After Dark: High Visibility PPE

Some occupations require people to work near roadways or very close to moving vehicles. This can increase the odds of someone being injured, particularly when working at night. After dark, high-visibility PPE reduces injuries, and can help you comply with the safety regulations concerning your industry. Here is some information about high-visibility PPE that will ensure you have the right reflective clothing for everyone on your workforce.

What is High-Visibility PPE?

High-visibility PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is clothing containing “glow-in-the-dark” properties, usually in the form of reflective tape. There are three classes of reflective PPE, with Class 1 clothing having the lowest degree of visibility and Class 3 containing the highest.

The difference between the three classes is basically the amount of reflective material on each piece of clothing. For example, a Class 1 pair of trousers may contain a 5 cm band around each leg, while a Class 2 vest might have two 5 cm bands around the body or one on each shoulder. A Class 3 garment might contain two 5 cm bands around the body in addition to having bands on the arms and shoulders.

Class 1 items are best suited for occupations with the lowest degree of risk-for example, workers who mainly perform tasks in well-lit areas or during daylight hours. Class 2 and 3 PPE might be better suited for individuals who operate near heavy machinery or work during the night hours.

Who Uses High-visibility PPE?

Anyone who performs work on or near a road could benefit from high-visibility PPE. Examples include traffic wardens, road construction workers, surveyors, and highway maintenance personnel.

Emergency workers such police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians could need high-visibility PPE, particularly when responding to an accident scene at night.

Parking garage attendants, security officers, airport fight line marshals and tow truck drivers may all wear reflective gear to ensure they can be seen easily by the vehicle operators or aircraft pilots.

Warehouse employees may often wear safety vests to ensure they are seen by moving forklifts. Construction workers and heavy equipment operators could need high visibility clothing as well.

You may feel as though reflective clothing isn’t really needed for your employees; however, numerous studies show that wearing it reduces accidents and saves lives. To ensure you have the right high-visibility PPE for your workers, please contact us.