Why Employees Need to Wear Bright Clothing at Worksites

Are you looking into reflective clothing for your worksite? Do you sometimes wonder why high visibility clothing is so important?

Vehicle strikes caused more than 55 percent of injuries in construction work zones. To increase your safety on a worksite, wear bright clothing.

Reflective clothing is beneficial for workers on job sites. If you wonder why bright clothing is important, here’s more information.

Reflective Clothing is Required by Law

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ensures that employees’ workplaces are safe. They set standards for construction worker clothing. Other employers must provide safety gear for certain jobs

Their standards require safety gear, including bright clothing in specific worksites and situations.

What Color Is Best for Bright Clothing?

Companies may choose from a range of colors for employee safety clothing. These colors include fluorescent yellow, chartreuse (bright yellow/green), or orange.

Studies show that fluorescent red-orange has the highest visibility at an average distance. That’s why it’s used for safety garments.

The next color with the highest visibility is chartreuse or a bright yellow-green. Our eyes notice chartreuse because of how they work. Two out of three cones in our eyes detect bright green, and we can see it at both close-up and far distances.

Employees Are Identifiable

When all employees must wear high visibility clothing they are more visible. It makes it hard for someone to walk onto your construction site undetected. That adds to the security of your worksite and protects the public at the same time.

It’s easy for someone to get a high-visibility vest. Anyone could enter your workplace without permission. Add another layer of identification by obtaining custom safety vests for your business.

Consider adding your company logo on various construction employer clothing. These could include reflective vests, work shirts, safety jackets, and rain ponchos.

Supervisors can see employees from a distance. They can track how much they are working. Supervisors can also make sure everyone is working in the right place on the site.

Purpose of Reflective Stripes

When employees work near traffic, OSHA requires clothing to have added reflective stripes.

The American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel (ANSI) sets guidelines. There are three levels of effectiveness for reflective stripes. The levels decide how much of the gear needs to be a bright background material. It also determines the size of the stripes.

Reflective stripes are particularly useful for safety in other situations. Many companies have added them to the sides and backs of trucks or trailers to make them more visible at night.

It’s common to find reflective stripes on personal safety equipment. That includes bike helmets or jogging jackets. They are sometimes added to dog clothing to ensure drivers see your pet.

Wear High Visibility Clothing to Stay Safe

When you know why bright clothing is great for worksites, you’ll be more inclined to wear it. It identifies you as an employee and helps other workers see you.

Did you find this article helpful? If so, be sure to use the simple search feature to find more worksite safety information.