Enhanced and High Visibility Clothing: 5 Things You Need to Look For
Have you landed a new job that requires high-visibility clothing? Positions in fields where the employee’s safety is at the forefront mandate the use of safety apparel.
We see enhanced and high visibility clothing on construction workers, maintenance crews, and safety personnel. It’s vital that other workers and the general public can see workers and prevent accidents. Plus, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates safety apparel.
If your employer requires class 3 high visibility clothing, read on to learn five things to look for when you go shopping.
1. High Visibility Clothing Options
There are different pieces you can choose from the 3 ANSI classes of visibility workwear. The apparel you’ll need depends on the type of work you do.
Safety workers such as paramedics and firefighters wear high-visibility t-shirts, jackets, pants, or coveralls. Someone working in street maintenance may be required to wear an HVC t-shirt or vest.
No matter the occupation, employers subject to OSHA clothing safety standards provide employers with safety apparel. Or they direct employees to the right retailers.
2. Color Choices
The goal of enhanced visibility clothing is to make the employee stand out when working in dangerous situations. The colors used have been tested for efficiency.
Fluorescent yellow-green class 3 high-visibility clothing must have a minimum of 70% luminance factor for brightness. Workers on roadways use this color.
Fluorescent orange-red high visibility clothing is a universal color for people working in a high-hazard area. The proximity to hazard cones and lights makes orange-red a safety concern.
Fluorescent red and the color black has grown in popularity. These two colors reflect enhanced visibility vs. high visibility. Fluorescent red is considered a high visibility color used more internationally.
Fluorescent colors are highlighted when worn on top of black clothing.
3. Various Classifications
Safety workers need to know the distinction between high visibility clothing. There are three classifications.
Class 1 has the lowest standards and includes the pants worn with high visibility safety apparel. Class 2 is a step up that requires enhanced visibility clothing like vests.
The highest standard is class 3 high visibility clothing. This classification includes jackets and vests.
4. Durability
The durability of high visibility clothing is crucial when it comes to compliance. Safety apparel doesn’t have a long life-cycle when it comes to effectiveness.
Most garments retain the color standards for about 25 wash cycles. Although the clothing is still wearable, it may no longer meet OSHA clothing safety standards.
5. Reflective Striping
To increase visibility, reflective striping gets added to high-visibility clothing. The reflective tape used to make the standard H or X on clothing is silver. They chose this color because it contrasts with the fluorescent safety apparel colors.
Put Safety First
High visibility clothing is used for worker protection. Put your safety first by abiding by OSHA clothing safety standards for safety apparel.
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