Visibility in industrial environments is of vital importance. It is a factor that should not be ignored, as the safety and integrity of the worker depends on it. In places where the movement of loads and the use of machinery are common, the use of appropriate industrial clothing becomes normative. For this, there is the reflective safety vest. This is a high visibility vest designed to serve as personal protective equipment. The features of this industrial work wear allow operators to perform their tasks safely in environments that may be high risk. But aside from workplace safety requirements, why should you wear a safety vest ?
What is a safety vest?
A vest is part of the mandatory work clothing required by employers in certain industries. A safety vest is an item of personal protective equipment designed to provide high visibility and reflectivity. It is most often seen on motorcyclists, construction workers, railroad workers, road workers, airport workers, port workers, construction workers, firefighters, emergency services and public works workers where poor weather and visibility can be a problem. A person wearing a safety vest is easily detected, helping other parties to avoid colliding with the individual.
The high visibility vest falls under the category of warning clothing and can be found as “personal protective equipment for intermediate hazards”.
What are the different types of reflective safety vests ?
We can establish three types or classes of reflective safety vests which are:
First class: They are used when activities are carried out that allow the worker to be visible by oncoming traffic in places where the speed of traffic should not exceed 40 km / h. The types of workers who should use this type of reflective vest are: parking attendants, parking personnel in shopping centers or workers exposed to traffic in warehouses.
Second class: used in activities that require greater visibility in bad weather or in higher risk environments. People who should use this type of vest are, among others, delivery vehicle drivers, toll workers or parking lots with high traffic.
Third class: With this type of vest, activities that require the highest level of visibility are performed, as there is a great danger during the development of the activity, such as; construction and road personnel, or emergency and police personnel.
What should a reflective vest have?
Based on safety regulations, the manufacture of this type of industrial clothing is usually made of fluorescent and reflective materials.
Fluorescent material: its function is to transform invisible ultraviolet light into visible light. For this reason, it is ideal for establishing night visibility. The colors used in this material are: yellow, orange-red and red.
Retro-reflective material: has the function of allowing the eyes to perceive the light in minimum lighting conditions. This type of safety clothing is required at all times of the year. The safety and protection of industrial workers is a priority for the health of companies
When should I wear a reflective vest?
In a work area, we must take into account that our workers must be well protected to ensure that they do not lose their physical, emotional and psychological integrity and to avoid causing accidents.
The safety vest plays one of the most important roles, in various fields of application, as we talk about the need for our workers to be visible at all times where they are seen.
Since well in places such as structures, mines, emergency services or warehouses, we have to pay attention to the integrity of our employees, that’s why the vests are made of bright fabrics with neon colors, in addition to having reflective strips.
Thus, thanks to the great diversity of needs and applications of these within the industry, there are vests that have more visibility than others, due to the quality of the materials used. To be able to identify the wearer in a dangerous situation with little or no lighting or during night activities.
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