WHAT IS ANSI?

The ANSI/ISEA 107 American National Standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel and Accessories is a voluntary standard with guidelines that provide practical instruction regarding both reflective material and garment design to enhance worker visibility. ANSI/ISEA 107 presents three performance classes of garments and identifies garment types based on expected use settings and work activities being performed. These are designated as off-road (type O), roadway and temporary traffic control (type R), or public safety activities (type P). Only garments certified and labeled as ANSI/ISEA 107 and ANSI/ISEA 207, or in some cases certain firefighter standards, meet standard specifications for high visibility personal protective safety apparel in the U.S. On or near roadways, performance Class 2 or 3 ANSI/ISEA 107 garments are required for compliance with the worker high visibility regulation in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Section 6D.03. The FHWA recognizes ANSI/ISEA 107 and 207 revisions starting in 2004 and going through the current ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 revision.

TYPE O (OFF-ROAD)

Type “O” garments are for occupational workers who are not required by the MUTCD 2009 edition to wear HVSA but may still work in an environment with moving equipment/vehicles and accompanying struck-by hazards, and where visibility is a concern. Class 1 is the only option for Type “O” garments.

TYPE R (ROADWAY)

Type “R” garments are for occupational workers who are exposed to roadway traffic and who work in an environment with moving equipment/ vehicles. This type designation and the classes within it now describe and the PPE that is federally mandated per the MUTCD 2009. 

TYPE P (PUBLIC SAFETY)

*Type “P” garments give additional options for fire, police, and EMS personnel who have other potential hazards that require them to access equipment on their person. Type P garments differ from type R garments mainly in the area requirements for background material.

CLASS 1

Class 1 - Performance Class 1 offers the minimum amount of high visibility materials to differentiate the wearer from non-complex work environments and is only appropriate for off-road environments.

CLASS 2

Class 2 - Performance Class 2 is considered the minimum level of protection for workers exposed to roadway rights-of-way and temporary traffic control (TTC) zones. Garments will have additional amounts of high visibility materials that allow for better definition of the human form.

CLASS 3

Class 3 - Performance Class 3 provides more visibility to the wearer in both complex backgrounds and through a full range of movement by the required placement of background, retroreflective, and combined performance materials on the sleeves and pant legs (if present). Garments have an even a greater minimum level of high visibility material the apparel must contain. A garment or vest without sleeves worn alone is NOT considered Class 3 protection.

CLASS E

Class E - High visibility garments that do not qualify as meeting the requirements of the standard when worn alone, but when a Class E item is worn with a Class 2 or Class 3 garment, the overall classification of the ensemble is Class 3.