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#1 Posted : 20 August 2009 11:14:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mike Foulds All In my warehouse we supply all employees with a yellow EN 471 class 2 Hi Viz, you know the ones that are made of polyester and make you sweat like a pig if the temperature reaches 20 degrees +. I have been challenged by one of the managers on site who is allowing one of his ladies to wear a non company supplied mesh type vest (she is a pretty thing who sweats a lot his words not mine). Its clean, it has two horizontal reflective stripes and appears to be visible from a good distance, its is brighter than some of the class two vests that need a wash. The mesh type vest is obviously cooler to wear in the warehouse. My question: The EN 471 class 2 vest which is suitable for road use, is this the standard required for a warehouse or would the PPE regulation standards still be covered by the wearing of mesh vest? I am trying to work with the operation and do not want to be obstructive to there wishes but I feel that if we have an incident lets say some is hit by a fork truck and the investigation said that the driver did not see the pedestrian, the fact that the Hi Viz was not EN471 class 2 would this lead to trouble in the H&S camp. Any thoughts much appreciated. Mike
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#2 Posted : 20 August 2009 11:39:00(UTC)
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Posted By Rob35 Mike, Had a very similar situation and I stuck with the EN471, stating the the mesh one do not comply so you can not have them. We were also concerned on the defensibility point of view. Had no issues since, but we did look into the High Viz Polo / T-shirts, but costing kept us with the vests. Rob
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#3 Posted : 20 August 2009 11:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter Moran Have you had a look at the label on the mesh type? If its marked Class 2 then it should have the required conspicuosity for road use (short sleeveless/under 50mph use). This should be perfectly adequate for internal use/crossing trafficked external poorly lit areas etc. Personally though I haven't come across these in common use so perhaps they don't meet Class 2.....but then again neither do most orange trousers with double banding and these are issued industry wide for highways use!
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#4 Posted : 20 August 2009 11:53:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mike Foulds Rob I also looked at Hi Viz polo shirts but the cost of kitting out 400+ staff with 5 shirts each, the HR dept told me word that would make your ears burn!
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#5 Posted : 20 August 2009 12:09:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter Zunda This link will give you a little more information on High-Vis standards; http://www.rema.org.uk/p...ssional-hivis-advice.pdf You can get the mesh type vest to meet EN471, just takes a little bit of hunting.
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#6 Posted : 20 August 2009 12:24:00(UTC)
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Posted By simondean1976 Hi Mike, There is no legal requirement to wear high-viz in a warehouse, come's down to a risk assessment etc etc, which no doubt you already know. I used to manage the safety in a large warehouse, 50+ flts, pedestrian interaction, so we had people in high-viz waistcoats, however unless the trucks that operate inside the warehouse have lights fitted (which most don't) then the relfective strip is pretty none effecitive. The only thing I would worry about is, if one person has one, then everyone will want one! lol SI
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