"Although emergency lighting products take a very small share of construction project budgets, they are vital", Five A Electronics General Manager Arzu RONA made important statements to our journal about Emergency Lighting.
Can you briefly tell us about Five A Electronics?
Founded in 1995, our company designs and manufactures lighting electronics products. We started our production with electronic ballast and expanded our product range with emergency lighting kits, emergency routing fixtures and emergency lighting fixtures in 1999, taking into account the needs of our country. Following the innovations related to emergency lighting products, R&D studies, developing and producing new products is our main activity.
The main activity of your company is emergency lighting systems, can you give information about your products?
Emergency Lighting Kits : IT is an electronic circuit that connects to light sources such as LED, Fluorescent and Halogen used for general lighting purposes and ensures adequate lighting of the environment with the help of the battery it has in case of power failure. It prevents panic in any power outage and provides the lighting necessary for the evacuation of the environment as soon as possible.
At Five A, we offer standard solutions for all kinds of light sources for battery-applied emergency lighting kits. Especially with the conversion of general lighting to LED lighting, product-specific solution needs arise. Our company, which has 20 years of experience in this regard, offers our customers various options according to their needs.
Emergency Routing Fixtures, You know, in public and private buildings, emergency guidance is provided so that exits can be easily reached in case of emergency. In case of emergency, it is imperative that emergency exit signs are placed in order to show the locations of the exits to be used for the evacuation of people in the building and the planned exit route from each point in the building to the people inside the building.
These fixtures, which can be single or double-faced, have graphical markings that provide orientation. Fixtures can be mounted directly on the wall, ceiling or suspended ceiling, or hung by hanging with elements such as tij, chain, hanger wire.
Emergency Lighting Fixtures are products that provide adequate lighting by automatically activating the city network or similar external electricity supply for reasons such as failure, maintenance, repair, fire, earthquake, and electrical power of the building or structure for safety purposes.
We produce our products in accordance with the standards. We work with international testing and certification bodies such as TSE, BSI, TÜV Rheinland on certification.
Have you brought many products supported by TUBITAK to our sector? Do you have any new work to do right now?
We have completed two projects and products using TUBITAK support. Our third project continues. Our DALI emergency lighting kit and DALI LED drive products have been supported by TUBITAK. Developing and producing technological products is among our main objectives. As a company, our R&D investments continue at all times. Our new products, which we have successfully developed in our R&D, motivate us.
What are the deficiencies in the regulations regarding Emergency Lighting in our country? Can you compare our country to abroad?
Standards improve our quality of life and make our lives easier. Although emergency lighting products take a very small share of construction project budgets, they are vital. The fact that the products do not work when needed is equivalent to the fact that the product is never present in the environment. It is very important that this perspective regarding product selection, use and maintenance is felt by the responsible persons. There are standards and regulations in our country regarding emergency lighting products and application. The first serious work started after the 1999 earthquake and was added to the legislation with the "Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings" which became law in 2002
Emergency lighting system application should be done according to TS EN1838 and TS EN 50172 Emergency Lighting Application Standards. Compared to other countries, the biggest problem in our country is the lack of products in accordance with the standards. Unfortunately, since these products do not have technical service and spare parts support, they remain only visually assembled products that work for a short time and then fail to perform their function.
In many Gulf countries and European countries, special approval is obtained by the government agency regarding emergency lighting products. This approval relates to its compliance with international standards for that product and its place of manufacture. Regular maintenance and control of emergency lighting products is mandatory. It is necessary to keep records of the maintenance carried out. There are deficiencies in testing, maintenance and supervision in our country. It is a legal obligation to carry out regular maintenance of emergency lighting products abroad, to register them and to release them when necessary. Since there is no such approval institution in our country, the compliance and maintenance of the products with standards is not under audit.
How do you assess its not being used in existing structures?
Emergency lighting products must be used in all public buildings except small houses. It is essential that the system is operational in an emergency by regularly maintaining the emergency lighting systems together with the use of them.
Places of use;
- Residences; Public Housing, Apartments
- Buildings for accommodation; Hotels, Dormitories, Hostels, Camps, Resorts
- Corporate Buildings; Schools, Classrooms, Hospitals, Prisons
- Office Buildings: Banks, Public service buildings, Offices
- Commercial Buildings; Shopping Malls, Stores, Markets, Passages,
- Industrial Structures; Factories, Production facilities, Energy production facilities
- Buildings for Collection Purposes; Restaurants, Coffee Shops, Museums, Places of Worship, Gyms, Airports, Terminals and stations, Storage Facilities, Car Parks, High Dangerous Places
It is stated that there is not enough infrastructure in our sector in terms of lighting design. What's wrong with that?
When projecting emergency lighting systems, the relevant standards for product selection and application are binding. Where and how to place emergency guidance and emergency lighting fixtures is explained in detail in TS EN 1838 standard.
It is very important to raise people's awareness with education in this vital issue. The addition of subject-related courses in universities, colleges, vocational high schools can be supportive. Occupational health and safety experts also have a responsibility to do so.
Five A is our most important exporting company. How do you do the overseas structure? Are your sales project-oriented?
We work abroad on the basis of companies and projects that are representatives of our products. We promote our products in new markets by participating in international fairs. We organize promotional and business trips that increase our market share.
You have been accepted to EY Turkey Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program 2017. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
EY Turkey Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program is a leadership program that helps female entrepreneurs with the goal, passion and potential to grow their businesses achieve their goals. The aim of the program is to increase their knowledge through the exchange of information about the strategies and practices of their enterprises, to identify potential partnerships, strategic collaborations, new customers and suppliers and possible sources of capital, to receive one-to-one mentoring support, to support women entrepreneurs who are ready to operate effectively in international markets and who want to be leaders in their field. It is implemented all over the world and started to operate in Turkey in 2016. A total of 10 female entrepreneurs are given this support annually.
How do you look at 2017 as a company?
2016 was a year of negativity for our country. The reflection of this into 2017 was felt a lot, especially in the first quarter. We are a dynamic, hardworking and developing country. As in every sector in the world, technology is advancing rapidly in the lighting sector. We anticipate that technological products with software infrastructure that facilitates use and maintenance will gain weight in projects. We are expanding our product range in this direction.
