Safety Workwear at Night: Minimising Risks at Work

If you are working during the night or in areas where you cannot be easily seen, one of the most important thing to have would be reflective safety workwear. As the name implies, the latter will have some sort of reflective material, which will make it easy for you to be seen even from afar. This is especially common for those who work in the roadside as there is a high risk of being hit by a vehicle.

The Essentials of Night Work Wear

Among others, the most common requirement for night time workwear would be the presence of reflective material. There is a need for the clothes to be visible even from a distance, which is basically the reason why reflective materials are used. With this, some of the most common that are used by workers at night include high visibility vest and high visibility jackets. It is important that the reflective part is big enough so that it can be easily seen. In addition, the colour should be bright so that it can be effortlessly noticed.

Australian Requirements for High Visibility Clothing 

Whether it is for high visibility jackets, vests, or other clothes, it is important to consider the rules that have been set by the government. In New South Wales, you should look at Australian Standard AS/NZS4602.1:2011, which provides guidelines on the requirements that are expected for high visibility garments. According to this standard, garments can be classified in different categories, which will include the following:

• Class D: This type of garment is designed to be used specifically for daytime. This should be made with the use of fluorescent materials or non-retroreflective high-visibility materials.
• Class N: This would refer to high visibility safety workwear that is intended for use during night time only. It should be made from retroreflective material. The colour of the background, however, is non-specified.
• Class D/N: This would refer to clothing that can be used for night and day. This is made with both retroreflective and fluorescent material.

Factors to Consider

For your safety workwear to minimise the risks that you can be possibly confronted with, there are several factors that should be taken into account. For instance, one of the most important would be the environment. Whether it is hot or cold will have an impact on the choice for high visibility clothing. Aside from being reflective, you should make sure that the clothes will be able to offer protection from too high or low temperature, which will provide you with the guarantee of being fully functional in your job.

When choosing high visibility jackets, vests, and other types of safety clothing for night time work, it is also important to consider durability. See to it that it is designed to withstand the test of time, which will be indicative of its ability to provide the best bang for the buck. Meaning, it will take a long time before a replacement will be necessary.

You should also consider care and maintenance for reflective safety workwear. A good idea is to choose the ones that are effortless to clean and maintain, which also means that you can easily retain its quality and functionality through the years.

At The Coalface Boots, Workwear & Safety
5/281-283 Penshurst St.,
North Willoughby, NSW 2068 Australia
(02) 9417 1292
info@coalfaceworkwear.com.au