Engineering a Safer, Smarter Grain Storage Facility
A busy shipping port in England receives a welcome lighting upgrade for several critical areas in its grain storage operations.
Industrial and hazardous-area LED lighting manufacturer Dialight recently played a key role in the development of the new Cefetra Bulk Store at the Port of Tilbury in Essex, England. The result delivers a comprehensive lighting solution designed to meet the demanding safety, environmental and operational requirements of storing grain in a busy port environment.
Working closely with principal contractor Harmonix Construction and the Port of Tilbury, Dialight developed a tailored lighting scheme incorporating more than 200 luminaires across the internal grain storage areas, quayside, external operational spaces and associated facilities. With combustible grain dust, exposed marine conditions, challenging mounting heights and complex lighting requirements to consider, the project called for specialist technical expertise and a carefully coordinated approach from the outset.
Completed in July, the new facility at Berth 43 has transformed a former open-air container depot into a purpose-built storage operation with capacity for approximately 50,000 tons of soy and 10,000 tons of wheat-feed pellets. The project also demonstrates how early engagement with a lighting manufacturer can help optimize a specification, improve design efficiency and deliver reliable long-term performance in challenging industrial environments.
According to Jenis Mistry, project engineer at the Port of Tilbury, the Port has supported Cefetra’s animal-feed operations since 1997, historically using 5/6 Shed for the discharge, storage and onward distribution of soybean meal.
Why the Port of Tilbury Needed a New Bulk Store
The relocation was prompted by the adjacent third-party operation requiring additional space, including the existing Cefetra shed. This created the need for a replacement facility at Berth 43 that could maintain continuity of the Port’s established animal-feed service while supporting its wider development plans.
The priority was to create a modern, purpose-designed bulk store that would improve safety, operational efficiency and long-term maintainability. The development needed to accommodate significant storage capacity alongside the infrastructure required for day-to-day operations, including vehicle access, entry and exit weighbridges, welfare facilities, electrical services and provision for a future rail-mounted hopper.
Equally important was ensuring that the project could be delivered without unnecessarily disrupting neighboring port activities, which needed to remain operational throughout construction.
Construction and Hazardous-Area Lighting Challenges
David Thrower, project director at Harmonix Construction, explained, “As the design-and-build contractor, our responsibility was to take the Stage 4 design through to construction and completion, coordinating everything from enabling works and the building structure through to electrical installation, external infrastructure and final handover.
“One of the biggest structural challenges was achieving a clear span across the building’s [almost 250 feet] width without intermediate columns,” Thrower said. This required a substantial steel truss frame, installed using tandem crane lifts after construction of the almost 20′-high concrete retaining wall.
Buildability and sequencing were critical considerations. “We worked closely with our steel frame contractor and adjusted the piling sequence so that the internal slab piles could be installed after the frame had been erected, keeping the erection area free of obstructions,” Thrower said.
“The enabling works were also complex, including the demolition of a redundant lighting mast and the phased relocation of the Thames Clippers maintenance shed. We had to construct its replacement before demolishing the existing facility to make way for the grain store,” he added.
“Below-ground obstructions created additional challenges, requiring us to resequence the unexploded ordnance survey and piling operations. However, close coordination between the teams enabled us to adapt while maintaining progress against the program,” Thrower said.
Explained Aidan Brown, UK/EIRE Sales – EMEA at Dialight, “Grain storage facilities present particular challenges because airborne combustible dust can create potentially explosive atmospheres. The internal storage areas at Berth 43 were designated Zone 22 hazardous areas, meaning the lighting equipment needed to be appropriately certified and suitable for that environment.”
Dust accumulation is another important consideration. Over time, dust can settle on luminaires, so the suitability of the equipment and ongoing inspection and cleaning requirements need to be considered.
Furthermore, the location added another layer of complexity. Port environments are exposed to wet and demanding marine conditions, so luminaires needed to be capable of withstanding those conditions while providing reliable illumination.
Beyond the hazardous-area requirements, the design had to address the different activities taking place across the facility. The internal grain store, external operational areas, quayside and vehicle refueling point each had their own requirements.
“It was not simply a case of achieving a uniform level of illumination. We needed to understand how each area would be used and select the most appropriate lighting solution accordingly,” Brown stated.
Designing the Grain Store’s LED Lighting Scheme
Dialight became involved at an early stage, initially engaging with Harmonix Construction in November 2024. “Once the construction drawings and the Port’s lighting specifications were available, we could begin developing the scheme around the operational requirements of the building,” Brown remarked.
“One of the most significant developments was the decision to use our ProSite floodlights within the grain store,” he said. “Our initial design was based on 110 SafeSite High Bay luminaires. However, the wider range of optical distributions available with the ProSite Floodlight allowed our designers to refine the arrangement and reduce the number of fittings to 78, while still maintaining the specified light levels.”
According to Brown, this was an important achievement because it demonstrated how careful optical selection and lighting design could reduce the quantity of equipment required without compromising the intended performance.
The project represents a large-scale deployment of ProSite floodlights in a hazardous-area application.
Across the wider site, the installation incorporates more than 200 Dialight luminaires, including ProSite Floodlights, SafeSite luminaires, Emergency GRP Linears and Vigilant Bulkheads, selected to meet the differing needs of the facility.
