As an employer, you want to make sure your employees are kept safe while performing their assigned job duties and functions. One way to do this is with high visibility safety and enhanced visibility uniform work clothes.
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There are some key differences between these two types of clothing and work attire. You need to know these differences to ensure you select the best uniform work clothes for your employees.
With high visibility safety clothing, they must satisfy specific requirements as required by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and be of the right classification. There are three classifications of high visibility clothing.
Within each classification are detailed work environments where the clothing is required and necessary. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) utilizes the ANSI/ISEA 107 standards for which occupations and work environments require high visibility uniforms and apparel.
High visibility safety clothing is easily recognizable by its bright fluorescent colors, including orange-red, yellow-green, and red. In addition to the brightly colored clothing, there is reflective tape on the clothing so it will stand out in low light conditions.
For instance, road construction work crews wear high visibility work clothes when working. In many places, the work crews work overnight to reduce traffic delays. The reflective tape on the brightly colored clothing makes it much easier to see workers and keep them safer.
Enhanced visibility work clothes do not have to meet ANSI standards. Rather, the color of the clothing can be any color, including blue, gray, and so on. However, there is brightly colored and reflective tape on the clothing to help make it stand out and make workers more noticeable in work areas.
For example, warehouse workers typically wear enhanced visibility shirts so they can be seen by forklift operators. Enhanced visibility work clothes are well-suited for jobs where employers want their employees to be noticed but do not have to meet ANSI standards with work clothing.
While high visibility stands out more than enhanced visibility, both types of work clothing do make it easier for others to notice your employees. The type of industry and business and whether there are specific OSHA and ANSI standards you must follow will determine which clothing you need to use.
If you do not have any specific requirements, then you want to consider the work environment of your employees. Are they working in high traffic areas? Are they working close to vehicle traffic? Are they working in reduced light conditions or at night?
By answering these questions, you can decide whether high visibility clothing or enhanced visibility clothing is the best choice of uniform clothing for your employees. You can also ask your employees which type of visibility clothing would make them feel safer.
For instance, if you own a trucking company, you could provide your truck drivers with enhanced visibility shirts so they can be seen more easily when not in their truck. You could also provide them with high visibility safety vests to wear if they need to exit the truck in a higher risk area like on the freeway.
No matter your needs for visibility work uniforms, Prudential Overall Supply has the right uniform solutions to fit your specific needs and any ANSI and OSHA standards. Please feel free to contact us at 800-767- today!
*Disclaimer*
The information contained on this page is for promotional and informational purposes only. All equipment should be used by trained professional tradesmen who have been trained how to use the equipment described on this page, and understand the risks of their work. PowerPak assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the use or misuse of any product purchased. In no event shall PowerPak be liable for any direct, special, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other torts, arising out of or in connection with the use of this information or the contents of this page. PowerPak reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents on this page at any time without prior notice.
If you know what you need, safety vests are very straightforward, but without all the information, you&#;ll pay for the wrong vest. They may seem all the same, but Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) enforcement will tell you otherwise. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) breaks down safety vests into types and classes to help narrow your search (ANSI/ISEA 107-).
Let's dive in.
There are three different classes of safety vest, each geared towards specific situations. As with almost every safety situation, there is nothing wrong with opting for a vest that is a higher class than the minimum requirements for the work zone.
Safety vests are categorized into 3 &#;types,&#; and each type splits into 3 &#;classes.&#;
Type O &#; Safety vests intended for Non-Roadway occupational use. Type O only has class 1 safety vests.
Type R - Safety vests intended for Roadway occupational use. Type R has both class 2 and class 3 safety vests.
Type P &#; Safety vests for law enforcement and first responders. Type P has both class 2 and class 3 safety vests.
For this article, we will mainly focus on Type O and Type R safety vests. This &#;type and class&#; system is not just for vests but for all HVSA (High Visibility Safety Apparel) such as hi-vis pants, hi-vis jumpsuits, jackets, etc.
ANSI updated its documentation defining all things safety apparel in (ANSI/ISEA 107-)
This one is simple. Class 1 is the only HVSA Type O safety vest and has the lowest required amount of high-visibility material.
Class 1 Safety Vests are for the lowest-risk areas. It could be situations where you are working a safe distance from the active roadway, but there is still potential for an incident. They have a safety yellow or safety orange background, and a minimum of 155 square inches of reflective strips. They are lightweight and sleeveless.
Class 1 safety vests are for work conditions without vehicles traveling at highway speeds. It could be where traffic is traveling no faster than 25 miles per hour. The ANSI documentation also states that the background of the worksite should not be visually complex.
Class 2 (Type R) HSVA safety vests have bumped up requirements. Like Class 1 (Type O), these vests are usually sleeveless.
