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Home arrow Articles & ANSI INFO arrow What you need to know about PPE
 
What you need to know about PPE
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October 09, 2008
New regulations for high visibility apparel will go into effect on November 24th of 2008. The Federal Regulation CFR 634 states that, "all workers within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed either to traffic or to construction equipment within the work area SHALL wear high-visibility safety apparel."  Since there are over 975,000 miles of Federal-aid highways it is extremely difficult to determine what is and isn't "Federal-aid" so many employers are opting to assume that all roads are covered under the regulation to avoid inadvertent noncompliance.

While the current version of the MUCTD recommends ANSI-compliant safety apparel in construction zones, the new standard is the first time a nationwide standard has been mandated. The new regulation specifies ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 requirements for the purpose of determining what is and is not compliant apparel and additionally requires workers to meet Class II or III of the standard. These new regulations are sure to create many questions and challenges for safety officers as well as employers concerning the size of worksites and in the variety of workers to whom the new regulation applies. Employers are required to designate a "competent" person to asses the risk and recommend the appropriate level of protection.

The regulation's definition of "workers" has been expanded beyond the construction worker, to include "people on foot whose duties place them within the right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway." Examples of these workers include survey crews, ambulance crews responding to incidents upon the roadway, law enforcement personnel when directing traffic or investigating accidents, utility crews etc. The Federal Highway Administration defines "responders to incidents" broadly and implies that tow truck drivers or other road side service vehicles operators, military personnel, media crews covering incidents and commercial drivers who are on foot after their vehicle have become disabled are considered "responders to incidents."

Due to these new regulations, large numbers of workers and business owners will have to select ANSI-compliant high-visibility apparel for the first time and will have to familiarize themselves with the standard and the scope of ANSI apparel in the marketplace. Comfort and styling of the apparel is an important component in assuring that workers will wear their high visibility clothing and actually comply with the standard. ANSI apparel is available in a wide range of styles that go well beyond the traditional vest. Manufactures now offer compliant T-Shirts, Windbreakers, Jackets, Systems Parkas, Rain Gear, Sweatshirts, Hats and more in addition to vests. It is also the duty of the employer to monitor the apparel for durability through home washes and degradation in the workplace. All ANSI apparel must be certified for a specific number of home washes, usually 25 or more although the standard calls for a minimum of 5 washes. Acid, bleach or hot tumble drying can all affect the effective life of an ANSI garment either in background fabric or it's retro-reflective material and must be checked to assure compliance. Manufactures are the best source of information on how to extend the life and compliance of the apparel that they sell.
Last Updated ( December 03, 2008 )
 
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