Intro to ANSI/ISEA 107-15 Standard for Safetywear
This standard provides guidelines for the selection and use of high-visibility safety apparel and other high-visibility accessories to improve worker visibility during the day, in low-light conditions, and at night. Private companies, as well as various federal, state, and local authorities, have embraced ANSI/ISEA 107-compliant garments and accessories as useful PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for workers exposed to struck-by hazards.
ANSI / ISEA 107-2015 SPECIFIES THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA MUST BE MET:
Performance Requirement for Background and Combined-performance Retro-reflective materials.
Photometric and physical performance requirements for Retro-reflective and combined performance materials.
Garment Design
Proper Labeling
LABELING REQUIREMENTS
Must state that garment meets ANSI 107-2015
Must contain pictogram showing:
Garment Type (O, R or P)
Garment Performance Class
If the garment is not FR, must state “This garment is not flame resistant
as defined by ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 Section 10.5”
Must indicate the maximum laundries for the finished item
ANSI/ISEA 107 AND ANSI/ISEA 207 HAVE BEEN COMBINED INTO ANSI/ISEA 107-2015
ANSI/ISEA 107 and ANSI/ISEA 207, American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests, were merged to form a single document, ANSI/ISEA 107-2015. This new consolidated standard covers the needs of workers in all industries for high visibility garments as well as synchronizes the revision schedules for these two previously separate documents.
ALLOWANCE FOR SMALL SIZED GARMENTS
Garment performance classes are defined by minimum area requirements for both background material and retroreflective striping. Prior minimum requirements for background fabric prevented manufacturers from offering a true small-sized garment. The 2015 edition of ANSI/ISEA 107 includes a reduction in the minimum requirement for background fabric in only the smallest size garment offered by a manufacturer. This change will make small-sized garments available to workers who previously were forced to wear garments that were too large for them in order to be compliant with the standard.
FINAL RULE
The Final Rule, 23 CFR Part 634 Worker Visibility, was passed on November 18, 2006, and took effect on November 24, 2008. The Rule states that all workers within a right-of-way of a Federal-aid highway who are exposed to traffic or to construction equipment within the work area shall wear High-Visibility apparel that must meet Performance Class 2 or Class 3 requirements of ANSI/ISEA 107-2015. The Federal Register Final Rule and revised document of the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was released on December 16, 2009. The Rule states that mandatory use areas are expanded beyond Federal-aid highways and will require all workers on or near the roadway right-of-way to wear high visibility safety apparel that meets Performance Class 2 or 3 of ANSI 107-2004 or equivalent revisions. The Federal Highway Administration has issued a formal interpretation recognizing the 2015 edition of ANSI/ISEA 107 as meeting the requirements of 2009 MUTCD.