or event, whether it’s an insufficiently lit sports field or a world-class stadium. Down- time costs heavily, as does replacing faulty equipment that’s been neglected or incorrectly used – a costly mistake that can easily be avoided when you consider that maintenance packages can cost as little as £2 a day.
PERFORMANCE Regular maintenance of sports equipment can improve the performance of a sports lighting scheme and ensure it continues
working at optimum levels throughout its planned lifetime. For larger facilities, maintaining the
correct lighting levels is important to ensure the scheme continues to have adequate requirements for both the sport and any planned broadcast. As any photographer or TV crew will testify, you can have the best camera in the world but if the light fails, so will the picture. These lighting levels can change over time so a service plan is vital. However, it’s not just high exposure
venues where lighting performance is critical. Even at grassroots facilities,
TRENT BRIDGE CRICKET GROUND, NOTTINGHAM
hen Trent Bridge Cricket Ground chose Abacus to manufacture and install six new floodlight masts as
part of an £8.2m re-development project, the club also signed up for a comprehensive 10 year maintenance plan. The 40m-high fixed masts carry a total of
360 floodlights and the maintenance plan in- cludes annual cleaning, bi-annual illuminance testing and bulk lamp replacement after 2,500 hours of use. Routine maintenance in- cludes cleaning, spot replacement of failed lamps and checking for floodlight alignment. Further periodic maintenance includes bulk lamp replacement, non-destructive testing of the foundation bolts, mast inspection and NIC EIC electrical certification. To facilitate maintenance, the masts were
designed to incorporate a ‘man rider‘ system, which allows operatives to safely access the floodlights. This system removes the need for ladders, offering a less visually obtrusive
Trent Bridge Cricket ground hosted the 2011 World Twenty20 Cricket Championship
solution. This method of access fully com- plies with the latest working at height regulations and allows engineers to take tools and spare lamps up the masts in safety. The floodlighting scheme had to be de-
signed to accommodate 20Twenty, Pro40 and day/night One Day International cricket matches without the need to hire expen- sive, temporary floodlighting equipment. Designed to meet English Cricket Board
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and International Cricket Council One Day International standards, the scheme was instrumental in helping the ground win the honour of hosting the World Twenty20 Cricket Championships in 2009. This was a major coup for the ground, which saw off competition from a number of clubs across the country and brought millions of pounds of extra revenue to businesses across the Nottinghamshire county.
CASE STUDY
Issue 4 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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