A HUMAN FACTORS APPROACH TO LIGHTING RECOMMENDATIONS AND STANDARDS

This paper summarizes the recent report prepared by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) concerning relations between the efficiency of human visual performance and lighting, the first report on this topic in the long history of the CIE. The report describes the effects of lighting upon visual performance in terms of three physical variables: task luminance, task contrast, and the spatial pattern of luminances in the environment, of which the variable of least importance is task luminance, the only variable of the three related to illumination, which was formerly used as the basis for assessing lighting. The revolutionary impact of the CIE report upon lighting standards will be discussed. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of human factors analysis of the conditions under which visual elements of complex tasks are performed.