HIGH VISIBILITY WORKWEAR STANDARDS

AKL Industries relevant High Visibility Safety garment products are produced to meet the guidelines of one or more of the following standards.

AS/NZ 4602.1: 2011 High visibility safety garments – Garments for high risk applications

This standard specifies garment design, materials used, labelling and sun protection for workers who are exposed to hazards from moving vehicles, equipment, or other high-risk situations. This standard is the ‘all-encompassing’ high visibility safety garment standard for high risk applications other standards listed below may be included when referring to the final usage of the garments.

Classification of garments:

Class D (Daytime Use): Class D are effective high visibility garments under daylight / daytime conditions. However, they are less effective under darker conditions, night-time and artificial light. The standard states that garment/s must have an approved colour high visibility material for the upper torso. The high visibility material must be at least 0.2 sq/m in both front and back (measured to the waist) and any logo or text on the garment cannot be included in the 0.4sq/m (0.2 sq/m front and back).

Class N (Night-time Use): Class N classification is designed to produce high visibility garments when observed under retroreflective light. To meet Class N compliance the AS/NZ 1906.4: 2010 standard states these garments have tape, band, or reflective material of a minimum 50mm wide, and is commonly in a Hoop, X back or H pattern. There are no special requirements for the colour or material of the background of Class N garments.

Class D/N (Day and Night Use): These garments meet both the day and night requirements we have outlined above, comprising of retroreflective elements on a fluorescent or other non-retroreflective high visibility background material. An example of a D/N compliant garment is a hi vis yellow polo with reflective tape.

AS/NZ 1906.4: 2010 Retroreflective materials and devices for road traffic control purposes – High visibility materials for safety garments (plus Amendment 1; 2014)

This standard describes the fabrics for the background material and the retroreflective materials ie. reflective tape that can be used within the garment It categorizes materials into three classes:

Class F: Fluorescent fabric for Day Use Only (i.e. Hi Vis oranges, yellows, and other compliant colours with fluorescent properties.)

Class R: Reflective fabric for Night Use Only (i.e. reflective tape). Please note washing Class R reflective materials will cause the reflective properties of the garment to slowly disintegrate which in turn will limit the useful lifespan of the garment. You can only expect a reflective tape to remain compliant for about 30 washes.

Class RF: Both Fluorescent and Reflective fabric for Day/Night Use

Class W: Classification of ‘W’ for wet compliance, which is normally only relevant for high visibility rain-wear garments.

AS/NZS4399 (UV Protection) Sun protective clothing—Evaluation and classification

UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) is classified in 4399 as: Classification of garments includes:

• 15 – 24 Good protection
• 25 – 39 Very good protection
• 40 – 50+ Excellent protection

UPF rating for clothing should not be confused with sun protection factor (SPF) which is not relevant to textiles.