Tagged with 'hi-vis apparel'

At work, high visibility gear protects you from many common dangers while greatly increasing your visibility. Day in and day out, it assists you in the prevention of accidents, injury and even death in the workplace. It's a part of your job, a requirement, and a measure that's been put into place not only to protect you, but your co-workers as well.
 
We notice that many times, in many situations, workers are equipped with old, outdated or worn out safety vests and gear that are not nearly as capable of accident and injury prevention as it originally was. This can be due to several factors such as extremely rough, rugged or dirty work environments, inattentive employers, budget cuts and more. Regardless, safety should always come first.
 
Whether safety gear is provided by employers or the responsibility of each worker to provide their own, nobody should have to cut corners or choose a less than desirable option for financial reasons.
 
While many people see high visibility gear as nothing more than a requirement, others take workplace safety very seriously. While we understand the points of view from both sides, there's one thing we can definitely assure you - quality gear from a quality brand will outlast and outperform similar safety garments of lesser quality.
 
Generally speaking, the safety gear that costs more is going to be a higher quality product. Unlike designer shoes or clothing, you're not just paying for a name or a logo, you're paying for quality. Since ANSI class apparel has to meet certain requirements, you can rest assured that a vest with a higher price tag will lend better abrasion resistance, a nicer fit and of course more reliable reflectivity - all which helps to increase your safety and performance on the job.
 
While we don't want to sound contradictory to ourselves, hi vis apparel is one case where the brand name DOES matter. Companies who consistently produce gear at the lowest cost possible will likely barely meet ANSI safety requirements, which remember, are the MINIMUM requirements. On the other hand, a company who produces a piece of quality manufactured safety gear likely has a significant amount of time, research, and money invested into creating products that are highly effective. These quality made products are easily going to outperform the cheaper alternatives in nearly every aspect, which overall actually makes them more economical in the long run.
 
Instead of buying the cheapest gear you can find, take a minute to think about your safety, the safety of your co-workers or the safety of your employees. It only takes a single accident to change things forever. Are you willing to risk your safety, your life, or the safety of others just to save a few dollars? Once that cheap gear wears out it's not only ineffective but it means that it needs to be replaced because it no longer meets the specifications for complying with ANSI requirements.
 
The next time you need to purchase safety gear, look at your options. Look at the new technology that's available including the strong, puncture resistant ripstop materials, FR or fire resistant fabrics, and high tech reflective technology offered by certain brand name innovators. Get the gear that will protect you at your specific job in the best way possible and don't be tempted to cut corners because it could cost you your life.
 
HiVis Supply carries an immense inventory of high visibility safety gear and apparel from the top, most trusted brand names as well as up and coming smaller companies who put a genuine focus on quality and performance. Shop our inventory today and save with the lowest prices available on the best gear offered anywhere.
 

 

Black Series F406 FR Long Sleeve T-Shirt

 

• 6.4 oz Modacrylic/cotton       lightweight interlock knit material


• 2” wide breathable silver       reflective material greatly reduces hot spots


• Dark FR sides add a sporty look       and visual contrast

POCKETS

• Left chest pocket

PERFORMANCE  SPECIFICATIONS/COMPLIANCE

• NFPA 70E-2012


• ASTM 1506-10a


• HRC 2


• Arc Rating/Ebt=8.6 cal/cm2

Here's an example of a thread from a forum discussing some of the benefits of Hi-Viz  - and whether or not high visibility gear in different types of instances.

The writer explains: Hi vis is not necessarily the 'safest' method of visibility for objects moving at high velocities.

"It is an effective solution to reducing accidents. It's around about 30% or higher reduction in the number of children getting involved in a [road] accident.

"I think the visibility coats are a good idea because when it's dark and if you're coming home from school people will see you crossing the road and in the fog people will see you. So they're very useful. "And also they keep you warm in the snow," added Theo.

A Gloucestershire headline reads "Gloucestershire road safety figures lowest since 1974," and they're attributing these statistics to the increased use of hi-vis apparel along with "targeted road safety advice and training is working across the board," said Councillor Stan Waddington, cabinet member for road safety. Child safety is a leading issue in the US. - children wear safety helmets while riding bikes, so why not high visibility apparel to boot?

Well, at least at Halloween. The Maryland State Highway Administration made reflective safety vests available to parents and guardians of children to help prevent pedestrian accidents involving vehicles on Halloween, according to a news release from the agency. Representative Neil J. Pedersen said, “Unfortunately, on average, about 100 pedestrians are killed every year in traffic crashes in our state.”

