Duty of care
Under the Personal
Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992,
employers have a duty of care to provide their
employees with protective safety clothing and
equipment that is fit for its intended purpose. In
other words, it is up to the employer to assess
correctly the level of risk to their employees'
health and safety during the course of their work
and provide them with adequate protection.
The Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) suggest that a high speed road is
one with a speed limit in excess of 50 MPH. Also see
HSE Guidance for crossing high speed roads, click
here 
In the case of high
visibility clothing for use on and around roads, the
garments you supply must conform to BS EN471:1994
High Visibility Warning Clothing – a European
Standard introduced in 1994 which sets out exacting
specifications for the performance of high
visibility garments and accessories (both new and in
use). Items are categorised according to the level
of conspicuity they provide and are classified into
three classes.
The Standard sets out
specific design criteria for each class of garment,
with minimum areas of background and retroreflective
materials specified in each case. For instance,
jackets, waistcoats and tabards must have bands of
retroreflective material in one of the following
designs
- two horizontal
bands around the torso and one band over each
shoulder joining the torso band, or;
- two horizontal
bands around the torso.
- The bands must not
be less than 50 mm wide and long sleeves must be
encircled by two bands, which are placed at the
same height as those on the torso.
- The materials used
in the manufacture of the garments must meet
equally strict specifications, in terms of
optical performance, abrasion resistance, colour
fastness, influence of rainfall and temperature
variation (to name but a few). The finished
garments must also contain relevant information
(labelling) on storage, cleaning and
maintenance, size guidelines, results of
technical performance tests and the name and
address of the manufacturer or their authorised
representative.
What you need to
know
If you are supplying
your employees with appropriate high visibility
safety products for use on or near to roads, ask the
following questions of your supplier:
- do the garments
conform to the BS EN471 Standard?
- are independent
test/certification results available?
- do the garments
carry the necessary labelling information?
- are the garments
suitable for decoration - will they still
conform to the Standard once they have been
printed/badged?
- what area of
material has been allowed for badging – what
is the maximum area of background material you
can cover without compromising the garments'
conspicuity?
Introduced in 1994, BS
EN471 High Visibility Warning Clothing is the
current European Standard governing high visibility
safety wear. The Standard is split into three
classes of garments, based on their level of
conspicuity: -
Class 3 (highest level of conspicuity) Items
include:
- coats and jackets
with sleeves
- coveralls
- two-piece
combination suits (if marked correctly)
Class 2 (intermediate level conspicuity) Items include:
- sleeveless
waistcoats
- tabards
- bib and brace
overalls
Class 1 (lowest level of conspicuity) Items
include:
- waistband trousers
- harnesses
Materials must maintain specific performance levels
and in the case of care, garments must state the
maximum appropriate number of care cycles the item
is capable of withstanding.
Retroreflective
material
The optical
performance levels of retroreflective material are
specified within section 6 of the Standard and Class
2 provides the optimum level of brightness. There
are other tests the material has to be subjected to
in order to achieve compliance:
- abrasion
resistance
- flexing
capabilities
- influence of
rainfall and temperature variation
Background material
Section 5 covers the
requirements for background material. These include:
- colour
- colour fastness
- dimensional change
- mechanical
properties
- ergonomics
The recognised colour in the UK is fluorescent
yellow and, unless an employer's risk assessment
suggests otherwise, this is the colour that should
be used on all roads.
Health and safety
requirements
When items of
Personal Protection Equipment are placed on the
market, they must contain relevant information on:
- storage, use,
cleaning and maintenance
- wear information
including sizing guidelines
- model description
- performance as
recorded during technical tests to check levels
or classes of protection.
- name and address
of the manufacturer and/or their authorised
representative.
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