Meeting the Industrial Challenge

Work situations are unique in the varying aspects that are involved. When making the decision on what garment would best meet your needs consider three key elements:

1. Environment
2. Task
3. Time

These factors when assessed together make for a concise decision in what particular garment would best meet what the work demands. When accessing the work environment consider the weather, incidental chemical splash, sanitation, or substance exposures, and possible fire hazard. The task focuses on the work movements involved, their repetition, any abrasion exposures, and tear or snag hazards. The time consideration takes into account how long the worker will be exposed, job continuity, and the durability that is required to meet the various work challenges. Neese Industrial rainwear takes into account these three key factors and our mission is to provide our customers with the right garment for the right job.

The Need to Be Seen

In the outdoor working environment there are many serious potential dangers and hazards to contend with. Vehicle hazards such as fast moving cars and trucks often speed past, often within inches of workers. Drivers that are distracted, impatient, or careless rarely slow down to a safe speed and can easily swerve outside of their lanes. Noise and focused tasks makes it difficult for workers to hear or notice approaching vehicles and equipment. The operators of heavy equipment and trucks face limited visibility and even the most attentive operators find it difficult to see workers on foot. A majority of work is done at night or when light levels low at dawn, dusk, and sometimes during inclement weather. The visibility problems cause many of the deaths and injuries that happen when workers get hit by vehicles or mobile equipment.

The use of high-visibility apparel serves as a first line of defense to protect workers against being struck by a vehicle of piece of equipment that would otherwise not be able to see them during the day or night. The United States Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes the value of high visibility apparel to protect workers it requires employers to outfit employees with "reflectorized and highly visible materials to enhance worker safety." Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices specifies high-visibility clothing for flaggers, law enforcement officers, and others involved in managing work-zone traffic.

ANSI/ISEA 107-2004

The American National Standards Institute developed this voluntary standard understanding the need for high visibility apparel for workers in hazardous environments. This standard outlines three different classes of garment protection levels. Each class has its own requirements for reflective materials used in the garment. Even though the employer is ultimately responsible for determining the class of garment in regards to the work environment, these protection levels are designed to meets the needs of different situations.

Class 1

High visibility Garments that are classified as class one are intended for use in activities that permit the wearer's full and undivided attention to approaching traffic. In this environment there should be ample separation of the worker from traffic the traffic hazard.

Class 2

Garments in class two are intended for use in work activities where greater visibility is necessary during inclement weather conditions or in work environments with risks that exceed those for class one. Garments in class two are designed to protect workers who perform tasks that divert their attention from approaching traffic, or put them in close proximity to passing vehicles.

Class 3

These garments provide the highest level of visibility and are intended for workers who face serious hazards and often have high risk task loads that require attention away from their surroundings. Garments for workers in this level situation should provide enhanced visibility to more of the body, such as the arms and legs. In a class three situation, workers face vehicles traveling at high speeds and wearers are needed to be conspicuous and identifiable as a person through the full range of body motions.

NeeseArc Protective Rainwear is made of special protective materials made for withstanding to varying levels the arc flash?s hazardous flame and heat exposure.

Arc flash effects can be characterized by a two step process. First a radiant burst of energy traveling at the speed of light impacts the subject at temperatures as high as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In the second step an extremely strong shock wave, created by the arc blast and traveling at the speed of sound impacts the subject. This process of the hazard points to three important requirements for the arc flash protective clothing to meet or exceed in its performance.

1. Clothing must not ignite & continue to burn.
2. Clothing must provide a good insulative value to the wearer in order to dissipate the heat transfer through the clothing to the skin.
3. Clothing must provide strong resistance to the break open forces generated by the shock wave of the arc flash.

The common every-day work garments and rainwear that are made of basic non-flame resistant materials can be easily ignited during an arc flash exposure. The material will also continue to burn and will add more to the extent of resulting injury to the worker than from just the arc alone. The focus on protecting workers against arc exposures has necessitated the development and implementation of specialized garments that meet the requirements of specific testing procedures. NeeseArc Protective Rainwear is made of special protective materials that are tested and made for withstanding to varying levels the arc flash?s hazardous flame and heat exposure.

NeeseArc protective rainwear meets ASTM F1891-02 and flame resistance specifications. Typical FR Rainwear melts in the flame exposure but is specially treated to suppress the flame. In the situation of a flash fire or arc flash this simple flame suppression fails and the resulting melting and dripping is not suppressed at all. The use of arc protective rainwear that meets ASTM F1891 eliminates the melting hazard and protects the worker.