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Richard_W  
#1 Posted : 25 January 2020 17:26:14(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
Richard_W

An organisation that operates active events in local authority parks, forests, & other non-highway locations is changing the colour of the 'hi-vis' vests currently issued to volunteer marshals.

Although these events are not on the highway, there can be car park marshals, & potentially site vehicles. There are pedestrians & cyclists.

The current vests are labelled "en iso 20471 2013+a1:2016" & are yellow, & orange.

The new vests are a very dark pink, & may not even meet the "BS EN 1150:1999" standard. (I haven't seen one to check the label) They're not even a bright/hot pink, much more of a raspberry colour.
https://ibb.co/GPtZBGF

The organisation is covered by h&s legislation.

Should they be issuing, & using, hi-vis that meets the 20471 standard?

Roundtuit  
#2 Posted : 25 January 2020 18:48:26(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

If their Risk Assessment identifies Hi-Vis as a control it must meet the requirements of the PPE Directive and its associated standards EN ISO 20471. The choice of colours in compliance to the standard is very limited - Yellow, Orange and Red.

Wear any other type of coloured garment and the equipment is not Hi-Vis.

For example Pound World were prosecuted and had to withdraw from sale items that did not satisfy the standard which they chose to market as Hi-Vis even though the general public would identify the item as such (performance and design issues meant they did not comply to the standard)

Edited by user 25 January 2020 21:28:09(UTC)  | Reason: FFS

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC), Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC)
Roundtuit  
#3 Posted : 25 January 2020 18:48:26(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

If their Risk Assessment identifies Hi-Vis as a control it must meet the requirements of the PPE Directive and its associated standards EN ISO 20471. The choice of colours in compliance to the standard is very limited - Yellow, Orange and Red.

Wear any other type of coloured garment and the equipment is not Hi-Vis.

For example Pound World were prosecuted and had to withdraw from sale items that did not satisfy the standard which they chose to market as Hi-Vis even though the general public would identify the item as such (performance and design issues meant they did not comply to the standard)

Edited by user 25 January 2020 21:28:09(UTC)  | Reason: FFS

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC), Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC)
IanDakin  
#4 Posted : 26 January 2020 09:12:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
IanDakin

Roundtuit is correct that you need to meet the ISO standard. Also, note that there are 3 levels of hi-vis and of reflectable strips. Class 1, 2 and 3. 

Most highway and railway PPE would be best to meet the highest level. But your risk assessment needs to identify this.

There are three colours that meet the ISO - Yellow, Orange and Red (a dark pink). 

Steve e ashton  
#5 Posted : 26 January 2020 09:29:55(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve e ashton

If an organisation want Marshall to be readily identifiable they need to use a vest (or cap or arm bands) which are easily seen and clearly distinguishable from participants and members of the public. A lot of sports clothing is being worn in neon yellow and shocking pink. For this reason, many organisations now use blue conspicuity aids - and I see nothing wrong with the use of "dark pink" provided it is easily seen. Talk of "high visibility" clothing is a red herring (sorry no pun intended) where the relevant standards are irrelevant (off road/off rail/off Airport...). It is more important for safety purposes that marshals are readily identifiable without confusion than that their clothing complies with a standard which was not designed for that purpose.
Roundtuit  
#6 Posted : 26 January 2020 12:08:17(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Car parks are usually covered by the Road Traffic Act so marshalls in this environment would need compliant PPE

Then you have parks with public roads running through them such as the B6102 at Chatsworth House
Roundtuit  
#7 Posted : 26 January 2020 12:08:17(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Car parks are usually covered by the Road Traffic Act so marshalls in this environment would need compliant PPE

Then you have parks with public roads running through them such as the B6102 at Chatsworth House
peter gotch  
#8 Posted : 26 January 2020 16:00:01(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
peter gotch

Sometimes legal compliance might not be the best solution - sometimes that's a result of prescriptive legislation not keeping up with the times.

There was a waste management company who did an experiment with their workers at a shopping centre. Put them in standard yellow Hi-Vis and got 12 of them wandering around for an hour, before asking the public how many they had noticed. 

Changed the scenario and put them in pink - result about double the recognition by members of the public.

A one off experiment that wouldn't meet any tests of statistical "confidence" but room for thought!

Standard yellow or orange Hi-Vis is now so ubiquitous (having even hit day to day fashion, in some cases for good reason - you might want to be noticed and thence not run over!!) that it's very easy to become almost invisible.

Many, many years ago I asked some site staff how they would feel about trialling yellow wellies. Can't print the answer, but this was already commonplace in Germany where some had recognised that yellow showed up much better than black.

So, perhaps it's time to revisit the legislation and/or the ISO standards.

In my view it's how actually Hi-Vis the garment is that matters more than how theoretically Hi-Vis it is. That will vary according to the on site scenario. That means considering those who are the ones who we want to see someone, rather than what laboratory experiments indicate is preferable.

Roundtuit  
#9 Posted : 26 January 2020 21:35:15(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Good luck changing an ISO standard - our US cousins (and everywhere they exerted influence) prefer red hence three Hi -Vis colours. Just because a label says doesn't make it so - easy to attach a label, different beast to produce a compliant garment. If we got rid of the clipboard clowns who default to PPE then Hi-Vis may not have lost its relevance.