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The industry rule of thumb is to require these vests on worksites where traffic flow is 25mph &#; 50mph. These safety vests are more noticeable during the day or night at greater distances when compared to class 1 safety vests.
Class 2 Safety Vests are larger than Class 1 vests, Class 2 vests incorporate a specific amount of background material into the mix. To be a Class 2 vest, it must have no less than 775 square inches of safety yellow or safety orange background material to it. There must also be no less than 201 square inches of reflective (Reflective or Combined-Performance Materials) striping across the vest. These are required for roadway and traffic zones where traffic is moving no faster than 50 miles per hour.
PowerPak offers many options for those in need of class 2 safety vests.
Class 3 (Type R) HSVA safety vests have the highest material requirements compared to Class 1 and 2. The industry rule of thumb is worksites with traffic traveling over 50 mph should require Class 3 safety vests.
Class 3 Safety Vests are for the most hazardous environments where visibility is paramount. Class 3 vest provides the most background material and the most retroreflective striping. In many cases, these vests have sleeves. These vests must have, at minimum, 1,240 square inches of safety yellow or safety orange background, and at least 310 square inches of reflective striping.
If you&#;re in need of class 3 safety vests quickly, PowerPak offers a wide range of options.
As mentioned, all ANSI classes of safety vests must have minimum amounts of TWO types of material. Background material and retroreflective material/combined performance material.
Background material and retroreflective material/combined performance material. Background material is fluorescent colored fabric, usually safety orange or safety yellow. It&#;s the brightly colored mesh or fabric you think of when thinking of safety vests. This material is highly visible during the day.
Retro reflective material is the striping you see on safety vests. People often confuse the term retro reflective and reflective, but they are different, and they perform differently.
When light hits something reflective, like a mirror, at an angle, that light bounces off in the opposite direction. Retroreflective reflects the light directly back towards the light source. This material is highly visible at night with direction lights, such as car headlights. You&#;ll often find retroreflective tape in silver, white, and gray.
All these materials are required to meet various ANSI standards.
A vest may have Combined-Performance material in place of retroreflective tape. Combined-performance materials/tapes have retroreflective properties and meet the fluorescent requirements of background material. Some vests have combined-performance striping that matches the background material giving the best daytime visibility without sacrificing nighttime visibility.
Although OSHA has no specific guidelines on vest colors, some colors work better in certain environments than others. Orange vests are ideal for settings with a lot of vegetation, a blue sky or yellow sunlight. Orange-colored vests also work well in wide-open areas, particularly in the daytime.
Yellow safety vests are perfect for night work when sunlight is minimal because fluorescent yellow is more noticeable from a distance against a dark background. Yellow vests are common among construction workers, emergency responders and utility repair people.
The general rule of thumb is to choose the most noticeable color for each specific environment. Learn more about safety vest colors here.
Depending on the supplier, vests can range anywhere from a few dollars for simple designs to several hundred dollars for products with reflective tape and multiple features. Because they have the fewest amount of safety material, Class 1 vests are typically the least expensive. As the material requirements increase, the prices generally become more expensive.
Flame and tear-resistant vests usually cost much more than those without extra durability features.
Safety vests of any class or type can come with several features, and many worksites will require some of these options. Flame-Resistance: ANSI offers manufacturers the option of six different flame-resistant standards for rating safety vests. The test method is on the vest label.
Understanding the classes is one thing, but you&#;ll also need to consider the specifics of your worksite when it comes to choosing the best class-rated vest for your team members. Remember, there&#;s nothing wrong with going with a Class 3 Vest for every site &#; greater visibility is never a bad thing.
Consider the general visibility at your work site, how far from high-speed traffic your workers will be, and if there are physical barriers between the workers and traffic. A Class 2 vest is perfect for utility operations and volunteer work, but not good enough for flagging operations. A Class 3 vest is necessary for incident response, particularly at night, but is overkill for a landscaper. A Class 1 vest is never good enough to be worn within the right-of-way of a high-speed highway.
You should also opt for color that differentiates the worker from the environment. Safety yellow isn&#;t going to stick out against a bright yellow or light green environment, just as safety orange won&#;t stick out as much in a sand or desert environment.
One thing to note, as with all personal protective equipment, proper maintenance is important. The reflective qualities of the vests can diminish over time &#; sun can fade them, they can get dirty, and the reflective material can rub away through heavy use. Most daily-wear vests have a service life of six months or so, while moderate use could last up to three years. If a vest is torn, dirty, soiled, worn or faded, it must be replaced before going on-site.
While the appropriate class-rated vests are a great start for visibility on the work site, and cover the individual, there is so much more you can do to protect your workers in traffic-heavy work zones.
Work zone safety is paramount to us here at PowerPak, and our team members are standing by to help you find the most efficient and cost-effective solution to preventing incidents stemming from poor visibility on your work site. Contact our team, they are here to help keep you and your team members safe and sound!
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