Standards enhance workplace safety
By Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 9/1/1999
THE SAFETY EQUIPMENT ASSN. (ISEA) released its latest American National Standard over the summer and is working on several other projects aimed at promoting workplace safety.The new ANSI/ISEA 107-1999, American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel, establishes guidelines for the design, performance specifications, and use of high-visibility and reflective clothing including vests, jackets, bib/jumpsuit coveralls, trousers and harnesses. Garments that meet the standard can be worn 24 hours a day to provide workers with a high level of visibility by using combined flourescent and retro-reflective materials.
ISEA's Safety Wearing Apparel Group developed the standard in response to concerns that American workers in low-visibility situations are not wearing appropriate visibility-enhancing clothing.
"We have all driven through a work zone and witnessed workers who were wearing protective garments that offered very little or no enhanced visibility," says Christine Fargo, ISEA's technical projects coordinator.
Though the ANSI/ISEA standards are voluntary, Fargo says they benefit users because they represent a consensus opinion on safety issues. Once a standard is written by an ISEA committee, the association gathers input from distributors, end users, government agencies, and others. The standards are important for the distribution community, says Fargo, because distributors are a direct link to end users.
As highway construction projects increase, it will be even more important for distributors to stay abreast of the latest in safety standards. For instance, industry watchers say a five-year, $260 billion federal highway bill passed in 1998 will mean construction work zones on average of every 40 miles along interstate routes. That level of construction poses a threat to motorists and highway workers, and officials fear increasing highway fatalities as a result.
Other ISEA projects include standards for glove selection and chemical protective clothing. The glove standard has gone through its first comment period and Fargo expects it to be finalized sometime next year. At press time there was no timetable for completion of the chemical protective clothing project.
Survey details PPE use
Most employers bear the full cost of personal protective equipment, according to a survey conducted by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration earlier this year. The purpose of the survey was to collect information on the extent to which employers pay for PPE in the general industry, construction and maritime sectors. There were 3,722 respondents.
Employers were questioned about eight PPE categories: eye and face protection, head protection, foot protection, gloves and protective clothing, fall protection, welding equipment, respiratory protection, and hearing protection. They were asked whether or not the equipment is used at their company, how many employees use it, and who pays for it. Among the findings:
- Over 90 percent of all employers bear the full cost of PPE in seven out of eight categories; the exception is foot protection
- Eye and face protection, and gloves and protective clothing are the most commonly used classes of PPE in all industry sectors
- For employees, the most commonly used specific types of PPE are nonprescription safety glasses, and gloves for abrasion and laceration protection.
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