Gersil N. Kay, IESNA, Conservation Lighting International Ltd.

Belling the code-and-standard cat

Why and when did regulations solidify to a point where unbending, homogenized codes and standards keep engineers from exercising their expertise and good judgment? This situation is particularly true for lighting. Lighting has become the stepchild of construction. It is often the last to be considered in planning, the first to be jettisoned in the budget crunch, mostly assumed to be present but often created without adequate thought, and many times beset by unfathomable limitations.