Energy Manager

Commercial Electrical Industrial
Don’t like the airline’s food? You can’t blame the Kiwis’ lighting

January 15, 2016 - On the other side of the world, LSG Sky Chefs “is reaping the benefits of food, workplace safety, productivity and energy efficiency,” says Philips, after having made the switch to LED lighting.

January 15, 2016  By  Anthony Capkun



Flight catering services company LSG (New Zealand) has a roughly 125,000-sf facility at Auckland Airport where around 550 employees produce 17,000 meals and 7000 fresh-food products daily for their international airline customers. With no natural light at the facility, LSG’s head chef Tony Wright says optimum lighting is essential for his team of around 50 chefs to meet the standards set for product quality, hygiene, employee safety and productivity.

“Our whole production area must be designed to ensure we have the best visibility possible,” said Wright. “Natural-looking light is important when we’re using sharp equipment, such as knives, sanitizing fresh produce, as well as preparing food to ensure absolute consistency and the highest catering quality.”

Philips projects LSG Sky Chefs will achieve energy savings of about 37% (compared to T5s), which equates to $77,000 savings annually.

“We’re also making significant savings in terms of maintenance costs,” said Kevin Burrows, LSG’s project manager, who explains the new LED lights have been in place for over six months, and not a single one has required replacement or adjustment. “Previously, we spent around three hours per week on light bulb maintenance, so this is a huge advantage, with the added benefit that we have less employee downtime as we no longer need to halt production and interrupt business to swap out lights.”

Advertisement

Philips New Zealand partnered with Electrical Consulting Services Ltd. to develop the custom-designed lighting system. The products were specifically designed to operate within controlled cleanroom environments, removing the risk of contamination from lighting units.

— Photos courtesy Philips



Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below