Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Different Kinds Of Safety Vests

By Amanda Baird


Safety vests are essential for people doing any kind of outdoor work such as construction, traffic control, fire fighting and emergency response among many other jobs. Such clothing are made of reflective material so that they can keep a person safe when working. It is also a requirement by the law that workers in a high risk environment be provided with these vests to protect them while working.

The gear come in different colors for various working places. The color also differentiates the high risk environments from the no so high risk ones. It is therefore the responsibility of companies to know the different kind of clothing so that they can allocate the appropriate ones to their employees. They should understand that such protective clothing is a necessity not an option.

These safety gears are categorized into three classes. The first one being those used by parking attendants, shopping cart retrievers among other people in environments that are not very risky. Traffic in such environments move at a speed below 25mphs and the workers can be able to see oncoming equipment or vehicle moving. The color for this class is usually lime green, yellow or orange but an employer is allowed to pick any other color.

The next category is class 2 which must be worn by workers in a job that might be greatly affected by poor weather and vehicles and equipment are moved at a speed exceeding 25mphs. Tasks in such environments may distract an employee from viewing oncoming traffic and other activities happening nearby. Employees that require type 2 clothing include; traffic controllers, ground team, crossing guards among other people. The color of their clothing can be yellow, orange or lime green.

Last category is the class three types of vests that provide greatest visibility of them all. Occupations that utilize this class of safety clothing are any emergency response job or road construction works. Workers in such jobs perform tasks in high speed environments where visibility is usually limited. Because their jobs are high risk, their kinds of safety clothing are usually long sleeved to protect people from injuries affecting the chest and arms.

Vest color in class 3 differs for different jobs. For paramedics responding to an emergency situation, they usually wear color green material. Fire fighters wear color red safety clothing while police officers put on blue clothing. Class 3 type have a highly reflective material incorporating silver or white reflective strips on the uniform to increase visibility. Some companies are now producing LED or lighted materials to improve nighttime visibility.

For organizations or people wondering where to access this safety material, they are available everywhere. One can check in online stores or offline stores and the materials are available in wide ranges which people can choose from. As to the prices of such clothing they are affordable. Factors to guide one when choosing the most appropriate material include comfortability and safety.

Safety vests ensure visibility and protection thereby reducing the number of accidents that would otherwise happen if a person had not put on the materials. Workers are also able to perform their jobs efficiently without worrying of an oncoming vehicle or track not seeing them. Employers must always ensure that the employees have put such clothing whenever working in such risky environments.




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