High Visibility vs. Enhanced Visibility Uniform Work Clothes

As an employer, you want to make sure your employees are kept safe while performing their assigned job duties and functions. One way to do this is with high visibility safety and enhanced visibility uniform work clothes.

There are some key differences between these two types of clothing and work attire. You need to know these differences to ensure you select the best uniform work clothes for your employees.

High Visibility Safety Uniform Work Clothes

With high visibility safety clothing, they must satisfy specific requirements as required by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and be of the right classification. There are three classifications of high visibility clothing.

Within each classification are detailed work environments where the clothing is required and necessary. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) utilizes the ANSI/ISEA 107 standards for which occupations and work environments require high visibility uniforms and apparel.

High visibility safety clothing is easily recognizable by its bright fluorescent colors, including orange-red, yellow-green, and red. In addition to the brightly colored clothing, there is reflective tape on the clothing so it will stand out in low light conditions.

For instance, road construction work crews wear high visibility work clothes when working. In many places, the work crews work overnight to reduce traffic delays. The reflective tape on the brightly colored clothing makes it much easier to see workers and keep them safer.

Enhanced Visibility Uniform Work Clothes

Enhanced visibility work clothes do not have to meet ANSI standards. Rather, the color of the clothing can be any color, including blue, gray, and so on. However, there is brightly colored and reflective tape on the clothing to help make it stand out and make workers more noticeable in work areas.

For example, warehouse workers typically wear enhanced visibility shirts so they can be seen by forklift operators. Enhanced visibility work clothes are well-suited for jobs where employers want their employees to be noticed but do not have to meet ANSI standards with work clothing.

Which Is Better? High Visibility or Enhanced Visibility?

While high visibility stands out more than enhanced visibility, both types of work clothing do make it easier for others to notice your employees. The type of industry and business and whether there are specific OSHA and ANSI standards you must follow will determine which clothing you need to use.

If you do not have any specific requirements, then you want to consider the work environment of your employees. Are they working in high traffic areas? Are they working close to vehicle traffic? Are they working in reduced light conditions or at night?

By answering these questions, you can decide whether high visibility clothing or enhanced visibility clothing is the best choice of uniform clothing for your employees. You can also ask your employees which type of visibility clothing would make them feel safer.

For instance, if you own a trucking company, you could provide your truck drivers with enhanced visibility shirts so they can be seen more easily when not in their truck. You could also provide them with high visibility safety vests to wear if they need to exit the truck in a higher risk area like on the freeway.

No matter your needs for visibility work uniforms, Prudential Overall Supply has the right uniform solutions to fit your specific needs and any ANSI and OSHA standards. Please feel free to contact us at 800-767-5536 today!