As the name suggests "High-Visibility Clothes" is designed to provide high visibility. It helps to ensure that people can be seen properly even in the low lighting environments. You might have seen many blue-collar workers wearing bright colour T-shirts, jackets, helmets and other items of workwear; all these are for safety purposes, to help avoid an accident.
Some jobs require you to wear hi-vis clothing compulsorily, and there are also specific guidelines and regulations for hi-vis workwear in Australia.
If you are not aware of these guidelines, don't worry, today we're going to discuss when it's compulsory to wear high-visibility clothing, and its requirements when it comes to wearing them.
When should you wear High-Visibility Clothes?
Various factors determine if you need to wear high-visibility clothes or not. The primary goal of Hi-Vis clothing is to maintain safety and protect workers in the workplace. So, depending upon your tasks and location you work, it can differ.
Hi-Vis clothes are mostly worn on busy worksites with regular traffic, or while working with hazardous materials during construction work, and as such the work can be dangerous for workers if they are not careful and follow the rule. The bright colour of Hi-Vis clothing ensures that workers can see each other properly and they can easily stand out against their background environment.
When you are dealing with emergency situations hi-vis clothes plays a crucial role, it will differentiate you from the rest of the crowd. This is why firefighters, security personal and many others wear high visibility clothes; it will keep them visible to each other and then they can perform their tasks effectively.
Even when there is road construction work going on, you might have seen all the workers in hi-vis clothing; it helps to make the public aware of the workers.
Another major aspect to consider is the weather and light conditions in your workplace. If it's rainy/snowy or you need to work during the night/low light conditions, you should definitely wear hi-vis workwear. These situations don’t allow for proper visibility, and hi-vis will come in handy for better visibility and safety.
Did you know that according to the Australian law, every construction site must have a high-visibility policy and its workers must have the needed orange or #yellow hi vis #clothing.https://t.co/kPjJk6L7xF
— How Significant is? (@HowSignificant) September 27, 2019
The Guidelines and Regulations of Hi-Vis Workwear
There are specific guidelines and regulation when it comes to Hi-Vis workwear. One of the most common items of hi-vis workwear is a fluorescent yellow vest/jacket with reflective strips. However, depending on the weather and your workplace there are various other types of high-visibility workwear.
Usually, workers wear fluorescent clothing during the daytime because they can absorb and emit different lights and look bright. However, this doesn't work in the dark, as they won't be enough light to emit. So, during the night-time or at a low light situation, workwear with retro-reflective material is preferable as this can bounce back the light from a source.
However, not all the hi-vis workwear is made equal; certain standards need to be met. From colour selection to cloth structure- Standards Australia has set these standards. Hi-Vis clothes need to use specific colours, structures and provide protection from ultraviolet radiation.
So, if you want to buy hi-vis workwear which meets these standards, always buy from a reputable workwear manufacturer/supplier such as BAD workwear. They have thousands of happy customers, which is proof of their quality workwear. You can visit their website and make an order for any sorts of workwear; they have you covered.
