What Does
Type O High-Visibility Apparel Mean?
Type O high-visibility apparel is a category of safety clothing that is designed to increase the visibility of workers who face an elevated risk of being struck by a moving vehicle.
Referred to as off-road apparel, Type O apparel must increase the visual conspicuity of workers during both the day and the night, and it specifically pertains to workers not working within the highway and traffic control zones. The most ubiquitous piece of Type O apparel is a high-visibility safety vest that has strips of reflective tape.
Safeopedia Explains Type O High-Visibility Apparel
Both OSHA and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognize the use of Type O apparel as a way for employers and workers to meet their general duty to ensure workplace safety, so long as it is used in the correct setting.
The standards for Type O high-visibility apparel are governed and certified by ANSI/ISEA standard 107-2015, which describes a number of criteria for high-visibility safety apparel (HVSA). Type O apparel is classified as “Performance Class 1” under the same standard, which means that it provides the minimum amount of high-visibility augmentation necessary to effectively distinguish the wearer from his or her surroundings.
Environments that require Type O apparel include workers moving within a parking area, such as those moving shopping carts, as well as workers who may be exposed to hazards from warehouse equipment traffic. Mineral extraction and processing environments such as oil and gas platforms, mines, and refineries may also involve settings with vehicular hazards that require the use of Type O apparel. As an off-road apparel, Type O apparel does not provide enough visibility for workers to operate on a highway or within another comparable context.