OSHA Provides New Interpretation Regarding Highway Construction Apparel

Not all construction takes place within the relatively safe confines of a building job site.  Some of the most dangerous construction jobs are found on America’s highways, where speeding cars, the dark of night and inclement weather all combine together to create one of the most challenging and hazardous work environments in the country.

Risk managers have long known that one of the keys to keeping employees from becoming victims of a tragic highway construction accident is to ensure that they are as visible as possible.  There are a number of ways to go about meeting this crucial requirement.  Night construction, where sight lines are the most compromised, often uses enormous floodlights which are designed to provide near daylight conditions in the site itself.  In addition, many state construction sites employ marked police cruisers with a full light package in order to draw attention to the areas where workers are present.

However, these methods have their drawbacks.  For example, bright lights contrasted against the dark night can often create glare that can actually increase the chance of an accident.  Also, at the municipal level, police vehicles are often too valuable of a resource to expend on local road construction.  This means that risk managers must turn to alternate and complementary means of making their workers obvious to drivers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has long considered the issue of highway construction worker safety, and has recently released a new letter of interpretation concerning the issue.  Specifically, OSHA has clarified their earlier position concerning the wearing of high visibility reflective vests.  While in the past official interpretations of OSHA regulations concerning this personal reflective gear restricted the requirement of its use to very specific situations outlined in the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the latest letter expands the scope considerably.

Whereas previously only those working as flaggers or who were exposed to vehicle traffic were called upon by regulations to wear reflective safety vests, OSHA now demands that any worker who is actually working construction on a job site with a right of way to a federal highway meet the same standards.  This blanket interpretation is back in line with OSHA’s original intent for the rule itself, and serves to provide a consistent level of visibility to all site workers.  Reflective vests such as those manufactured by Ergodyne, Glowear and Occulux, and which come in a variety of bright and eye-catching colors fully meet the new OSHA interpretation.

Construction risk managers are responsible for ensuring that those in their charge are provided with high visibility apparel.  Not only that, but they must also ensure that such clothing is both care for and worn properly.  For example, reflective apparel which has become dirtied through continual use is significantly less safe than that which is regularly washed and cleaned.  Likewise, workers must be shown how to go about their tasks without concealing the reflective portions of their clothing, as well as how to properly wear each item in order to maximize visibility.  Simple training and common sense can go a long way towards preventing unnecessary injury on a highway construction work site.