Lighting in dry docks is about making sure work can be done safely and efficiently, day or night. From massive hull repairs to detailed inspections, every task needs the right amount of light. But how much light is enough? That’s where lux and foot-candles (fc) come into the picture.
Common Lux and Foot-Candle Requirements in Dry Docks and Berths
Lighting isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal in shipyards. Different zones have different jobs, and each job has its own visibility demands. A walkway where people just pass through doesn’t need the same brightness as a welding station or an inspection bay. Let’s break down what works best for each area.
General Open Dock Areas
For the wide-open spaces where workers are moving equipment, driving forklifts, or guiding vehicles, you don’t need stadium-level brightness—but you do need enough light to avoid tripping hazards and keep traffic flowing safely. The sweet spot here is usually 20 to 50 lux, which works out to around 2 to 5 foot-candles. That’s bright enough for safe navigation without blasting unnecessary energy on spots where no fine detail work is happening.
Dry Dock Work Zones
Inside a dry dock, things are much more hands-on. There’s heavy lifting, assembly, and a lot of precision work. For basic maintenance and assembly, you should start at 100 lux, which is about 9 foot-candles. If you’re dealing with large mechanical components or tight-tolerance assembly, bumping it up to 150 lux or even 200 lux is a smart move. Think of it as the difference between just “seeing” the area and being able to work confidently without straining your eyes.
Welding and Fabrication Areas
Welding is one of those tasks where good lighting pays off big time. Without clear visibility, you risk bad welds, missed flaws, and a ton of rework later. Most shipyards aim for 200 to 300 lux, or roughly 18 to 28 foot-candles, in welding zones. At that level, you can clearly see joint lines, alignment, and any imperfections that need fixing before they turn into bigger problems.
Inspection and Fine Detail Tasks
If your crew is doing inspections, paint touch-ups, or finishing work, the bar goes even higher. You’re talking 500 lux minimum, which is about 46 foot-candles. To put that in perspective, that’s the same level of brightness you’d find in a bright office or a quality control lab. And honestly, it makes sense—when you’re looking for tiny cracks or coating defects, every detail matters.
Berth and Quay Areas
For berths and quay zones, where cranes handle cargo and workers guide loading operations, lighting needs to be strong enough for safe movement but not so intense that it blinds operators. A range of 30 to 50 lux (around 3 to 5 foot-candles) usually hits the mark. That keeps visibility good for signaling and coordination without creating glare for crane operators.
Emergency Lighting
Power outages happen, and in a place as complex as a shipyard, you don’t want people scrambling in the dark. Emergency lighting doesn’t need to be bright enough for full work, but it should allow safe evacuation. 10 lux—about 1 foot-candle—along escape routes is generally enough to guide everyone out safely.
If these numbers seem high, remember this: a normal office is usually 300 to 500 lux, and that’s just for reading and typing. When you’re working with steel plates, massive machinery, and high-risk tasks, those higher numbers for inspection and welding start to look pretty reasonable. Good lighting isn’t about luxury—it’s about avoiding costly mistakes and keeping everyone safe.
| Area | Lux | Foot-Candles (fc) |
|---|---|---|
| General Open Dock Areas | 20–50 | 2–5 |
| Dry Dock Work Zones | 100–200 | 9–19 |
| Welding & Fabrication Areas | 200–300 | 18–28 |
| Inspection & Detail Tasks | 500+ | 46+ |
| Berth & Quay Areas | 30–50 | 3–5 |
| Emergency Lighting | 10 | 1 |
What Determines the Lux and Foot-Candle Levels?
When it comes to setting the right lighting levels for dry docks and berths, it’s not as simple as pulling numbers from a standard chart. Real-world conditions play a huge role, and ignoring them can make your lighting plan useless. Let’s break down the main factors that really influence how bright things need to be.
Type of Work Being Done
Not all jobs demand the same visibility. Heavy lifting and general assembly can get by with moderate lighting, but welding, painting, or precision inspections are a different story. The finer the detail, the more light you need. For example, welding areas often need 4 to 6 times more lux than open traffic zones. It’s not about overdoing it; it’s about making sure workers can actually see the tiny flaws that could cause big problems later.
Time of Operation
If your dock runs during the day only, you can lean on natural sunlight for part of the load. But 24/7 operations or night shifts? That’s where artificial lighting has to do all the heavy lifting. And don’t forget seasonal changes—short winter days mean your lights are working overtime to keep things safe and efficient.
Surface Reflectivity
This one catches a lot of people off guard. Think about what’s sitting in your dock: bright steel plates, wet surfaces, or freshly painted hulls. These can bounce light around, creating glare and eye strain. On the flip side, dark or matte surfaces just soak up the light, meaning you’ll need more lumens to hit the same lux level. It’s all about balance—enough brightness without turning the space into a blinding mirror.
Fixture Height and Angle
Mounting height is huge. When lights are 25 to 35 meters up on a high mast, the beam spreads wider but loses intensity by the time it hits the ground. That’s why taller poles usually need higher-wattage fixtures or tighter beam angles. The same goes for the angle—point them wrong, and you’re either lighting the sky or creating shadow zones that slow work down.
