Guide: CSA Standards for High Visibility Clothing

Guide: CSA Standards for High Visibility Clothing

Guide: High Visibility Apparel & CSA Standards

To help prevent accidents, many workers on construction sites and in other industrial environments wear high visibility clothing, such as shirts, pants, vests, or coveralls. However, it's important to understand how some garments are better at keeping workers visible and safe than others. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of the CSA standards for high visibility clothing, and we will discuss why it is important to choose clothing that meets these standards.

Looking to purchase high visibility apparel?
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Vests!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Shirts!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Coveralls!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Hoodies and Jackets!

Contents:

  1. CSA Standards for High Visibility Clothing
  2. The Levels and Classes of High Visibility Apparel
  3. Reflective Tape, and The X-Back Pattern
  4. Materials and Reflectivity (Cotton VS Polyester)

1. About CSA Standards for High Visibility Clothing

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a leading organization that sets standards for a wide range of products and services, including safety equipment and clothing. The CSA has developed a set of standards for high visibility clothing, which are used to evaluate the visibility of these garments in different lighting conditions. These standards are important because they help ensure that high visibility clothing is effective at keeping workers visible and safe on the job. These are the standards used in Canada. Full requirements for high-visibility safety clothing can be found in the CSA Standard Z96-15 (R2020).

Keep in mind, there are various levels and classes of High Visibility Standards, and depending on the jobsite that you are at, you may be required to adhere to a specific level, and class. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but here is a basic explanation of CSA High Visibility Levels and Classes that you need to know:

2. CSA Classes of High Visibility Standards

Class 1: Lowest recognized coverage and good visibility.

Class 1 High Visibility Apparel is the lowest class of high visibility safety apparel and is intended for workers who perform tasks that pose a low risk of injury. This class of Hi-Vis typically includes vests or jackets that have reflective stripes or bands, however the material of the shirt or vest does not need to be made up of high-visibility material.

Class 2: Moderate body coverage and superior visibility

Class 2 High Visibility Apparel is intended for workers who perform tasks that pose a greater risk of injury, such as road construction workers.

Medium risk situations may include:

  • Close proximity to vehicles or machinery that are moving between 40-80 km/h
  • Workers who are working in low-light or limited visibility
  • Directing moving traffic

Examples of jobs include:

  • Roadway construction, traffic, utility, forestry or railway workers
  • Surveyors
  • Manufacturing, plant, or mill workers.
  • School crossing guards.
  • Parking attendants
  • Airport baggage handlers and ground crews.
  • Emergency first responders
  • Law enforcement personnel
  • Accident site investigators
  • Railway or transit workers

Class 2 Hi-Vis apparel can be fluorescent vests, coveralls, shirts or jackets that are made of a fluorescent/reflective material (fluorescent yellow or orange), and also have 4' contrasting reflective striping on the back and front of the upper torso.

An example of a vest that meets Class 2, is our 5 Pt. Tearaway Mesh High Visibility Safety Vest w/ 4" Reflective Tape, as the material is made from a fluorescent polyester material, and has the 4" contrasting reflective tape on the front, with the 'X' on the back.

Class 3: The greatest body coverage and visibility under poor light conditions and at great distance

Class 3 High visibility apparel is the highest class of high visibility safety apparel and is intended for workers who perform tasks that pose a significant risk of injury. Vehicle speeds may exceed 80km/h, work may be performed in low light conditions, and other factors can create a Class 3 risk.  This class of Hi-Vis requires clothing to be made of a fluorescent orange or yellow material, and include reflective striping on the arms and legs in addition to the front and back of the upper torso.

This could include full high visibility coveralls in orange or yellow, or a class 2 level 2 high visibility shirt (with reflective striping on the arms and torso) paired with pants that have high visibility colours and reflective striping on the legs.

Examples include:

  • Mining
  • Utility work
  • Towing
  • Roadway Construction
  • Transit Construction

3. The X-Back and CSA Standards for High Visibility Clothing

One of the key features of the CSA standards for high visibility clothing is the requirement for x-back striping. You may have seen vests and other high visibility clothing that does not have an X-back. These would not meet the CSA standard, and were likely used in another country other than Canada. This is important to keep in mind if you recently started a project in Canada, and have brought some of your own equipment over from another country. In other countries, such as the United States, and Europe, these may be permissible, but its always good to check. 

This striping, which is typically found on the back of high visibility shirts and parkas, is a distinctive pattern of reflective materials that are designed to make the garment more visible to others. The x-back striping is typically made from reflective tape, which is positioned in an x-shaped pattern on the back of the garment. This pattern is easily recognizable, and it helps make workers more visible to others, especially in low light conditions.

Reflective Tape Size

In addition to the x-back striping, the CSA standards also specify the minimum width of reflective tape that must be used on high visibility clothing. The CSA recommends using a minimum of 2" wide reflective tape on high visibility garments, such as shirts, pants, and parkas. This tape is typically positioned on the front, back, and sleeves of the garment, in locations that are most visible to others.

One of the key benefits of using 2" reflective tape on high visibility clothing is that it provides a larger area for light to be reflected back to the source. This makes the worker wearing the garment more visible to others, especially in low light conditions. It also makes the garment more noticeable from a greater distance, which can help prevent accidents and injuries on the job.

4. Materials and Reflectivity: Cotton vs Polyester for High Visibility Clothing

The material of the garments used are also important to take into account. Shirts or coveralls made of cotton do not meet the requirements for CSA Class 2. Simply put, cotton as a material, is not reflective enough, and is rather dull, and therefore not bright enough. In comparison, polyester high visibility shirts, vests, or coveralls can meet Class 2 standards because it will produce the required brightness when florescent orange or yellow. 

However, there are situations in situations where there is exposure to high heat or combustion where cotton clothing are required, due to its resistance to flames. Polyester is considerably more flammable and can be dangerous to wear in situations where you are close to flames or combustion. In these cases, you will need to look for clothing that is FR rated (Fire Retardant).

Overall, the CSA standards for high visibility clothing are an important factor to consider when choosing garments for work. By choosing clothing that meets these standards, you can be confident that the garment is effective at keeping workers visible and safe on the job. Whether you are working on a construction site, in a factory, or in any other industrial environment, it is important to choose high visibility clothing that meets the CSA.

At SupplyNow, our focus is on providing our customers with the best safety equipment for the job. Our dedicated support team is available to help answer any questions you may have. However it's important to refer to the CSA Standard Z96-15 for a full list of requirements based on your work environment., and always refer to your employer, HSE manager, or supervisor for the proper requirements that meet the standard for your jobsite.

Looking to purchase high visibility apparel?
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Vests!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Shirts!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Coveralls!
Click here to shop our selection of High Visibility Hoodies and Jackets

 

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