High visibility clothing does it’s part to keep employees safe. Considering that almost 5,000 workers were killed on the job in 2015 and just a year earlier an average of 4 days of work was missed after an injury, it’s easy to see why protective gear is important. Almost one-third of injuries that were not fatal, yet required time away from work were suffered by those who had less than one year of service in the field they were employed in. Protecting employees, especially those around equipment and traffic is important to protect them. High visibility clothing can do a large part in protecting them, but only when purchased and use correctly. Consider the following helpful tips when choosing high visibility clothing for yourself or your employees.
Hi Vis and Enhanced Vis
A common misconception is that high visibility clothing such as high visibility button down shirts, high visibility jackets, high visibility long sleeve shirts, high visibility pants are the same as enhanced visibility clothing. Enhanced visibility clothing has reflective stripes that help make them more visible at night, but these stripes don’t necessarily affect the way the clothing is seen during the day. High visibility clothing is typically made of brighter colors such as lime green or orange. These colors help ensure that the clothing, and those wearing it, are visible no matter when they work, night or day.
Fit
The fit should be comfortable enough to work in, but it should not be so big that there is a possibility that the sleeves or the bottom of the shirt could get caught into something. Ensuring a proper fit ensures that no added hazards happen because of it being too loose. Vests should fit properly over any clothing, and sleeves on high visibility button down shirts should not be too long. This can cause them to get caught in something. All buttons should be buttoned so that no loose flaps on the end of the shirt get caught. Ensuring a proper fit ensures added safety on top of the clothing being high visibility.
clean
You should ensure that the high visibility button down shirts and other high visibility clothing can stay clean. If the clothing gets dirty the dirt could affect how easily the clothing is seen. If you are working in an environment that tends to get dirty, you should invest in multiple articles of high visibility clothing. This ensures that a new one can be worn in the event the old one needs to be washed or cleaned. Certain colors show stains and dirt better than others, so choose your color wisely based on the working environment you intend to spend most of your time in.
Types
Just as there are different colors of high visibility button down shirts, and other high visibility clothing, there are different types as well. You should choose the proper category of clothing. The categories are listed to match working environments. There are three different categories, off-road, roadway and public safety. Consider what your job requires the most and choose the best category based on that job classification.
Choosing the right high visibility clothing ensures the safety of everyone around. It can be easy to skimp on the right clothing, but the mistake could cost you a lot. On top of choosing the right high visibility clothing, they must be worn in order for them to work. It does no good to make a wise choice just to forego it when it comes to actually wearing it. Choose wisely when it comes to hi vis clothing and make sure to wear it all the time every time in order to stay as protected as possible in a dangerous work environment.
