The Future of Tool Boxes

For many of us a toolbox is completely utilitarian. It’s a safe place and usually portable hold all for the things we use to do our job every day.  It would be difficult to say exactly when the first tool box came about. The idea is so ubiquitous that just about anything fashioned to hold more than one instrument could be classified as a tool box.

The History of The Tool Box 

For a very long time, a tool box was any wooden or cloth object fashioned to hold and carry simple weapons and instruments. Wood was the material of choice for hundreds of years, with chests and boxes of all shapes and sizes being made from the organic stalwart.

In the late 19th century, Kennedy Manufacturing in the United States came out with a simple industrial innovation, the metal tool box. Even today, this same design is being made. For many years, the category remained more or less unchanged… until plastic arrived.

Plastic has a bad rep in modern popular culture, particularly the single-use stuff that’s messing up our waterways and natural habitats, but when it first entered the world of mass manufacturing it was an absolute game-changer. Bakelite was the first synthetic plastic to enter the home and workplace with a suite of incredible properties like electrical nonconductivity and heat resistance. On top of that it was durable and cheap to make using a coal by-product that was traditionally discarded. In the 1920s and 30s, just about everything could be made from Bakelite – and it included toolboxes, tools and electrical fittings and parts. Even today, some of the fittings and fixtures widely used by electricians are made with Bakelite. By World War 2, new plastics had entered mass production and it wasn’t long before they were the material of choice for cases, boxes and chests for our tools.

Historically, the primary innovation for the tool box has been from a material perspective and even then, the shift toward heavy duty plastics has been generational – even today, many craftspeople prefer the soul of wood or mechanics of steel tool boxes.

While there might not be a lot of movement in the Commercial Property Market right now, it could still be a good time to look at your building.

Attitudes to long term leases have been changing for some time now. Lease terms now have to be more flexible and shorter and the gross space we use fluctuates.

With tenants not locking into traditional business models, they have greater incentive to move if they don’t like their building or are frustrated with flexibility.

Right now presents an important opportunity to look at your building. Start thinking Now.

Building Branding is continuing to gain traction and leads to greater loyalty to creative building owners.

Owners should be thinking about the spacial configuration, the digital readiness, the lighting and the productive communal spaces that attract a growing number of business tenants. This is its Building Brand.

Bright Group can assist and advise on the planning and execution of your Building Brand. We are ready to share our Bright Ideas with you.

DALI lighting is an innovative lighting system where every light is assigned a unique address. Rather than having to wire every light to every switch, all of the lights are connected in a single house-wide circuit. Using DALI lighting decreases the total quantity of lighting cables required by a factor of 10, adding to the overall sustainability of the home. The lights in the home can be controlled via wall switches, the household app and even using voice control with your preferred intelligent personal assistant: Siri, Alexa, Janni.

Over the next few weeks the Desert Rose House will be reconstructed at the University of Wollongong and we are planning to invite you to tour the 2^nd most sustainable house in the world. Stay tuned and we’ll send through the dates.

The Internet of Things is making its way into our daily lives in simple but profound ways, next week we will talk about the TV series “Years and Years”. Not the scary parts.

Australia has been internationally criticised for producing very little of its energy from solar power, despite its vast resources, extensive sunshine and overall high potential.

According to The Institute for Sustainable Futures, Australia has the potential to install 179 GW of solar power on roofs across the nation. At the end of 2018 Australia had just over 8 GW of rooftop solar.

A sudden rise in Solar installations in Australia since 2018 dramatically propelled the country from being considered a relative laggard to a strong contender by mid 2019. 

Australia suddenly ranks among the world’s top ten solar countries by capacity and ranks second on a watts per capita basis to Germany. 

Australia still uses less than 5% of the potential capacity for rooftop solar. The combined annual output from rooftop solar could theoretically reach 245 TWh, more than the current annual grid consumption of just under 200 TWh per year. 

The future is looking bright.

Orange light is thought to boost the creative thought process and helps you develop new ideas by increasing oxygen to the brain, therefore triggering increased mental stimulation.

Orange creates a welcoming and balanced atmosphere in certain environments.

It can also stimulate appetite in young people, which is why orange is associated with healthy foods and undertones of orange lighting can often be used in particular restaurants or supermarkets.

Yellow is a warm colour, which can evoke feelings of happiness or joy, as well as spark muscle energy and mental activity. Yellow light therapy has often been used to treat depression and anxiety. The colour yellow catches attention, which is why it is used often on transport including taxi’s, trains and buses.

In hospitals, warm tones of yellow lighting are used to create a calming and cosy atmosphere, which can help patients get to sleep at night. Warmer, yellow lighting is often used in homes to create a certain ambience and homely feeling.

Colour is often used in lighting to set the mood for a space. Each colour carries meaning and has a subconscious effect on our brains. Blue lighting has a special effect on the body in a variety of ways. Research shows that the human eye has photoreceptors that are sensitive to blue light, which effects circadian rhythm.

Blue light is good when waking up in the morning. Blue LED lighting can also be used to increase blood flow, as the skin is also sensitive to the colour blue, and has been used in medical practises to promote healing.

In lighting and interior design, blue light has been used to portray trust, intelligence, peace, calmness, relaxation, loyalty, cleanliness and tranquility.

Ever go to the supermarket with the intention of buying one thing, and walk out with a bag full of shopping?

