It’s not always well known and practiced, but landscaping crews need safety clothing, like a reflective windbreaker jacket or fluorescent vest, just as much as those working on construction crews or highway work. Here are four reasons why it’s essential for your landscape crew to have the right safety clothes.
Their Environment Can Be Unexpectedly Dangerous
The nature of the work means that people working landscaping are frequently standing and working along roadsides where traffic is moving at 25mph or faster. While 25mph isn’t a speed that’s going to cause a major injury for most people in cars, it’s still plenty fast enough to seriously injure or even kill a human being. And while construction sites and highway road projects are clearly marked, a landscaping professional can seemingly appear “out of nowhere” as far as motorists are concerned, and in places where drivers don’t expect to see them.
High Visibility Clothing Really Does Work
Brightly colored hi vis pants or a reflective windbreaker jacket are the perfect way to make sure you get noticed on the job. In a recent study of cyclists, for instance, incidents where a cyclists was injured by other road users were reduced nearly 50% for those wearing high visibility clothing. Many types of high visibility clothing for work crews have been extensively tested to make sure they contrast well and are highly visible to drivers.
High Visibility Clothing Can Be Combine With Other Safety Features
Landscapers face particular challenges, such as working in hot and dry climates or in rainy conditions and with tools, machines, plants, and devices that can be dangerous. Working over uneven ground and in potentially muddy environments also means that slipping and falling are more of an issue for the landscaper than for someone walking down an ordinary street. A reflective windbreaker jacket can not only make someone easier to see; it can also protect from wet and wind and keep arms from being cut by debris. Brightly colored shirts and vests can come in wicking fabrics that help dissipate heat. It’s even possible to get high visibility workwear and reflective strips for the hands and feet.
You Can’t Afford to Lose Time or Workers
In 2015, there were 4,836 workers who were killed on the job. In 2014, all 16- to 19-year-old workers–the least experienced–missed an average of four days of work due to an injury sustained on the job. The newer and younger a worker is, the more likely they are to be injured on the job, with new employees being three times as likely to be hurt in their first month than other employees. If something as simple as a reflective windbreaker jacket can make it just a little less likely that you’ll suffer downtime from employee injuries, isn’t it worth it?
Hi vis clothing protects workers laboring in places where motorists don’t expect to see them, and makes anyone more visible, and thus safer. They can even protect a company from lost time and labor after a workplace injury. Make sure you are protecting your landscaping crew with the best high visibility clothing.