I had a conversation with a friend who is a welder. I noticed when i met him at his work (work on same industrial site), that his hi viz vest had several burn marks. I asked him if he felt it was an added risk wearing the hi viz when welding, due to the burn marks, but he replied they had to wear them at all times. Would i be right in thinking only the correct welding boiler suit should be worn, and not an additional hi viz?

I have a friend who HAD to wear a hi-viz and it caught fire when he was welding! I thought PPE had to be fit for purpose, so bob, surely this employer is not meeting their obligations? IF I have to go on site where Hi-Viz is required and I am around hot work (in close proximity) I have a Hi-Viz "flame proof" boiler suit, sorted! IMHO, a welder should be wearing a "flame retardant" boiler suit when they are undertaking hot works as should anyone doing hot metal works.

I work for a welding/fabrication company who carry out a lot of works in areas which require the wearing of hi-vis vests etc when working on customers sites. Our policy is that our welders wear orange proban, or similar standard, boilersuits to EN ISO 11611 which do not contain any reflective tape. When they are not physically carrying out hot works operations, or operating near them, they are permitted to remove the hi-vis garment. Part of our set up process of the working area is to set up physical barriers to prevent unauthorised access of persons and/or vehicles so whilst working within the confines of this area there is no real reason to have to wear hi-vis garments.