In considering the most important lighting requirements from the Port’s operational perspective, Mistry explained that the lighting needed to support safe, reliable operations across a wide variety of environments, rather than just the main storage building. This included the internal store, tunnel, external perimeter, mobile-hopper area, access doors, escape hatches, welfare parking, fuel and washdown areas.
Within the hazardous areas, equipment needed to be suitable for Zone 22 conditions and protected against dust ingress. Emergency lighting also had to provide appropriate coverage for escape routes.
For external operational areas, the specification called for an average illumination level of 20 lux, with a minimum of 5 lux. These requirements were important in supporting visibility and safe movement around the site.
“We also needed to consider how the lighting would be operated and maintained, including manual overrides, periodic-test switches and appropriate energy-saving switching or dimming arrangements,” Mistry remarked. “The objective was to create an integrated lighting solution that met the operational, safety and maintenance requirements of the facility as a whole.”
Lighting Challenges & Project Collaboration
The scale and layout of the building created several design challenges. “The mounting heights meant that careful positioning and alignment of the luminaires were essential, particularly for the installation team, who needed to maintain consistent fitting levels across the structure,” Brown said, adding, “We also had to account for the shadowing created by the large traversing cranes operating within the facility. These can obstruct light distribution, so their impact needed to be considered during the design process to maintain adequate illumination.”
Externally, there were specific lighting requirements around the quayside and water’s edge, which needed to be incorporated alongside the wider operational lighting.
“This is where detailed lighting calculations and appropriate optical selection become particularly valuable,” Brown continued. “Rather than simply increasing the number of fittings, we could consider how the light was distributed and position the luminaires to achieve the required results.”
Collaboration between the groups involved was key. Noted David Thrower of Harmonix Construction, “For the lighting package, early engagement and clear communication were fundamental to its successful delivery. Dialight’s designers were responsive and thorough, working closely with us as the construction design developed and responding to changes in the building and external areas.”
That support extended beyond the design itself, Thrower said, noting that Dialight helped ensure that the correct fittings were available on site and responded promptly whenever replacement products were needed.
“By placing orders early and coordinating deliveries well ahead of installation, we had greater certainty when planning the work,” he stated.
That collaborative approach helped resolve issues quickly and deliver the project on time, on budget and to an exceptional standard of quality.
According to Mistry, “The collaboration brought together three different areas of expertise.
The Port established the operational and safety requirements, Harmonix coordinated the design-and-build process, and Dialight provided specialist lighting design and product knowledge.”
Regular project meetings enabled all of the teams to review lighting zones, installation interfaces, testing requirements and any technical issues as the project progressed.
Importantly, this meant that lighting was considered as part of the wider facility rather than as an isolated package. That approach helped ensure the final installation was aligned with the building’s intended operation and long-term requirements.
Long-Term Lighting Reliability & Maintenance
Another important factor was to make certain the lighting installation could adequately address the challenges of long-term maintenance and reliability.
“Long-term performance is particularly important in industrial facilities where access can be difficult, disruptive or potentially hazardous,” Brown said. “Our standard industrial luminaires have a rated life in excess of 150,000 hours and are backed by a 10-year warranty. In a large grain store, where fittings are installed at considerable heights, reducing the frequency of replacement can offer significant practical advantages.”
Brown noted the importance of distinguishing between the main luminaires and emergency lighting equipment. Emergency lighting batteries have a shorter service life and will typically require replacement every four to five years. For that reason, they need to be incorporated into the facility’s ongoing maintenance program.
The wider considerations include the robustness of the equipment, its suitability for the environment and the importance of regular inspection.
For demanding industrial applications, the objective is to provide reliable lighting that continues to perform over the long term while minimizing the need for unnecessary maintenance interventions.
The Results: Safer Grain Storage
The completion of the new bulk store provides the Port with modern infrastructure that will support the Cefetra operation over the longer term.
Relocating the activity to Berth 43 allows the existing area to accommodate the planned expansion of the neighboring third-party operation while preserving an important part of the Port’s established business.
The new facility also provides the infrastructure for a rail-mounted Eco Hopper, modern weighbridges and integrated operational systems — all of which support improvements in efficiency, safety, dust control and maintainability.
“From a lighting perspective, we now have a coordinated installation that provides high-level illumination within the main storage space, appropriate hazardous-area equipment, emergency coverage and external operational lighting,” Mistry said. “It is an important part of creating a safer, better-lit working environment that supports the facility’s intended use.”
The success of the port project suggests a blueprint for how other industrial facilities can solve complex lighting requirements.
“The most important lesson is the value of involving the lighting manufacturer as early as possible,” Brown affirmed. “When a project includes hazardous-area classifications, challenging environmental conditions and multiple operational requirements, early engagement allows those factors to be considered before the design becomes too advanced.”
Plus, Brown noted, it creates opportunities to refine the specification. “At Berth 43, for example, the use of ProSite Floodlights allowed us to reduce the number of luminaires within the grain store while maintaining the required lighting performance,” he explained. “Clear requirements, close collaboration and appropriate product selection all contribute to a more effective result. Ultimately, projects like this demonstrate that industrial lighting is about much more than simply illuminating a space. It is about understanding the environment, supporting safe operations and designing a solution that will continue to perform reliably for years to come.”
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