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September 17, 2008 |
The ANSI guidelines in our landscape today continue to evolve in our industrial business world. Where once there were a set of guidelines introduced in 1999, they have since become more explicit in 2004. As the American National Standard Institute, Inc. has broken down these specific guidelines into classes, so have they included parameters under each of them that need to be addressed. These parameters include design, requirements for background and combined-performance retroreflective materials, photometric and physical performance requirements for retroreflective materials and care labeling. The reflective apparel manufacturer today must have a firm grasp on this important criteria and know it well if they are to survive among the competition? This is a high level overview to try and simplify these guidelines and provide needed understanding to those in the relective apparel community.
- The ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard specifies design guidelines and the minimum amounts of component materials, colors and placement.
- The "Specific Guidelines" are:
- Class ANSI I - Background Material 217 sq in Retroreflective Material 155 sq in
Combined-performance Material 310 sq in Min. Width of Retroreflective
Material 1 in
- Class ANSI II - Background Material 775 sq in Retroreflective Material 201 sq in
Combined-performance Material NA Min. Width of Retroreflective Material
1.375 in
- Class ANSI III - Background Material 1240 sq in Retroreflective Material 310 sq in
Combined-performance Material NA Min. Width of Retroreflective Material
2 in
- Headwear - Background Material 78 sq in Retroreflective Material 10 sq in Level 2
Combined-performance Material 78 sq in Level 2 or 1
- Retroreflective Material Placement
- Use of retroreflective bands must be appropriate for the garment class.
- The garment must have 360 degree visibility with at least one retroreflective band encircling the torso.
- Adherence to the appropriate separation distances of vertical and
horizontal bands placed on the torso, sleeves and trousers areas.
- Adherence to the horizontal gaps in the retroreflective band placement and garment design.
- With regards to trim, retroreflective patterns, such as logos, design
icons, or identification text may contribute to the maximum area
requirements specified in number #2.
- Component Colors - The specification provides for three different color choices for background and combined-performance material:
- Fluorescent yellow-green
- Fluorescent orange-red
- Fluorescent red
Users should choose the appropriate color that is most conspicuous for daytime use. Also consider the fluorescent color that achieves the highest degree of worker contrast.
- Garment Classes - Properly know the three classes of high-visibility safety apparel so
you can choose the right garments for each work situation. Garments
that cover the torso, such as t-shirts and safety vests, are intended
to meet Class I or Class II requirements.
- Ergonomics - Obviously comfort is always a key factor, but notably
garment designs should be free of roughness and sharp edges that could
cause excessive irritation. Size ranges should be considered, due to
the apparel needing to conform to the shape of each individual user.
- Requirements for Retroreflective and Combined-Performance Materials
Section 7 of the standard provides specifications for color,
brightness, fabric strength and moisture resistance after various
exposure tests.
- Background material needs to have tests performed on it for chromaticity or color and luminance or brightness.
- The background material must also be tested for color fastness to
include four tests: crocking, perspiration, laundering and Xenon (UV
light) exposure.
- The background materials needs to be tested for dimensional change (shrinking) after washing and dry-cleaning.
- Additional tests include tensile strength, tear resistance, bursting
strength of woven material and bursting strength of knitted material.
Background materials also need to be tested for water penetration and
water repellency, if the garment is intended to provide protection
during rainfall.
- Photometric and Physical Performance for Retroreflective Material
Section 8 of the standard specifies photometric and performance requirements for retroreflective material, such as minimum brightness after test exposure.
- Note: 3M retroreflective and combined-performance materials are certified to ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 specifications.
- All materials must meet the minimum brightness requirements after tests
for abrasion resistance, flexing, folding at cold temperatures and
variation in temperatures.
- Combined-performance material must also meet the minimum luminance or brightness factors after a Xenon exposure test (UV light).
- Care Labeling, General Marking and Instructions for Use
When materials have been tested against performance requirements and certificates of compliance from a third party laboratory have been issued, apparel manufacturers then assemble garments according to the design guidelines in Section 6 of the standard for the appropriate class of garment. Only once all of the materials' performance and design requirements have been met, can a garment be labeled ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 compliant.
- Specific Marking includes the following information:
- Name, trademark, or other means of identifying the manufacturer or authorized representative
- Designation of the product type, commercial name or code.
- Size designation.
- Number of this specific ANSI/ISEA standard (ANSI/ISEA 107-2004).
- Pictogram showing the garment Class and Level of Performance for the retroreflective material
- Care labeling with FTC symbols and maximum cycles for the cleaning process.
- Instructions for use (if applicable).
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