subject: Occupational Health And Safety: Preventing Disease And Accidents In The Workplace [print this page] Everybody wants to be in a safe, friendly work environment. Nobody wants a workplace where the risk of contracting a disease or getting involved in accidents is high. Employers and employees should pay substantial attention to ensuring that the workplace is as safe as it can be.
This is the goal of occupational health and safety. After many years of research by various groups belonging to different disciplines, concepts related to keeping the workplace safe have been developed. From being mere concepts, they have become realities - things that workers and business owners do and see in a typical workday.
One example of an innovation in the area of occupational health and safety is the use of protective clothing and gear. A lot of occupations, especially those carried out at night or in hazardous environments such as construction sites, roads and mines, require the use of protective clothing while in the workplace. Visibility is decreased and the risk of accidents is high in such environments, and the only way to reduce the possibilities of mishaps is by having workers wear protective clothing and gear.
An ANSI safety vest is the perfect example of protective clothing. It is made from materials that illuminate. When worn, this type of vest will be brighter than the surrounding environment, enabling the wearer to be more visible to other people working at the same site.
ANSI Class 2 safety vests are usually worn by people who work at construction sites and mines, where hazy conditions are typical and visibility is quite low. Traffic enforcers and those who work on streets also wear safety vests, especially when they have to do perform their duties at night. Even airport personnel can also be seen wearing safety vests, especially the ground crew that guide aircraft and handle baggage.
Until recently, the ANSI safety vest and other protective clothing and gear did not exist. Thanks to the activism of some individuals and the development of concepts on occupational health and safety, protective clothing and other tools that make the workplace safer were developed. Now, everyone can be assured of a truly safe and risk-free work environment.
