Unlike those who work in an office setting where the risks to safety are minimal, working in construction sites and environments with moving vehicles and debris often contain many hazards with the potential to cause injury. Therefore in these workplaces, appropriate workwear is necessitated to prevent injury and foster a safe working environment. This blog aims to explore the significance of high-visibility clothing in the workplace and its impact on workplace safety.
Why do we use high visibility clothing?
High visibility clothes is defined as a type of clothing workers wear on a jobsite to improve visibility and workplace safety. It is mostly worn to alert drivers and equipment operators of where workers are located. It is essential to wear high visibility clothing in dark environments where workers may be blocked from view by trees or traffic. The type of high visibility clothing needed to work safely depends on the industry you reside in and the risks associated with your work. Vests are most commonly worn, but coveralls, jackets, shirts, pants and gloves are all used to keep workers safe.
High-visibility clothing has two components: reflective strips and colourful fluorescent elements. There are only three approved colours for high visibility clothing: Fluorescent lime, orange and red.
To maximise the safety of your workers it is essential to choose high visibility safety features that will provide the most contrast between them and their working environment. It is essential to choose protective clothing that won’t blend in with your surroundings as this limits other visibility of the worker.
1. Enhances visibility
The most significant aspect of high visibility clothing is its ability to increase worker visibility. This is an important safety standard in many industries and environments, such as construction, railway and electrical.
High visibility clothing is not designed to protect you from the elements, additional thermal tops, trousers and hats can be purchased if they meet certain safety requirements. But rather is designed to help others see you more clearly. Additionally, wearing protective clothing enables the workers to become more conscious of themselves, preventing more accidents.
For example, a roadside mechanic will wear high visibility clothing, usually a vest, jacket and pants during the night to increase drivers visibility of them. The reflective stripes and colours indicate to passing drivers their presence to prevent car accidents.
2. Encourages workplace safety
As an organisation your number one priority should be equipping your workforce with relevant high visibility clothing. Reinforcing the idea of safety and encouraging workers to wear their clothing and practice safely the more a healthy mindset is nurtured in the minds of the employees.
If you provide your workers with clothing and training they will appreciate your efforts to keep them safe from harm. Providing workers with high visibility clothing communicates to them that the organisation values their safety and lifes. Building a culture of safety first improves morale.
Wearing the correct safety clothing, with training and maintenance care instructions, allows your employees to foster strong work connections, relationships and connections ultimately leading to a shared culture built on safety to reside.
3. Professional work attire
Wearing high visibility clothing can promote a professional image and identity for workers. The clothing that an individual wears to work not only indicates their profession but projects the workers identity. Workers wearing high visibility clothing project the image of competence and helps communicate to other individuals the nature of their work and the level of safety needed.
Wearing high visibility clothing helps keep workers and civilians separate. Therefore, if any outside personnel or civilians enter the worksite they can easily be identified and removed ensuring their safety.
To further differentiate yourself from other organisations, you can order custom high visibility vests with your company’s name and logo. This personalised touch can further enhance your brand’s visibility if workers are completing projects in a public space. This not only promotes the idea of respectable workers to the public but also unifies a team and promotes cooperative work.
4. Improves reaction time
Finally, the last benefit of high visibility is that it improves workers and civilians reaction times. In an environment where workers operate heavy machinery, equipment and vehicles it is critical that the correct clothing is worn to spot others and react quickly to avoid disasters.
In construction zones where it can become quite noisy, brightly coloured clothing can make up for the lack of sense keeping workers’ reaction time quick.
For example, a bus driver is driving down a busy construction zone with lots of noise when a worker steps out into the road. The fluorescent colour and reflective stripes can quickly attract the attention of the driver to react to the workers presence by braking, saving their life.
Conclusion
High visibility clothing is not only a lawful requirement but a tool for improving an organisation’s culture surrounding safety. By employing high visibility clothing, organisations not only reduce the likelihood of accidents but also improve employee morale and promote a unified commitment to safety. Ultimately, visibility equals safety, and investing in high quality high-visibility clothing is essential for enabling workers to continue performing their duties with confidence.