Environmental Conditions
Let’s be real: shipyards are rough environments. Dust, salt spray, and moisture aren’t just nuisances—they chew through fixtures over time and even reduce light output. If your lights aren’t rated for marine conditions, expect corrosion, foggy lenses, and uneven coverage within months. That’s why IP66 or IP67 fixtures and anti-corrosion coatings aren’t optional—they’re the only way to keep your lighting reliable long-term.
What is Lux and Foot-Candle?
Before we get into actual numbers, let’s clear up what lux and foot-candles mean. Both measure the amount of light falling on a surface, but they use different systems. Lux is the metric unit, where one lux equals one lumen per square meter. Foot-candle is the imperial equivalent, meaning one lumen per square foot.
To convert between them, here’s an easy reference: 1 foot-candle is roughly 10.76 lux. So, when someone says a dry dock needs 100 lux, that’s about 9.3 foot-candles.
Why does this matter? Because lighting standards and guidelines often use one or the other. In the U.S., OSHA and ANSI typically use foot-candles, while international standards like IEC and ISO often use lux. Knowing both helps you compare and meet requirements wherever your shipyard is located.
Why Lighting Levels Matter for Dry Docks and Berths
Lighting in dry docks and berths isn’t just about making things look bright. These spaces have a unique set of challenges that make proper lighting a real game-changer for both safety and productivity.
A Tough Environment to Work In
Unlike enclosed factories or warehouses, dry docks and berths are wide open, often exposed to rain, fog, wind, and extreme temperature changes. On top of that, you’ve got massive steel structures, reflective metal surfaces, and water puddles all around. These can create glare, harsh shadows, or dark corners that mess with visibility. If you’ve ever tried spotting a weld seam under uneven light, you know how tricky—and risky—it can be.
And here’s the thing: bad lighting doesn’t just make life inconvenient. It’s a major safety issue. Studies in the industrial sector show that poor lighting is linked to roughly 20–30% of workplace accidents, especially slips, trips, and falls. In environments like shipyards, where workers deal with cranes, heavy components, and tight spaces, the margin for error is tiny.
Why It Impacts More Than Just Safety
Now, let’s talk about productivity. Imagine a welding crew working on a hull section late at night under weak floodlights. If the visibility isn’t good, they might miss small cracks or misalign parts by a few millimeters. That might not sound like much, but in shipbuilding, that could mean hours of rework or even structural weaknesses that cost thousands to fix later. For reference, a single dry dock project can involve hundreds of weld joints—if even 2% of those need rework due to poor visibility, that’s a serious hit on schedule and cost.
How Much Light Do You Really Need?
To give you a sense of scale, a typical open berth area should have at least 30 to 50 lux of light for basic operations. But inside a dry dock where heavy assembly happens, you’re looking at 100 lux minimum, and if you’re doing welding or fine inspections, that number jumps to 200–500 lux. For context, a regular office is around 300 lux. So if you think a single 400W floodlight is enough to cover a whole dock, think again.
Good lighting isn’t just ticking a compliance box. It’s about creating an environment where workers can do their jobs without second-guessing what they see. It reduces mistakes, cuts down on fatigue, and makes every operation—from lifting a 200-ton block to checking a weld seam—safer and smoother.
How to Measure Lux Levels in Dry Docks
Having the right lighting plan on paper is great, but it doesn’t mean much unless you verify what’s actually happening on the ground. Measuring light levels is the only way to know for sure that your dry dock or berth meets the target lux (or foot-candle) requirements. Here’s how to do it right.
Using a Lux Meter
The most straightforward tool for the job is a digital lux meter. It’s small, portable, and gives you instant readings. To get an accurate result, place the sensor at the typical working plane—usually about 0.8 to 1 meter above the surface, which represents eye level for someone standing and working. This is the same height lighting engineers use when they design layouts.
Why Multiple Readings Matter
Taking just one reading and calling it a day? That’s a rookie mistake. Light rarely spreads perfectly evenly, especially in big open areas like docks. Shadows from cranes, scaffolding, or even a parked vessel can create dark spots you wouldn’t notice until someone trips. So take multiple readings across different points—center of the dock, near the edges, under structures—and then calculate the average. You’re aiming for both the right lux level and good uniformity.
Considering the Maintenance Factor
Here’s something people often overlook: lights don’t stay as bright forever. Dirt, salt, and fixture aging will drop light output over time. That’s why engineers use something called a maintenance factor, typically between 0.7 and 0.8, when designing lighting systems. In plain English, this means your initial design should overshoot the target by about 20–30% so that after a few years, you’re still meeting the required lux level.
When Should You Re-Test?
Shipyards aren’t static environments. Equipment moves, new structures pop up, and conditions like dust or sea spray change throughout the year. To keep things safe and compliant, it’s smart to check light levels at least once a year. You should also re-test after any major layout change or lighting upgrade, just to make sure nothing’s creating unexpected shadows or glare zones.
Wrapping Everything Together
Lighting in dry docks and berths isn’t something you want to leave to guesswork. Knowing the right lux and foot-candle levels—and checking them regularly—makes a real difference for worker safety and operational efficiency. Whether it’s a 20 lux open yard or a 500 lux inspection station, the right setup keeps projects moving smoothly without accidents slowing things down. In the end, a well-lit dock isn’t just brighter—it’s smarter, safer, and more productive.