Edited by user 26 January 2020 21:37:41(UTC)  | Reason: pet hate

Roundtuit  
#10 Posted : 26 January 2020 21:35:15(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Good luck changing an ISO standard - our US cousins (and everywhere they exerted influence) prefer red hence three Hi -Vis colours. Just because a label says doesn't make it so - easy to attach a label, different beast to produce a compliant garment. If we got rid of the clipboard clowns who default to PPE then Hi-Vis may not have lost its relevance.

Edited by user 26 January 2020 21:37:41(UTC)  | Reason: pet hate

Kim Hedges  
#11 Posted : 26 January 2020 21:35:31(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kim Hedges

When working on CDM sites, I wear all Orange High Visibility clothing, primarily because orange is associated with transport and movement of plant, whereas Yellow tends to be ground workers.

In a factory or production setting, I've seen Pink PPE issued, but most of the time it's Yellow.   

I would tend to stress the importance of what other people percieve as expected in any given situation.  A traffic marshall really should be wearing Orange or Yellow, not Pink, as this is too dark a colour, especially in low light conditions.  Incidentally, on a historical note, the British Army have used Pink to camoflage vehicles on patrols, as it is less visible in low light conditions. 

Kim Hedges  
#12 Posted : 26 January 2020 21:43:29(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kim Hedges

Personally speaking, I'd advise you to return the goods. 

Go with Yellow, it's an expected common PPE colour.  

I've done a bit of volunteering over the years and as such I've worn PPE off the highway and in the woods and footpaths, I've always worn yellow or orange, when required to be seen. 

Roundtuit  
#13 Posted : 26 January 2020 22:16:52(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Sticking with our US cousins they use orange when hunting as yellow can be mistaken in the green of the forest, wood, scrub
Roundtuit  
#14 Posted : 26 January 2020 22:16:52(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

Sticking with our US cousins they use orange when hunting as yellow can be mistaken in the green of the forest, wood, scrub
A Kurdziel  
#15 Posted : 27 January 2020 09:52:36(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Hi-Viz clothing is just a control selected on the basis of a risk assessment. As with just about every other control the HSE does not require a particular make or standard to be used ie it’s not prescriptive. Instead what they want is evidence   that it is effective. The easiest way to do that is to use something that complies with a written standard which covers the situation that you are looking at. If you are looking at Hi-Viz clothing then BS EN 1150:1999 is the standard-“Protective clothing. Visibility clothing for non-professional use” You need to check if the standard is what you want and if it is upto you to either buy clothing that matches it or  you make sure that the clothing you issue would comply with the standard ie you test it yourself. If you decide to issue clothing for some other reason ie not as a result of a risk assessment  but simply to identify a certain type of person eg a marshal, then this is not PPE and you can choose whatever clothing you want, but you need to know why you are buying that particular clothing.

Richard_W  
#16 Posted : 27 January 2020 11:57:43(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
Richard_W

I haven't got hold of a new pink vest, but looking at pictures of them, they are not a bright pink, like is seen on some cyclists etc, so I would be concerned as to whether it met any standard.

The nearest colours I can get are these; https://color-hex.org/color/f55287 https://color-hex.org/color/d01c78 https://color-hex.org/color/e2388b

When I look up EN 1150, I get the the title of the standard as being for 'non-professional use' & "BS EN 1150 covers garments for purely private use".
Is something issued by an organisation, to be used in a public place, "private use"?

Roundtuit  
#17 Posted : 27 January 2020 12:52:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

https://standards.cen.eu/dyn/www/f?p=CENWEB:105::RESET::::

EN 1150 scope:

This Standard specifies the optical performance requirements for high-visibilty clothing to be worn by adults and by juveniles, and designed for non-professional use. High-visibility clothing for non-professional use is intended to signal the user's presence visually in any daylight condition and, when illuminated by vehicle headlights or search lights in the dark as well as lit up in urban roads. This standard is not applicable to accessories to be carried by persons or attached to garments.

BS EN ISO 20471 Scope:

specifies requirements for high visibility clothing which is capable of visually signalling the user's presence. The high visibility clothing is intended to provide conspicuity of the wearer in any light condition when viewed by operators of vehicles or other mechanized equipment during daylight conditions and under illumination of headlights in the dark. Performance requirements are included for colour and retroreflection as well as for the minimum areas and for the placement of the materials in protective clothing.

If the organisesr are making money it is a commercial enterprise so wehether the marshalls are paid or voluntary they would be considered professional wearers - the participants on the other hand

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC), Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC)
Roundtuit  
#18 Posted : 27 January 2020 12:52:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

https://standards.cen.eu/dyn/www/f?p=CENWEB:105::RESET::::

EN 1150 scope:

This Standard specifies the optical performance requirements for high-visibilty clothing to be worn by adults and by juveniles, and designed for non-professional use. High-visibility clothing for non-professional use is intended to signal the user's presence visually in any daylight condition and, when illuminated by vehicle headlights or search lights in the dark as well as lit up in urban roads. This standard is not applicable to accessories to be carried by persons or attached to garments.

BS EN ISO 20471 Scope:

specifies requirements for high visibility clothing which is capable of visually signalling the user's presence. The high visibility clothing is intended to provide conspicuity of the wearer in any light condition when viewed by operators of vehicles or other mechanized equipment during daylight conditions and under illumination of headlights in the dark. Performance requirements are included for colour and retroreflection as well as for the minimum areas and for the placement of the materials in protective clothing.

If the organisesr are making money it is a commercial enterprise so wehether the marshalls are paid or voluntary they would be considered professional wearers - the participants on the other hand

thanks 2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC), Richard_W on 27/01/2020(UTC)
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