ANSI 107 HIGH VISIBILITY

ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 – Standard for High-Visibility

Workers employed in and around traffic and moving equipment are exposed to extra dangers every day and need an extra layer of protection. High-visibility safety apparel (HVSA) can help prevent deaths while employees are at work.

What is the Standard?

The American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Accessories (ANSI/ISEA 107-2015) is a standard established by American National Standards Institute, Inc. Construction, maintenance, utility, emergency responders, airport ramp personnel and many categories of off-road workers are routinely exposed to potential injury hazards from their low visibility while on the job. This standard provides guidelines for the selection and use of high-visibility safety apparel such as shirts, rainwear, outerwear, safety vests, headwear, and other high-visibility accessories to improve worker visibility during the day, in low-light conditions, and at night.

Why is it important?

The need to be seen is recognized as a critical issue for worker safety. Low visibility is a serious hazard for all workers who must perform tasks near moving vehicles or equipment. Workers must be visible to vehicle operators in all lighting conditions and against complex environmental backgrounds. The sooner a vehicle operator sees a pedestrian worker, the longer the operator has to avoid an incident. High visibility safety apparel and accessories dramatically enhance worker visibility.

What Garments Meet the Standard

High-visibility safety apparel (HVSA) must be in accordance with the ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 standard in 4 areas:

Design: Garment design includes new Performance Classes that provide specific guidelines related to usage. Also provides that no less than 40% of the required amount of background and reflective material is present on both the front and back of the garment when laid flat.
Background materials: Colored fluorescent material intended to be highly conspicuous. There are three color options:
- Fluorescent yellow-green
- Fluorescent orange-red
- Fluorescent red

Material must meet strict requirements for luminescence, light exposure, washing, and tear resistance.

Minimum coverage requirements

Retroflective materials: Material that reflects and returns a relatively high proportion of light in a direction close to the direction from which it came.
- Reflective tape
- Minimum coverage requirements
Care labeling: Garment tags must clearly identify Garment Type, Performance Class, FR Indication, Washing Instructions, and other key information.

New Performance Standards

The standard presents three performance classes of garments based on the amount of visible materials and design attributes incorporated into the final configuration, and identifies garment types based on expected use settings and work activities being performed. These are designated as:

Off-road (type O): where workers are not exposed to high traffic or temporary control zones.
Roadway and temporary traffic control (type R): where workers are exposed to traffic from public access highway rights-of-way or roadway temporary control zones.
Public safety activities (type P): for emergency and incident responders and law enforcement personnel who are exposed to struck-by hazards.

Garment Type	Type O Off-road and Non-Roadway Use	Type R Roadway and Temporary Traffic Control Zones		Type P Emergency and Incident Responders and Law Enforcement Personnel		Supplemental Items^# Pants, Overalls, Shorts, Rain Pants and Gaiters
Performance Class	Class 1	Class 2^*	Class 3^*	Class 2^*	Class 3^*	Class E
Background Material	0.14 m² (217 in²)	0.50 m² (775 in²)	347.2² (1240 in²)	0.29² (450 in²)	.50² (775 in²)	0.30² (465 in²)
Retroreflective or Combined- Performance Materials	0.10 m² (155 in²)	0.13 m² (201 in²)	.20² (310 in²)	0.13² (201 in²)	.20² (310 in²)	0.07² (109 in²)
Minimum Width Reflective Material	25 mm (1 in.)	25 mm (1 in.) ^## 35 mm (1.38 in.)	25 mm (1 in.) ^## 50 mm (2 in.)	25 mm (1 in.) ^## 50 mm (2 in.)	50 mm (2 in.)^##	25 mm (1 in.) ^## 50 mm (2 in.)

^*For the smallest size offered in Type R, Performance Class 2, a minimum of 0.35 m² (540 in²) of background material may be used to accommodate small-sized workers. All subsequent larger sizes must use 0.50 m² (775 in²).
^**For the smallest size offered in Type R, Performance Class 3, a minimum of 0.65 m² (1000 in²) of background material may be used to accommodate small-sized workers. All subsequent larger sizes must use 0.80 m² (1240 in²).
^# When a Supplemental Class E item is worn with Performance Class 2 or 3, the overall classification for the ensemble shall be Performance Class 3.
^## For use with split-trim designs (See Section 6.3.1.2)
NOTE: Combined-performance materials can be counted toward the minimum area requirements for background material specified in Table 1.

Are there high-visibility standards for gloves?

The new ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 now includes high visibility standards for optional accessories – gloves, arm/leg bands, and headwear/hoods.

Accessory	Background Material ^##	Retroreflective or Combined-Performance Materials^##	Minimum Width Reflective Material
Gloves	0.0065 m² (10 in²)	0.0065 m² (10 in²)	25 mm (1 in.)
Arm or leg bands	0.015 m² (24 in²2)	0.015 m² (24 in²)	25 mm (1 in.)
Headwear, hoods (attached or detachable)	0.05 m² 2 (78 in )	0.0065 m² (10 in2)	25 mm (1 in.)