Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Importance Of High Visibility Safety Products

By Minnie Whitley


Safety needs are included in the hierarchical needs of man in order to live live to the fullest. According to this pyramid of needs, man has to feel safe before he can form relationships with other people. He has to feel safe with himself before he can feel confident about himself. In short, he will never have the capacity to fulfill his other needs not unless he fulfills his needs for safety and security.

But, there is no such thing as being protected from everything. If avoid risks so that nothing bad will ever happen to you, then you are not giving yourself a chance to grow. Risking is a part of life. You do not have to take herculean risks, you only have to reach an acceptable level. At work, you can protect yourself from possible harm through using high visibility safety products.

These products can take varied forms like jumpsuits, vests, trousers, hats and other apparel that serve to protect a person from possible harm in the workplace. These clothing are usually very brightly colored and have reflector strips for them to be seen clearly.

Usually, these high visibility clothing are used by traffic control officers, roadside construction workers, emergency response units, parking lot attendants, and the like. These people are working in high risk working conditions that may be poorly light or may be working during night time. They use such products so that they will be easily and clearly seen by others in the same environment.

Fluorescent materials are already used ever since employers have seen the need for high visibility clothing. Safety garbs made out of this material absorb UV rays which are invisible to the naked human eyes. The UV light makes the vest more visible to anyone who looks at it. However, these are only used in low light conditions during the day. Since they tap rays from the sun, they are quite useless during the dark.

Since the first material makes use of natural sunlight in order to work, it can not be utilized during the night. This paved the way to retro reflective materials which uses any kind of light to glow brighter. It bounces of the light back to the source, giving its wearer some degree of protection against accidents due to low to zero visibility.

With the help of progressing technology, safety apparel made out of combined fluorescent and retro reflective materials are already available. These can be used during both day and night, in both high and low light conditions. One would have to choose this carefully because not all reflective materials are fluorescent, and not all fluorescent are retro reflective.

When you are choosing which safety apparel to use, you should see to it that you take note of the size or the fit of the working gear. It should provide for maximum coverage with reflectors than can be seen at all angles. It should not be too bulky, especially when worn with ordinary work clothes underneath. It should also allow its wearer to move freely and comfortably.

There are three classifications of these protective clothing, according to levels of coverage. Class 1 offers only very low coverage. Class 2 offers average coverage and good visibility. Class 3 offers superior coverage and maximum visibility even at long distances.




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