See and BE SEEN
Focus on: The Halo™
By Kim Biggar
The Halo™ 360-degree personal safety and task light
is much what you’d expect, given its name. It’s a
ring that attaches to a hardhat and wraps the head
in light, illuminating both the person who wears
it and the person’s workspace. It can be seen from over a
quarter-mile away.
Illumagear, Inc. launched its first product, the Halo Light,
at CONEXPO 2014. At this year’s CONEXPO, from March 7
to 11 in Las Vegas, Illumagear is revealing Halo™, its nextgeneration
product. Halo is cord-free and does not require a
battery pack, unlike the Halo Light.
Background
Max Baker developed a prototype for the original Halo Light
after seeing a need in the construction industry for a mobile
personal lighting system that would provide 360-degree illumination.
Having started in construction laying sewer pipe,
Baker knew how dangerous construction work sites can be,
and became focused on improving the safety of people in risky
environments. He and Andrew Royal became co-founders
of Illumagear in late 2012.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
The company is based in Seattle, Wash. Baker is now
CEO, and Royal is president and chief product officer.
Product details
The Halo’s design eliminates shadows and reduces a worker’s
reliance on stationary light sources. Its spring retention
clips keep it firmly attached to a hardhat, but also make it
easy to remove. It works with any standard hardhat, from
manufacturers including MSA, Bullard, Fibre Metal, North
and numerous others.
The LED lights on the Halo are expected to last about
36,000 hours. It has four light modes:
• Halo, which provides full brightness of 276 lumens in 360
degrees – used when moving around and performing a
number of jobs on a job site
• HI-Alert, which rotates in 360 degrees – useful when flagging
or operating around cranes, moving vehicles and
machinery
• Task, which provides maximum brightness of 82 candela on
the front third to illuminate the immediate work area out
to the visual periphery – good for working on a specific task
in a dark area
PILING CANADA 9