|
|
Resources
|
Resources > Flame Resistant Clothing Information
|
Understanding High Visibility Standards
|
 |
|
| |
There are a variety of standards and regulations relevant to safety vests. Depending on use, different standards are required. Many of these standards have recently been updated to reflect changes that bring greater safety to the workers wearing them. A safety coordinator or management should determine the vest that is right for the task to be performed. Here is a quick primer on each of the potentially applicable standards for high-visibility, flame resistant safety vests:
ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 Setting the standards for high visibility, ANSI 107-2004 identifies the design, placement, labeling and material requirements for high visibility safety apparel. The standard provides minimum requirements of both the background fabric and the reflective tape used for a safety vest. The luminosity of the background fabric – the mesh, cotton or modacrylic “background material” provides daytime visibility for a worker, while the reflective striping , “retroreflective material”, provides nighttime visibility of a worker when encountering a light source, such as headlights. ANSI 107-2004 further defines the width and placement of the retroreflective material by class. Lower classes require less retroreflective material, and less of it. Higher classes require additional yardage of a thicker width tape. For additional information, see “ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 MADE EASY: A Quick Reference to High-Visibility Safety Apparel” by 3M Scotchlite™.
ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 Demand in the public safety sector brought ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 to being. This standard focuses on vests specifically for public safety professionals. Major differences from the ANSI 107 standard includes a change in the amount of required fluorescent background material, and the incorporation of various other public safety-specific design elements. For additional information, see the article “ANSI/ISEA 207-2006: American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests” by 3M Scotchlite™.
23 CFR 634 In an effort to reduce highway worker fatalities, workers within the right-of-way of a Federal Highway are required to high visibility clothing compliant to ANSI/ISEA 107-2004. Exceptions are made for fire fighters and law enforcement officers in certain situations. See FEMA’s Responder Knowledge Base “23 CFR Part 634 – Worker Visibility” for additional information.
ASTM F 1506 / OSHA 1910.269 / NFPA 70E, 2009 ed. Lumping a large group of assorted standards is not always the best idea, but each of these provides insight on arc and flame resistance in garments. ASTM F 1506 is provides minimum material performance standards for fabrics and garments. Fabrics and garments that meet these minimum performance standards are compliant to OSHA 1910.269 and NFPA 70E. The OSHA and NFPA standards aid in determining the level of protection needed for the task at hand.
Compliance to necessary standards provides maximum protection to every worker from many potential incidents. Clothe your team in high visibility, flame resistant safety vests in class 2 or class 3 – available now from FRSafety.com.
|
|
|
|
|