Sunday, November 24, 2013

Valuable Information About High Visibility Safety Products

By Bonnie Contreras


High visibility safety products are necessary for all working environments with poor visibility either at daytime or at night. Persons working in such areas with low light are at high risk of being injured or hurt. Therefore they utilize these products either by wearing them or placing them at the scene of work to improve their visibility and hence avert accidents.

Among the jobs that require this kind of wear include; road construction, traffic control, parking lot attendants, industrial jobs, emergency responses and many other occupations. Protective equipment for anyone working in this field is not an option but a must. The law under Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) also requires such people to use these equipment.

The products have been made by highly reflective fluorescent materials. They also have retro reflective bands affixed to them to ensure higher levels of reflectivity. These materials when hit by light say from the headlights of a car, they reflect light energy back to the driver of a car and therefore a worker can be clearly seen by the motorist.

The fluorescent colors in which these materials come in include the following; orange, yellow, red and lime green. Other than reducing accidents from incoming traffic, these safety equipments ensure that workers see each other and therefore avoid hurting one another. A point to note also is that these materials are not only worn at night, but also day time as there are certain jobs such as construction work where the light conditions are poor due to dirt cloud among other causes.

Another thing to know is that there are three classes of safety materials. Class one type of equipment includes the reflective safety vests with a grey reflective band affixed on them. This type is suitable for daytime jobs. When it comes to class 2, these ones have full sleeves added on them. The reflective band is along the waist to outline the shape of a person. People who normally wear class two materials are those working at construction sites or other places.

As for class three, these are used in places with very poor light conditions. Employees here have to put on full body reflective attire from the jacket to trousers. Such persons are not in any position to see incoming traffic and therefore ought to be spotted from a distance. Other than the safety clothing, there are also other items used in such work places. These include; reflective tapes, warning flags, batons, LED strobes, flashers and beacons.

Led lights are preferred most than the normal light because of the added reflective element in it. There are also collapsible cones normally seen on an area to cordon traffic from moving to certain areas. Even though these cones do not come in very bright colors, they ensure safety on the road for the users and also road contractors working.

From this information, it is clear that high visibility safety products are essential in such risky work environments. Employers must therefore ensure that they provide their employees working in such areas these equipments. They should also ensure that the materials are of high quality and meet the required standards.




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