The lighting in supermarkets is designed to enhance the products on the shelves and highlight particular brands, through colour perception enhanced through the lighting.

Many elements are considered when designing supermarket lighting including colour rendition, reflection, contrast, and energy efficiency.

Continuous lighting lines with LED technology are arranged parallel to the shelving. Incorporating the recommended light levels and contrast ratios, the result is a space with high visual interest, depth, and dimension, which adds to the feeling of the space and the overall experience.

Supermarkets are one retail environment where the psychological effects of lighting are well designed to fit the product and the customer.

Bright Group Electrical specialise in lighting design for retail and commercial spaces, including supermarkets, but don’t blame us for making you buy that extra tub of ice cream.

Lighting throughout a Hair Salon needs to serve many purposes. Firstly, to make the customer feel comfortable and look great whilst they are sitting in the chair staring at themselves in the mirror for a long period of time. This is where soft lighting with minimal glare is perfect.

It can be hard to get the balance right when pairing this soft lighting with sufficient illumination for the Hairdresser, in particular when sharp scissors and permanent hair dye is involved! Allowing the light to clearly show a customers natural hair colour, and the range of hair dye colours available, from platinum blonde to vibrant blue hair, can be achieved by correctly spot lighting the task area.

Different lighting design needs to be considered for the other areas used in the process, including over the basins when clients are staring up at the ceiling having their hair washed, or when they visit the bathrooms to inspect their new look!

Contact Bright Group Electrical today to discuss your lighting makeover.

The overall tone and mood of a restaurant is largely attributed to the lighting. Designing the lighting according to the function of each area of a restaurant is important. For example, in the kitchen, the lighting needs to be practical and help the employees complete the required tasks of the restaurant – cooking, cleaning and serving.

Within the restaurant, how the environment is illuminated will affect the experience that customers are having. A dimly lit restaurant sets an ambience of intimacy, whereas a bright and vibrant setting creates a lively and sometimes casual tone.

The behaviour of customers is impacted by the lighting. In takeaway or fast food restaurants, brighter lighting stimulates guests, encouraging them to eat their food quickly and free up the table for another customer. A more dimly lit restaurant with warm lighting, can invite guests to linger, to enjoy another cocktail or order dessert.

The lighting throughout a restaurant is critical to the experience of the customers and employees and the overall success of the business.

Contact Bright Group Electrical today to discuss our menu of lighting options.

You’ve done the upgrade and everyone is complaining about their eyes. How were you to know that the LED lighting you chose was meant for a hospital.  

The upheaval of LED has been a catalyst in improving the awareness and importance of having technical illumination and electrical knowledge.

More than ever, the design process has spread to involve not only architects, interior architects, industrial designers, graphic designers, visual artists, builders and engineers…but the client and all their clients too. Where previously we threw the book open on colour choices, now we need to consult widely on the ambience.

Design teams now have a broad experience in commercial architectural, landscape, façade, sports and retail hospitality. All have unique lighting principals and considerations. All of which influence unique and creative outcomes.

The choice of technologies grows and it’s very important to create an open dialogue with your electrical contractor. There must be flexibility and experimentation in the creation of beautiful spaces for your customers and your team.

Classrooms require good lighting in order to facilitate learning. Lighting is a dominant factor in the brain’s ability to focus and has been shown to improve morale and increase productivity in Schools. From a practical standpoint, there needs to be enough of and the right kind of light to perform the various activities and lessons undertaken within a School environment.

Classrooms today have transformed into digital hubs, where learning is focused and somewhat reliant on technology. This translates to new best practices that improve the learning environment while minimizing energy, resources and cost. Bright Group Electrical is revolutionizing lighting in environments including Classrooms, with dedicated solutions that integrate high-quality luminaires with state-of-the art lighting control, to optimize visual comfort, flexibility and satisfaction while slashing energy consumption.

Contact us to learn more about better learning environments.

Good lighting in an office creates positive working conditions in a functional and atmospheric way. Satisfaction, efficiency and motivation will improve if you make sure you have the right balance of natural light and functional illumination.

Too often, office environments are insufficiently lit, not only from the perspective of biological lighting needs but also from an architectural one, where the room feels smaller due to inadequate lighting.

A study from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, shows that in companies with a high standard of interior and lighting design, productivity can increase by up to 36 per cent.

Bright Group Electrical are experts in office lighting design and installation.

Contact us to arrange a lighting assessment of your office to increase productivity and the wellbeing of your team!

Lighting has a deep impact on our lives. Lighting effects numerous biological, mental, and emotional factors, and it directly contributes to our mood and productivity. Our happiness.

Lighting is known to affect circadian rhythms. This means that lighting can contribute to your alertness in the mornings, and it can either entice you to feel tired or keep you up all night.

As you might expect, brighter lights are best for mornings and daytime, while dim lights are good in the evenings. The reverse of these can cause a confused circadian rhythm, mess with your sleep schedules, or make it difficult to find energy throughout the day.

Contact us to discuss how we can improve your lighting, and more importantly your environment.

One of our Directors recently caught up with Hunter Valley Training Company as part of their ‘Where are they now’ program.
They discuss starting an Electrical Apprenticeship in Wollongong, starting an Electrical Business and some of the lessons gained along the way.
Read the full interview here . . . Read More