Officers

During an inquest of a fatality of an officer in Auckland, the court was told that Mr. Wootton was not wearing a reflectorized safety jacket when he went to lay the spikes, most likely because he only had a matter of seconds to act. Although it was not known if a jacket would have changed the outcome for Mr Wootton, reports from the Department of Labour and the Independent Police Conduct Authority both recommended police review the policy for wearing the jackets.

The Department of Labour said it appeared that the requirement for the jackets to be worn was well known, but was not adhered to by all officers, with some saying they felt making themselves more visible might make them a target. However, Mr Smith said he did not believe there should be an option for officers not to wear them. "If an officer cannot safely wear a jacket and have time to deploy the road spikes safely, then they should simply abandon the exercise," he said.

Construction workers and emergency services personnel, along with cyclists and joggers most commonly wear high-visibility clothing. You can find high-visibility clothing in most stores and catalogs that sell work wear or bicycle equipment. Such hi-vis apparel enables people to see the wearer in poor lighting conditions or while on the job, to prevent accidents. One of the most traditional forms of this product, a fluorescent orange or yellow vest with reflective stripes, makes the wearer stand out at night.

ANSI Class 3 Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jackets

In the 1930's, 3M realized that spherical beads that made the silver screen silver could create a reflective strip of paint, and then tape. In 1968, brothers Hugh and Bill Rowland at the Reflexite company began processing reflective sheeting using small cube-cornered prisms, instead of spheres. Both shapes remain in use to this day.

The fluorescent color makes the wearer visible during the day, while the reflective strips make it more likely the motorists will see him at night, increasing his safety. A 2004 paper in the British Medical Journal showed that motorcyclists were 37% less likely to be in an accident when wearing fluorescent and reflective clothing. And, according to high-visibility vest seller ICU-UCMe, nighttime motorists see a vest wearer approximately three seconds earlier than they see someone not wearing a vest. Emergency services personnel wear high-visibility clothes to be clearly seen in dark or smoky conditions.

High-visibility clothing comes in three classes, determined by the American National Standards Institute and International Safety Equipment Association (ANSI/ISEA). Class I garments, typically worn by parking lot attendants, attract motorists' attention, while Class II garments meet higher visibility needs, with employers typically providing them for people such as airport baggage handlers. Class III, the most effective type, ranks as the highest visibility clothing, often used by emergency services.

This article came from Effectiveness of High Visibility Clothing by Ishbel Macleod, eHow Contributor updated: July 06, 2010

In last week's installment, we talked about preparing for winter road conditions as a driver, including maintenance on your vehicle, and mental preparation for a hazardous environment.

John Makely / msnbc.com

One World Trade Center, the monolith being built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, claimed the title of New York City's tallest skyscraper on Monday, as workers erected steel columns that made its unfinished skeleton a little over 1,250 feet high, just enough to peek over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building.

"This project is much more than steel and concrete. It is a symbol of success for the nation," said David Samson, chairman of the Port Authority, the agency that owns the World Trade Center.

The milestone is only a preliminary one. Workers are still adding floors to the building once called the Freedom Tower. It isn't expected to reach its full height for at least another year, at which point it is likely to be declared the tallest building in the U.S., and third tallest in the world.

Excluding its antenna, the Empire State Building's total height to 1,250 feet. That was still high enough to make the skyscraper the world's tallest from 1931 until 1972.

One World Trade Center would still be smaller than the Willis Tower in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower, which tops out at 1,451 feet (not including its antennas).

As for the world's tallest building, the undisputed champion is the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, which opened in 2010 and reaches 2,717 feet, Not counting about 5 feet of aircraft lights and other equipment perched on top, of course.

HiVis Supply salutes the men and women who have worked tirelessly to rebuild New York City's One World Trade Center, along with the hopes and dreams of the people who lived through - and lost - loved ones in the tragedy that was 9/11.

Economy Series Class 3 T-Shirt

These ANSI Class 3 economy series t-shirts, from ML Kishigo,
feature Ultra-Cool microfiber polyester material with 2" wide silver reflective
stripes and (1) left breast pocket. The microfiber polyester material wicks away
moisture - helping to keep you both dry and cool. Available in both high
visibility Lime or Orange; M-5XL. ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 Class 3 compliant.