The ISO 45001 Standard on Safety and Health at Work (which has international validity), has been established to regulate the use of high-visibility clothing and determine in which situations it is mandatory to wear this type of PPE.
Broadly speaking, this clothing aims to ensure that workers in certain sectors can work as visibly as possible, to avoid accidents of another nature.
There are three situations in which, according to the aforementioned regulations, it is mandatory to wear high-visibility work clothes:
- When there is a risk of being run over by being near moving vehicles;
- In cases where the work is carried out in an environment where machines are in motion;
- In any type of emergency.
It is important to clarify that the regulations do not distinguish between day or night, and that high-visibility clothing serves its purpose regardless of the amount of light and the visibility conditions of the environment. Of course, it is important to choose the right materials for each moment:
- Fluorescent clothing is recommended to increase visibility in broad daylight, as it reflects UV rays, and converts them into visible light;
- Retroreflective clothing, on the other hand, is best for night work in low-light conditions;
- The combination of clothing of both types is the most recommended in jobs that take place in conditions with variable luminosity.
It is important to consider that high-visibility clothing has a useful life that must be respected to ensure its level of protection. Therefore, the limit number of washes and drying to which these garments can be subjected is also regulated. It follows that the time they can be used also depends on the type of use they are given.
