When the private healthcare clinic OT&P Healthcare in Hong Kong moved to a new location within Repulse Bay, the organization decided to install BrainLit’s BioCentric Lighting. This marked the first major BrainLit healthcare installation in Hong Kong, and indeed in all of Asia.
Repulse Bay is a historic part of Hong Kong Island. The Repulse Bay Hotel was built in the 1920s and became a popular resort that has attracted famous actors and VIP’s from all over the world. The writer Ernest Hemingway and the American actor Marlon Brando were frequent visitors at the Repulse Bay Hotel in the 1950s, for example. It used to be somewhat isolated from the central parts of Hong Kong, but the connections have significantly improved between Central Hong Kong and the area.
Today, Repulse Bay is one of the most expensive residential areas in the world. The area itself is based around the beach, where a major commercial center houses restaurants, shops, pet care and now the OT&P Healthcare Center.
–Repulse Bay is a very popular and affluent area where the inhabitants have very high expectations. High-profile customers in Hong Kong can be very demanding, says BrainLit CEO Niclas Olsson.
–OT&P employs approximately 100 doctors and practitioners in seven clinics in Hong Kong. Their customers demand the utmost discretion and integrity when they visit the clinic, Olsson explains.
Many inhabitants lack sufficient daylight exposure
The average daylight span in Hong Kong is approximately 11 to 13 hours, but many people still lack sufficient daylight exposure. Most professionals go to work using the underground and come back home when the sun already has set. In many cases they are exposed to poor fluorescent lighting during work and rest. The need for daylight to stay healthy is thus paradoxically huge.
–When you move into an office in Hong Kong, there is just an empty shell with bare concrete walls and floor. Nothing else. Everything has to be constructed and designed. When it comes to lighting, LED strips are very popular in Hong Kong, so in order to meet our customer wishes, we added LED strips. The strips had to meet the high specifications of our BioCentric Lighting system, as well as be combined with our panels and spotlights. All together it created the optimal solution for OP&T, Niclas Olsson describes.
“More than 85% of the employees felt they were more alert the first and last hour of the workday”
The installation project included the creation of very detailed installation and usage instructions. In contrast to the European market, local contractors in Hong Kong rely heavily on their suppliers for instructions, especially when a new solution is introduced. Additionally, BrainLit delivered special light recipes which were requested by the landlord to help create a relaxed atmosphere.
At the OT&P Clinic in Repulse Bay, the windowless reception and the small examination rooms all now feature BioCentric Lighting.
Proven higher alertness amongst staff
Six months after the installation, BrainLit conducted a survey with the OT&P staff, and the results were very good. More than 85% of the employees felt they were more alert the first and last hour of the workday, and even more stunningly, they also felt more alert the hour following lunch. As one of the health specialists phrased it: “I’m more energetic at work.”
Other significant findings from the survey were that the OT&P employees felt that their quality of sleep had improved, and they fell asleep when they wanted to. These results match what BrainLit hears from many of its other satisfied customers.
BrainLit also learned that some of the staff are actively using the different settings to improve their work environment and performance. They can manually adjust the light settings whether they need a boost to stay focused or a calmer light environment to relax and unwind. Overall, the employees at OT&P are very satisfied with their new lighting environment.
For BrainLit, the OT&P installation is only the start for the Hong Kong market.
– Given the real estate market prices in Hong Kong, many offices have no direct access to windows or are located underground and have no daylight whatsoever. The business with OT&P has provided us an excellent reference with a very highly respected customer. But BioCentric Lighting is not a system only for the premium market, it is also affordable for small offices and businesses. We expect to improve life for many more people in Hong Kong and Asia in the future, Olsson concludes.
