Reflective products… are they worth the investment?
About the author: Serge Laraque is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Protecto Products. Before joining Protecto Products, the author has developed engineering products as well as a series of safety products on 23rd Jun 2015
You may have noticed the influx of men and
women decked up in their industrial safety gear
working the sidelines of highways , freeways , industrial
plants , oil rigs, construction sites and so forth . Not long ago,
such futuristic idea of incorporating safety and
visibility as a major protective factor were viewed
with reserved apathy , all due to increased cost from
perpetually outfitting workers . At this juncture, employers have simply
procrastinated from such implementation, until it became law.
The cause and effect of the tragic statistics emanating from
various watchdog safety organizations were alarming. Based on
those fatalistic figures something had to be done, create new safety
rules, matched with an environment and a dedicated
management upholding those regulations for a work force
constantly battling injuries. This game changer became the impetus
for present and future development of safety products throughout the spectrum.
Although in the past, just like the seat belt, reflectivity and
visibility were delegated to a voluntary decision, no longer the
case. Designating that a work zone area can be a dangerous environment ,
organization such OSHA ( Occupational Safety and Health
Administration ) and ANSI ( American National Standards Institute ) took the
bold stand of convincing cost conscious employers of
the potential fringe benefits of protecting their workers from
injury. Manufacturers, contractors, oil producers have risen to the
challenge to outfit their employees and managers, seeing
tangible financial incentives at the bottom of their ledger sheet.
The word was out that workers must wear high visibility clothing and a
hard hat; period.
As those numbers gradually plunged , workman's comp nose
diving and the financial calculus on the upswing , skeptic
employers themselves became a disciple , now the new
safety cops enforcing the rules under their roof . As strange
as it may sound, the entire compliance scope
has slowly, but surely cross pollinated to a safety
culture throughout the world. Even countries where safety was viewed
as an industrialized nations concern, have voluntarily jumped on
the ban wagon while harvesting the potential benefit
of their resolution.
Based on those staggering figures the pronouncement was trumpeted
that injuries and death in the work place must diminish and lassoed under
control , therefore enforce the code of safety to its highest
level. Today, no one is permitted to set foot on a
work zone, unless properly safety equipped.
While safety vests and hard hats are common gear.
However, headwear visibility is predominantly lacking.
The profile of a safety hard hat can hardly be seen in the darkness of the
night and a times barely visible, while the lower portion of the
individual radiates the reflective clothing and to a logical point
creates a noticeable disparity.
Although companies do offer headwear reflectivity,
safety hard hats with reflective strips are not part of your standard
product line, often hard to find. One must tenuously
surf the search engines to track down those spearheading
this significant feature in headwear visibility and safety.
From our search, they are listed under: Reflective safety hard
hats, reflective hard hats, and reflective construction hard hats.
Searching the field of casual reflective clothing , development
again is lacking , as safety conscious customers are faced
with the challenge of locating true casual reflective
apparels , and when available , it is sold at an
exorbitant price with limited selection . Yet again, few companies
do offer such reflective products, as they are listed under:
Reflective casual clothing, Reflective clothing.
Trekking in the dark can be hazardous to your health, pedestrians,
joggers, walkers, runners , cyclists have tabulated the
peril associated with outdoor activities along with its
dire outcome . Protection from texting, preoccupied
motorists intermeshed with the affordability of
finding reflective clothing can be an ongoing frustration. The news
is abundant which such heartbreaking stories , as cross street walkers, joggers
have seen their days culminating tragically. Those relating such personal
heart pumping experience will make us shiver.
In conclusion, is the investment in reflective gear worth the
cost? We reply with a resounding yes. In the meantime, we
leave you with these four letter words. Be seen, be safe.