Justin Moon (Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the March/April 2016 print issue of Food Manufacturing ) Food Manufacturing had the opportunity to correspond with Justin Moon of Acuity Brands about topics and trends as it relates to lighting in manufacturing facilities. Q. What are some emerging trends when it comes to lighting in manufacturing facilities? A. Manufacturing facilities are being asked to do more than ever before and that is trickling down into the equipment they use, including lighting. Right now, converting to LED is an easy decision. The payback is often less than two years and, with the right rebates, less than a year. We hear from a lot of manufacturing facility managers who have converted to LED and say, “Wow, that’s a huge difference in my costs and maintenance, but what we didn’t realize is how much better our employees can see to do their jobs and to keep things clean and safe.” Like insulation for your home, LED is just becoming standard for manufacturing facilities because it’s a huge waste of money not to. One of the most exciting emerging trends we’re seeing take foot quite quickly in manufacturing facilities involves integrating lighting with building management systems for a single platform. These single systems can be controlled and monitored from anywhere in the world. Manufacturing facilities implement this single system approach to their building and control system because they’re seeing the savings they received from LED improve even more. But more importantly, they’re seeing huge operational efficiencies as a result, through real-time automation, better asset usage and complying with stricter codes in a smarter way. This integration is quickly becoming a competitive advantage for those early adopters and fast followers, which will only continue as technology evolves to make these systems even more secure […]