Lights, Camera, Action for Ecoglo at the BBC

BBC Broadcasting House – Portland Place, London

The Challenge

The BBC is the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation, with sites and studios across the UK and around the world. BBC Broadcasting House is the BBC’s headquarters, where many of its flagship news, sports and current affairs programmes are recorded. With the BBC’s major radio networks also operating within, Broadcasting House has around 6,000 staff.

The BBC needed emergency lighting and safe stair nosings for the two main internal access staircases. This was the start of many such projects in Broadcasting House, a tier 1 security building. The BBC takes the safety of its staff very seriously. Lite4Life, a company which specialises in safety lighting for commercial and public buildings, is working with the BBC on these projects. Lite4life needed stair nosings that would clearly identify the steps in the case of an emergency. A photoluminescent tread, which glows in the dark, would facilitate staff and visitors who may need to find their way out of the building in such circumstances. The tread would also need to be slip resistant in line with Building Regulations.

The Solution

Lite4Life contacted Quantum Flooring Solutions about providing stair nosings for the project. It was decided that the best tread material for the job would be Eglo-55, from Quantum’s Ecoglo range. These highly visible stair nosings help to reduce slips and falls by improving step edge contrast in all light conditions. The unique photoluminescent tread material is charged and recharged through exposure to both natural and artificial light. This means that when a light source is removed (e.g. in an evacuation situation) the material will glow and safely identify the nose of the steps. The tread is also slip resistant, helping Ecoglo to meet Health and Safety requirements. As Andy Cunningham, the M.D. of Lite4Life and the contractor in this project says, “Whatever products we use from Quantum Flooring Solutions, we know they sit at the highest level of compliance and conformity and are totally fit for purpose.”

The Outcome

Quantum’s Eglo-55 Stair Nosing was installed on all of the steps on the BBC’s access staircases. This amounted to around 300 metres between the two staircases. The stair nosing tread is photoluminescent all over for added safety, and just 30 minutes of charge results in seven and a half hours of visibility if the light source is removed. This was especially important as Lite4Life had deemed it safer to use a lower floor level evacuation guidance system. This was done because smoke logging in the case of fire can make emergency lighting above floor or step level ineffective. The BBC can be sure that, when called upon, Ecoglo will immediately help with a safe egress that can be achieved with confidence and momentum. All Ecoglo products come with a 10-year warranty, they are highly durable, and they do not require ongoing maintenance. When the time does come to install new stair nosings however, Ecoglo can be readily recycled.

Ecoglo Stair Nosings were a cost effective, low maintenance and, most importantly, safe product choice for the BBC. It can rest assured that Quantum Flooring Solutions has provided stair nosings which will make its access staircase as safe as possible for many years to come.