Friday, November 22, 2013

Useful Information About High Visibility Safety Products

By Bonnie Contreras


There are numerous high visibility safety products available for people who work in conditions of low light or at night. It is common knowledge that when working in such conditions with low light, the potential for injury is high since people cannot see each other well. Therefore these high visibility materials have been made for people to wear in such conditions in order to make them more visible and avoid accidents.

Examples of occupations that need staff to utilize these protective equipments include the following; industrial jobs, emergency response, traffic control, roadside construction among other jobs. Workers have therefore no choice but to utilize these materials whenever in the work area. The importance of these products even made it a requirement by the law as a condition for risky work areas with poor light conditions.

The products have been made by highly reflective fluorescent materials. They also have retro reflective bands affixed to them to ensure higher levels of reflectivity. These materials when hit by light say from the headlights of a car, they reflect light energy back to the driver of a car and therefore a worker can be clearly seen by the motorist.

The fluorescent colors in which these materials come in include the following; orange, yellow, red and lime green. Other than reducing accidents from incoming traffic, these safety equipments ensure that workers see each other and therefore avoid hurting one another. A point to note also is that these materials are not only worn at night, but also day time as there are certain jobs such as construction work where the light conditions are poor due to dirt cloud among other causes.

People should also know that these protective products have been grouped into three classes to differentiate places with very poor perceptibility from those that are not very poor in lighting. Class 1 equipments are utilized in conditions where the traffic is slow and employees can see incoming and outgoing vehicles. Therefore for them, the safety vests make them noticeable. As for class 2, the speed is high and or individuals may not see incoming traffic well.

As for class three, these are used in places with very poor light conditions. Employees here have to put on full body reflective attire from the jacket to trousers. Such persons are not in any position to see incoming traffic and therefore ought to be spotted from a distance. Other than the safety clothing, there are also other items used in such work places. These include; reflective tapes, warning flags, batons, LED strobes, flashers and beacons.

Led lights are preferred most than the normal light because of the added reflective element in it. There are also collapsible cones normally seen on an area to cordon traffic from moving to certain areas. Even though these cones do not come in very bright colors, they ensure safety on the road for the users and also road contractors working.

Therefore persons working in any place with poor lighting both day and night should ensure to use the various high visibility safety products. These items offer minimum protection and thus persons should ensure to use other protective items provided. Employers on their part should ensure to make the items available for employees and people should ensure to avoid poor quality materials.




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