Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Some Facts About High Visibility Safety Products

By Minnie Whitley


Safety is important for everyone. It is even included in the hierarchy of the needs of man. It is the condition where one is protected from physical, psychological, occupational and other events that are considered by one to be undesirable. While there is no such thing as total safety against anything all at once, one can still control hazards to reach an acceptable level of risk. It is as they say, no pain means no gain.

But, there is no such thing as being protected from everything. If avoid risks so that nothing bad will ever happen to you, then you are not giving yourself a chance to grow. Risking is a part of life. You do not have to take herculean risks, you only have to reach an acceptable level. At work, you can protect yourself from possible harm through using high visibility safety products.

These safety products are protective apparel. Vests, hard hats, pants, jumpsuits and other clothing worn at work that provide a certain extent of protection are included here. Mostly, they are very brightly colored in shades of neon orange, red, yellow and lime green, amongst others. They also bear silver or gray reflecting strips that bounce off light.

Usually, these high visibility clothing are used by traffic control officers, roadside construction workers, emergency response units, parking lot attendants, and the like. These people are working in high risk working conditions that may be poorly light or may be working during night time. They use such products so that they will be easily and clearly seen by others in the same environment.

Protective wear does not make use of any ordinary materials. Most of them are made using fluorescent materials. These soak up the UV rays from natural sunlight and bounces back brighter than anything in the surroundings. This makes the wearer easily visible especially when working in construction sites where the eyesight can be obstructed by dirt clouds.

To be able to provide at least the same protective wear to those who had to work after light, retro reflective materials are used. Unlike the first type that utilizes only UV rays, this second one reflects any light back to the source. Since it needs any available light, it is the perfect choice when working in the absence of the sun.

And, since technological advances are making living conditions day by day, there are also protective wear that functions both ways. This is very tricky, since not all fluorescent materials are retro reflective, and vice versa. If you are planning on these types of materials, it is recommended that you used only those that passed the OSHA standards.

In choosing high visibility products, one should look out for the size and the fit of the clothing. For optimal performance, safety apparel must be well fitted to the person who has to use it. One should also consider the clothing that is usually worn underneath the safety apparel. Keep in mind that large and bright garments provide more visibility than the small ones. Choose also a color that is easily seen in the type of work environment it shall be used in.

All safety apparel are divided into three different strata. Class one is noted for low coverage. Class two guarantees medium coverage and fine visibility. Class three is extremely visible under all possible conditions and provides for total coverage.




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