In many occupations, high-visibility clothing such as the familiar high-visibility vest is mandatory to ensure visibility and protection. Hazards can arise for people in a variety of work areas due to traffic or rail vehicles. According to the DGUV (German Social Accident Insurance), dangerous situations can occur especially in:
- Construction, maintenance and cleaning work as well as winter services for roads, bridges and railway tracks
- Greenery and woody plants care and agriculture
- Work in logistics and transportation (freight forwarding, on vehicles and aircraft, industrial trucks and lifting equipment, as well as port work, container movements, etc.).
- Breakdown service such as towing companies. These are usually located on busy roads and must be absolutely visible.
In principle, it should be in one's own interest to be as recognizable as possible and to be able to actively react to hazards from other participants - such as in road traffic or factory traffic. In the meantime there have been further developments in terms of visibility. For example, the new Kübler REFLECTIQ high-visibility series has been created directly in the BODY LANGUAGE design. This means that the silhouette of the body has been simulated accordingly with the reflective stripes over the shoulder, back and leg, creating a significantly higher level of visibility. The wearer is immediately noticed in the dark as a person and not as a reflective object.
High-visibility clothing and the requirements
DIN EN 471 "High-visibility clothing - Test methods and requirements" and now new, ISO EN20471, summarizes the requirements to make the wearer particularly visible in working and hazardous areas. High-visibility clothing should always be sufficiently conspicuous in different visibility conditions and in artificial light. Accordingly, the material, background colors and the minimum areas and arrangement of the various warning protection elements such as reflectors or signal colors are specified. This means that the fluorescent and highly visible fabric must predominate so that the corresponding warning protection class is achieved. This can vary even with small sizes because there is not enough visible area. For example, there are high-visibility shirts that are one class lower in size S, while the higher high-visibility class is achieved from size M onwards. Here, by the way, it is also important to exercise caution when applying logos, so that not too much of the signal color is covered. In addition, high-visibility clothing is designed for different work areas or temperature ranges as well as weather conditions to protect against heat, sunlight, wetness and cold. High-visibility clothing comes in a variety of warning colors, but the most common are yellow, orange or red.
High-visibility protection - category 1, 2 or 3?
High-visibility clothing is also divided into three different categories, each according to the respective hazard and visibility requirements at the workplace. Category 1 offers only low visibility, especially in Germany this category is rather uncommon. Category 2 is mainly used in case of sufficient visibility and low traffic load. Category 3 is required for poor visibility and heavy traffic, high speeds and rescue operations. High-visibility clothing, or safestyle in modern slang, can be used in every conceivable situation to provide visibility protection.
High-visibility clothing from brand manufacturers
The quality manufacturers of high-visibility clothing fundamentally use only the highest quality materials to provide maximum comfort, durability and safety. Especially the UV resistance is extremely important, because the sun can very quickly fade the signal color at constant irradiation. This can be seen especially with cheaper warning protection articles, which are quickly faded. If it comes to an accident, then no insurance is liable, because the protective effect is no longer given according to the standard. Therefore, a higher price is worth it in any case, especially when it comes to your own safety. Reflective strips are also expensive, which is why the prices of the Kübler REFLECTIQ collection are somewhat higher. But in return you have perfectly arranged reflective elements in the Body Language Design, the visibility is many times higher. With the functions is also basically attention to it. Whether it is high-quality fabrics, which reduce the heat caused by solar radiation or properly remove sweat. Whether it is cleverly arranged pockets or functions, whether it is permanently waterproof outer materials. High-quality high-visibility clothing from quality manufacturers such as Kübler, Blakläder, Mascot or Dickies is worthwhile in any case. For questions about the classification, the article or the equipment: at our hotline you get in any case a good and qualified advice. You can reach us by phone at +49 8341 967930 or by mail at service@genxtreme.de – anytime.
