Work Wear - ANSI/ISEA 107-2004

To address the hazards of low worker visibility during the day, in low-light conditions, and at night, International Safety Equipment Association members developed ANSI/ISEA 107-2004: the American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel.

The ANSI/ISEA standard establishes a set of performance criteria and provisions for the selection, design, and use of high visibility safety apparel. The standard defines three garment classes based on amounts of garment background material and retroreflective material. See  What is ANSI   (PDF, 292K). It also provides guidelines to help purchasers select the appropriate garment based on an assessment of worker hazards and tasks, complexity of the work environment or background, and vehicular traffic and speed.

Class 1 garments are intended for use in activities that permit the wearer’s full and undivided attention to approaching traffic. There should be ample separation of the worker from traffic, which should be traveling no faster than 25 miles per hour.

Examples of workers who use Class 1 garments:

• Parking lot attendants;
• People retrieving shopping carts from parking lots;
• Workers exposed to warehouse equipment traffic; and
• Roadside "right of way" or sidewalk maintenance workers.

Examples of workers who use Class 2 garments include:

• Forestry operations;
• Ship cargo loading operations;
• Roadway construction, utility and railway workers;
• School crossing guards;
• Delivery vehicle drivers;
• High-volume parking and toll gate personnel;
• Airport baggage handlers/ground crew;
• Emergency response and law enforcement personnel;
• Trash collection and recycling operations.

Class 3 garments provide the highest level of visibility, and are intended for workers who face serious hazards and often have high task loads that require attention away from their work. Garments for these workers should provide enhanced visibility to more of the body, such as the arms and legs.

Examples of workers who use Class 3 garments include:

• Roadway construction personnel and flaggers;
• Utility workers; Survey crews;
• and Emergency response personnel.

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