Feature
W
Dressed for
success Workwear isn’t just about bright colours and tape. Proper workwear makes your job easier, and in extreme environments, can mean the difference between life and death
An example of the fire-retardant quality of the Blaze arc-rated jacket from Huski
4
hen it comes to issues such as basic comfort and the safety of your workforce in hazardous environments, there is a lot more to think about with workplace clothing than just the colour or the style. Although there are plenty of brands selling garments at different price points, saving a few dollars in the short term won’t necessarily be a wise investment: and at worst, it can cost you your life. “It’s one of the greatest frustrations in the industry—the amount of cheap product that’s out there, and unfortunately consumers are unaware of what it is that they actually are buying,” says Jason Baxter of Prime Mover Workwear. “They see a garment on a shelf in that $2 shop environment and it looks hi-vis (high-visibility) and so they feel that they’re being protected. They’re buying on price without really understanding that there is certain compliance that needs to be achieved. Sometimes the consumer doesn’t know what they’re looking for. They just buy product they think gives them coverage but doesn’t deliver at all. It’s because they’re not tested, not signed off and not conforming to the Australia/ New Zealand standards,” he says. For the best quality hi-vis workwear, for example, you need garments that are compliant to Australian standards AS/NZS4602.1.2011, which deals with the amount of, and positioning of, the high-vis tape on the garment, and ASNZ1906.4.2010, which deals with the luminosity of the high-visibility material on the clothing. “The standards are very, very rigid in Australia,” says Mark Kessell from Huski, which supplies hivis safety wear, workwear, security and casual wear. “With a day and night garment, we only use the 3M tape because although there are other cheaper tapes that may comply to the standard, they may not comply after 20 industrial washes. That’s why we only use the best tape money can buy.” Adds Jason Baxter, “We have very stringent
The Workplace Safety Specialists