It wasn't long ago that State Highway Administration (SHA) workers in Maryland could be observed along the road wearing orange vests over garments that usually did not comply with safety standards issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). While these vests provided the minimum Class 2 protection, the non-ANSI garments - primarily orange T-shirts - were fading, and provided little visibility benefit.

With the goal of having workers in compliance and dressed to be as visible as possible from the time they leave their home for work until the time they return, SHA considered how it could improve worker visibility through its apparel program. Today, you're more likely to see SHA workers, and they'll be wearing fl uorescent yellowgreen T-shirts or, in cooler weather, a fluorescent yellow-green jacket marked with large, refl ective strips on the arms, chest and back. It won't matter if it's day or night - they'll stand out in contrast to a surrounding environment of orange cones and signs.

By incorporating high-visibility materials into primary apparel and offering choices to workers, the Maryland SHA is helping to ensure that its workers are in conformance with today’s ANSI recommended high-visibility apparel standards, such as ANSI/ISEA 107-2004, which will become mandatory for federal highway workers next November.

SHA offi cials met with visibility experts at 3M to develop a proposal that addressed both the requirements of the more stringent safety legislation on the horizon and the specific needs of the maintenance workers in Maryland. A number of apparel options were evaluated by looking at fabrics, background colors, and a full spectrum of refl ective materials available. Customized specifi cations were then developed so that production could be bid out to different manufacturers.

“Since adopting high-visibility primary apparel in 2005, we’ve seen dramatic improvements in how workers are dressed and how much more visible they are, versus when they simply were asked to don a vest over non-compliance garments,” says Samuel P. Hall, SHA Safety Management Consultant. “Now we’re going into the fi eld to continuously evaluate our apparel needs and any changes we need to put into place.”