Safety First: Why Is High Visibility Clothing Important?
Occupational Health and Safety, or OH&S, should be the first priority on every construction site. High visibility clothing is an absolutely crucial aspect of following OH&S guidelines.
The construction industry is a rewarding industry to work in, but it can also be dangerous. In 2019, New Zealand had the highest number of construction-related deaths in 10 years. We can’t accept this. Any fatality due to poor occupational health and safety standards is one too many.
Luckily there are simple OH&S standards to ensure the highest safety for construction workers. High visibility clothing, as well as other necessary safety equipment, is crucial on every construction site.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the many benefits of wearing high visibility clothing.
High Visibility Clothing Improves Worker Safety in Dark Areas
Construction sites are often far from the cliche ‘singlet in the sun’ landscaping or carpentry stereotypes that so many New Zealanders confound.
Construction often involves working in dark areas with poor visibility of other workers and workers’ surroundings. Basement construction, underground infrastructure work, certain industrial jobs, roofing, and countless other situations mean that workers are often left vulnerable to little or no lighting.
Dark conditions pose numerous potential hazards for workers. One particular risk is that workers can’t see other coworkers and could potentially injure them. Another risk is poor visibility of their surroundings, such as a hole in the floor, wet areas, construction materials on the ground, etc.
At Amare Safety, our high visibility clothing products tackle this OH&S obstacle. Our products not only offer protection from impact but also make the worker more illuminated and visible in dark areas.
High Visibility Clothing Improves Worker Safety in the Rain
Once again, construction isn’t always sunshine and blue skies. We all know that. Often, we have to bite the bullet and work in some pretty unpleasant conditions.
Working in the rain can be dangerous. A reason for this is the poor visibility from wet conditions. When working outside with other workers, unless wearing high visibility clothing, it can be extremely hard to see them. Even in close proximity.
This means that not only is there the potential for you to accidentally injure them on your own accord, but there is also the risk that you wouldn’t be able to warn them about proximate hazards. Hazard examples include holes, construction equipment, or other common risks in wet sites.
Our range of wet weather gear addresses this problem. Once again, not only do our products protect the worker from impact risks but also makes them more visible to their coworkers.
High Visibility Clothing Improves Worker Safety in Foggy or Misty Conditions
*5.00AM BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!...
The hardest part of the day. Just get to the coffee machine and we’re all good.
Construction workers are early risers. Many jobs start before sunrise and in turn, conditions are very often misty and foggy. Fog is especially thick during the winter months.
Fog and mist provide a safety risk for workers. Foggy conditions not only make surfaces slippery but also create terrible visibility.
When fog is bad, workers sometimes can’t even see within very close proximity.
This provides a safety risk for themselves and their coworkers. Unless wearing high visibility clothing workers can injure other workers in foggy conditions.
Workers risk hitting others with machinery and can’t warn others of proximate construction hazards. To mitigate risks in foggy conditions workers must wear high visibility clothing. As fog is often created in cold conditions, products like our new Bisley Hi Vis Polar Fleece keeps workers safe and warm.
Good quality high visibility clothing should keep your workers warm and safe in foggy conditions.
High Visibility Clothing Improves Worker Safety in Emergency Situations
A major facet of occupational health and safety regulations on the worksite are evacuation plans. Plans need to be approved to achieve an occupation certificate and for sites to be signed off by a surveyor.
More important than achieving OC & Practical Completion, you need a quality evacuation plan to ensure the utmost safety for your workers in the situation of an emergency. High visibility clothing is essential for this.
During an emergency on a construction site panic runs high. Situations like a fire, flood, gas leak or an earthquake can cause an irrational atmosphere amongst workers on site.
You need to be as prepared as possible for emergency situations. Follow fire and emergency regulations for New Zealand and make sure everyone is wearing high visibility clothing.
High visibility clothing is essential for evacuation plans. You need to be able to see other workers to direct them in the right way to evacuate, count workers to make sure none are left behind, and to warn workers of incoming hazards.
For high-risk fire areas, browse our flame retardant products.
Amare safety specializes in fire retardant high visibility clothing. We produce the highest quality products with competitive pricing. Make sure you’re prepared for emergency situations.
Get Your High Visibility Clothing
High Visibility clothing is not only recommended but it's essential. Construction work throws countless dangerous conditions to workers and the best way to mitigate risk is to be prepared.
Let’s help build a better future for the New Zealand construction industry. By striving for better safety standards, we can improve the lives of workers and their families.
At Amare Safety we have a range of quality products that give workers the best comfort, quality, and safety. Contact us today to get your high visibility clothing.
