Subtle yet effective Hi Vis clothing

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
This might sound like an oxymoron, but bear with me. My boss has been recommended to insist that all staff wear high vis clothing in the farm yard.

I have some sympathy with this - we run a commercial grain store and Christmas tree retail operation as well as a large contract farming operation. We can have 4-6 lorries or tractor/trailers around the tipping pits & 2 weigh bridges. We have designated walk ways but these are largely ignored & our own trailer drivers have to take samples from each load and hand them to the weigh bridge/store staff before tipping

No yellow vests, but what is the collective experience on most discreet clothing that is noticeable yet not too loud? I'm thinking of strips sown into polo shirts or stripes on trousers. We have branded work wear issued to all staff, so it's not like we're not providing anything at all.
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Michael always makes sure hes seen
p04czmj9.jpg



seriously tho how about something simple like Nh boiler suits
new-holland-childrens-boilersuit-11-p.jpg
or even a simple red one.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
This might sound like an oxymoron, but bear with me. My boss has been recommended to insist that all staff wear high vis clothing in the farm yard.

I have some sympathy with this - we run a commercial grain store and Christmas tree retail operation as well as a large contract farming operation. We can have 4-6 lorries or tractor/trailers around the tipping pits & 2 weigh bridges. We have designated walk ways but these are largely ignored & our own trailer drivers have to take samples from each load and hand them to the weigh bridge/store staff before tipping

No yellow vests, but what is the collective experience on most discreet clothing that is noticeable yet not too loud? I'm thinking of strips sown into polo shirts or stripes on trousers. We have branded work wear issued to all staff, so it's not like we're not providing anything at all.

I'd say it needs to be loud to be effective, but doesn't need to be uncomfortable/ annoying to wear. I have a Hi Viz fleece which is quite nice to wear, and a couple of bomber jackets too. I've also seen Hi Viz baseball caps that looked quite smart.

But ultimately, I'd go with the recommendations. Was there also one to enforce the use of the designated walkways to staff - that would be my priority as safety comes from attitude and if they're not doing it then the safety culture needs a look at. Lead from example too - you and the ultimate boss.
 
Some overalls have an high vis stripe

company work wear could have it but at a cost but that should not get in the way of safety



We should all use some form of high vis
Every year workers are seriously injured or killed in dark sheds
If you have a near miss learn from it

on trailers I am planning on cctv to see hehind and in trailer
 
You can get overalls with reflective bands round the shoulders and ankles. They're no where near as visible as proper high vis though. At the end of the day, it's supposed to be "loud" to be seen. A driver is not going to notice a pair of dusty or faded reflective ankle bands during a 2 second glance in a mirror, but you can't really miss a proper yellow or orange vest.

Granted a high-vis bomber jacket maybe looks a bit white-van-man in a retail environment, but I don't think the vest type would look out of place. Especially since you can get your company logo on the chest and the back.
 
I would just get branded bright orange or yellow cotton t-shirts along with hi-vis softshell bodywarmers/jackets for when they are needed.

Never issue high-vis Velcro vests if machinery is involved, high-vis clothing as part of workwear is the way forward.
 
Location
southwest
This might sound like an oxymoron, but bear with me. My boss has been recommended to insist that all staff wear high vis clothing in the farm yard.

I have some sympathy with this - we run a commercial grain store and Christmas tree retail operation as well as a large contract farming operation. We can have 4-6 lorries or tractor/trailers around the tipping pits & 2 weigh bridges. We have designated walk ways but these are largely ignored & our own trailer drivers have to take samples from each load and hand them to the weigh bridge/store staff before tipping

No yellow vests, but what is the collective experience on most discreet clothing that is noticeable yet not too loud? I'm thinking of strips sown into polo shirts or stripes on trousers. We have branded work wear issued to all staff, so it's not like we're not providing anything at all.


Up to you really, wear something that ensures you are easily seen in all weathers and light conditions, or be fashion conscious and risk getting run over by a juggernaut.

In most industries, failure to comply with H&S rules is (rightly) a sackable offence.
 

Wheatland

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Shropshire

Englebert Strauss have smart conventional hi vis but also their standard ranges have reflective panels and trim
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
I'd say it needs to be loud to be effective, but doesn't need to be uncomfortable/ annoying to wear. I have a Hi Viz fleece which is quite nice to wear, and a couple of bomber jackets too. I've also seen Hi Viz baseball caps that looked quite smart.

But ultimately, I'd go with the recommendations. Was there also one to enforce the use of the designated walkways to staff - that would be my priority as safety comes from attitude and if they're not doing it then the safety culture needs a look at. Lead from example too - you and the ultimate boss.

The New Holland overalls are good. A couple of us have them. The others have other brands without reflective strips. My main concern is during harvest when it is shirt weather. The trousers with high vis strips would be a good compromise. The walkway from the weigh bridge to the office is across a high traffic area. Once you're close to the buildings it's good, with metal bollards on the outside of the walkways.

The safety culture isn't bad, we just need to fill in a few gaps. Visibility in the yard is one of them.
 

bitwrx

Member
Did some work wear purchases a while back. There was a fair bit of stuff that is available in hi-viz versions - polo shirts, soft shell jackets etc. Only trouble is you need a hi-viz layer for all occasions (hot, warm, cool, chilly, freezing, belting it down etc...), so basically _everything_ needs to be hi-viz.
These are our local suppliers. http://www.image-identity.co.uk/
Good range, ok to deal with. Not so local to you any more though.

A guy I know runs a composting site. He's very taken with the concept of hi-viz headgear.

When I was in NZ back in 2008, seemingly every ag worker wore the same style of high contrast polo shirt. Wonder why they've not become de rigueur here?

ETA: just looked at the hi-viz range. Very little that isn't 100% hi viz material. Have just found this though. https://gsworkwear.com/products/blaklader-uv-polo-shirt-high-vis-class-1?variant=16834213609515
Bit more "everyday" work wear, as well as high viz and retroflective.
 
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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