High Visibility Clothing Standards – Understanding The Standards Before Buying
When buying high visibility clothing for your workforce, it's essential that you have a good understanding of the high visibility clothing standards
first. These standards are designed to ensure that hi vis clothing is
up to standard and will provide sufficient safety to your workers while
they are working in the dark. In addition, this ensures you do not make
costly mistakes, which can lead to having to reorder the correct
workwear clothing.
It might be tempting to buy cheap high visibility clothing,
however, often this won't comply with the correct British standards.
There are two main standards for hi vis clothing in the UK. These
include BS EN 1150 and BS EN 471. EN1150 is only really designed to be
used by non-professionals. All Hi Vis clothing for professional use should be up to BS EN 471, which is much more strict.
As
long as you buy Hi Vis workwear that is compliant with EN471 then this
should provide plenty of protection to your workforce. There are also a
number of different classes of workwear in this standard. The class chosen will depend on preferences and the work undertaken by workers.
- Class
1 is the lowest protection level that complies with EN471. This is
designed for minimal risk and should only be used in off-road locations.
If your workforce works close or on the road then class 1 is not
suitable.
- Class 2 Hi Vis workwear offers more protection than
class 1 and is designed for use on the road. It mainly covers jackets
and is a good way to keep employees safe while working in dangerous
situations.
- Class 3 offer employees the best protection
and should be used when working on motorways and high-speed roads. This
standard includes more reflective areas so that motorists can see you
from a longer distance, which will prevent accidents.
It's vital that you provide the correct workwear clothing
for your employees that falls in line with the current British high
visibility clothing standards. If placed next to cheaper workwear, the
two might look the same at first, but over time cheap clothing will
become less reflective. After all, it is your responsibility as an
employer to provide adequate safety protection for your workforce.
Posted: 25/01/2016
Written by position1seo at 25/01/2016