Hi-vis checks essential as dark nights roll in

With this year marking the twentieth anniversary of The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations (1992), and with dark nights returning, now is an ideal time for businesses to check their employees’ high-visibility clothing is up to scratch according to workplace equipment supplier Slingsby which has produced a guide to ensure workers stand out and stay safe this winter.
 
The regulations cover all clothing and equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and protects them against risks to their health and safety.  PPE includes high-visibility clothing as well as a wide range of other equipment including safety footwear, hard hats, goggles and safety harnesses.
 
Lee Wright, Marketing Director of workwear providers, Slingsby, said: “Anyone working in low-visibility environments or in areas where they could go unnoticed must wear high-visibility clothing.  Generally speaking the darker the workplace is, the more high-visibility clothing should be worn.  However wearing high-visibility clothing that’s covered in dirt or is so old that it no longer has any fluorescent properties is pointless.   
 
“There are also lots of substandard high-visibility products on sale that offer poor levels of reflection and therefore don’t meet European Standards so it’s vital that employers double-check their offering is on the right side of the law.  This is especially true when you consider that high-visibility waistcoats that meet EN471 can cost as little as £2.50, so it really isn’t worth taking the risk with inferior products.”

www.slingsby.com