By Zane Wylie, Sales Representative, Raylinc Lighting
An electrical engineer can finish their degree without a single lighting subject, then have a lighting design land on their desk. Most of what they learn after that comes from the job, the standards and the lighting suppliers they work with.
Asked what a new engineer has to pick up, Zane Wylie’s answer is short: “It’s everything.”
Lighting is a big field made of separate disciplines. Sports lighting, offices, roads and outdoor areas, parks and landscapes, and feature and facade lighting each work differently. Each has its own Australian Standards, and each standard affects how fittings can be used to meet it.
The product range adds another layer. Raylinc alone distributes four or five linear fittings across its brands. Multiply that by every distributor in the market, then by every type of fitting.
“It would be a bit mind-boggling,” Zane says of the engineer’s side of the desk. His answer is to narrow it down for them: “You just tell me what you need to do, or what sort of fitting you want, and I’ll come back to you with options.” He is upfront about the limit: “Obviously, all my options are from my ranges.”
Formal options are limited. When Zane studied, QUT ran lighting units within its architecture degree. The classes mixed people from lighting suppliers, electrical engineering and architecture.
Outside formal study, Zane points to the industry itself. “I would say that they would get a lot of their education from lighting reps,” he says. A supplier presentation covers the product, how it works and what matters about it, from the people who know it best.
His advice for anyone starting out:
Not necessarily. An electrical engineer can graduate without studying lighting and learn it on the job once projects require it.
University lighting units are limited. Supplier presentations, the relevant Australian Standards and working alongside an experienced lighting representative are where most engineers build their knowledge.
Yes. Lighting representatives regularly prepare designs for engineers who are new to lighting, using the ranges they distribute.
Zane Wylie is a sales representative at Raylinc Lighting, working with engineers in Townsville, Cairns and Brisbane. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Lighting and is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society.
Contact the Raylinc team to book a product presentation for your office, or to get help with a design.