3M ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 Technical Bulletin

Technical Bulletin

December, 2020

ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 Made Easier: A Quick Reference to
the High-Visibility Safety Apparel Standard

Introduction

NOTE

: The statements in this document assume that FHWA will issue a letter of interpretation allowing the use of the ANSI/

107-2020

ISEA
regulation. The letter is expected to issue early 2021 and will be located in Part 6 of this web page:

http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interpretations/index.html*

The American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel (ANSI/ISEA 107-2020) is a standard established by
American National Standards Institute, Inc. Construction, maintenance, utility, emergency responders, airport ramp
personnel and many categories of off-road workers are routinely exposed to potential injury hazards from their low visibility
while on the job. This standard provides guidelines for the selection and use of high-visibility safety apparel (HVSA) such as
shirts, rainwear, outerwear and safety vests to help improve worker visibility during the day, in low-light conditions, and at
night. Notable changes in this fifth edition (ANSI/ISEA 107-2020) include the removal of the Accessories category and a
section around requirements for single-use disposable coveralls. The appendices have been updated to include additional
examples of garment designs and trim patterns; picture of the color box for background and combined-performance
materials; and an example of the single-use disposable coverall label.

standard for compliance with the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices worker visibility

This information “ANSI/ISEA 107-2020: A Quick Reference to the High-Visibility Safety Apparel Standard” summarizes the
main provisions of the standard including minimum performance criteria and basic design requirements. This is not an

authoritative guide. You should obtain a copy of the standard and refer to it for more detailed and complete
information. And remember, there is more to designing a high-visibility safety garment than meeting the minimum

performance specifications and design guidelines of the ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 standard. Garment designs should
incorporate the full range of user needs for functionality, comfort, durability, image, and any additional hazards.

ANSI/ISEA 107 and Related U.S. Regulations

The ANSI/ISEA 107-1999 standard was the first U.S. standard for the design and performance of HVSA. In November
2008, 23 CFR part 634 was the first U. S. Federal regulation applied to worker high-visibility apparel in Federal Aid highway
environments and required the use of performance Class 2 or 3 ANSI/ISEA 107 garments. The 23 CFR part 634 regulation
was then incorporated into the 2009 edition of the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control
Devices (MUTCD), to extend its application to all public access roadways. The MUTCD requires all workers, including
construction, maintenance, utility, emergency and incident responders, and volunteers, operating on or near any public
access roadway, to wear HVSA.

The 2020 revision of ANSI/ISEA 107 continues with the “Type” structure first introduced in ANSI/ISEA 107-2015. This
“Type” structure keeps off-road (“Type O”), roadway (“Type R”), and public safety (“Type P”) garments separate by
application, and more closely aligns with the definitions and implementation of the U.S. Federal worker high-visibility
regulation residing in the MUTCD. Under the ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 standard, all Type R roadway garments are compliant
for workers on or near a public access roadway, and Type P public safety garments add a compliance option for emergency
and incident responders. As previously designated, firefighters may use retroreflective turnout gear compliant to NFPA
standards when exposed to flame, heat, and/or hazardous materials during emergency operations.

3M Personal Safety Division

ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 focuses on the following:

• Design

• Requirements for Background and Combined-Performance Retroflective Materials

• Photometric and Physical Performance Requirements for Reflective Materials

• Care Labeling

Important Definitions

See Section 3 of the standard for a complete list of definitions.

Background Material: Colored fluorescent material intended to be highly conspicuous in day, dawn and dusk light
conditions, but

Retroreflective Material: Material that reflects and returns a relatively high proportion of light in a direction close to the
direction from which it came.

not retroreflective.

Combined-performance Material: Retroreflective material that is also a fluorescent material.

Noncompliant Material: Material used in a HVSA that does not meet requirements for background material,

combined-performance material or retroreflective material.

Declaration of Conformity: A statement by the manufacturer or supplier that the garment fulfills the requirements
specified in ANSI/ISEA 107-2020. (Appendix D3)

High-Visibility Safety Apparel (HVSA): Personal protective safety clothing intended to provide conspicuity during both
daytime and nighttime, and other low-light conditions.

Photometric Performance: The effectiveness of retroreflective material in returning light to its source and measured in
terms of coefficient of retroreflection (RA).

Flame Resistance: The property of a material whereby flaming combustion is prevented, terminated, or inhibited when a
flaming or non-flaming source of ignition is applied and then removed from the material.

Roadway:An area designed, or ordinarily used for the purposes of vehicular travel.

Accredited Laboratory: A laboratory meeting the requirements and holding a certificate of accreditation for ISO/IEC

17025:2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories for the collection and analysis
of data within the parameters of this standard.

Single-use Disposable Coverall: A HVSA that will be disposed of after one use and is to be worn over clothing to cover
arms, legs and torso.

Torso Area: The trunk of the body. This includes the area from the underarm to the hip. See Figure 1 in the standard for
more information.

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3M Personal Safety Division

Design

The ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 standard provides design guidelines and specifies the photometric requirements, minimum
amounts of component materials, colors, and placement to create garments for the purpose of enhancing the visibility of

workers. Refer to Section 6 of the standard for more detailed information on design and Appendix D for garment design
examples. The selection of components and classes of apparel should be made based upon what is appropriate for the
hazard and with the safety of the worker in mind. See Appendix C entitled “Suggested Type and Class Guidelines and
Scenarios” for additional information.

Component Colors

There are three different colors for background and combined-performance material from which to choose: fluorescent
yellow-green, fluorescent orange-red and fluorescent red. Users should consider the work and natural environment to
determine the most conspicuous color for daytime use. Is the environment urban or rural, heavy foliage or desert? Are work
zone devices and equipment yellow or orange? Choose the fluorescent color that achieves the highest degree of worker
contrast.

Garment Types and Classes

Three type designations for HVSA help the user to choose options according to the work environment. These types are
further broken down into classes 1, 2 or 3.

Type “O” garments are for occupational workers who are not required by the MUTCD 2009 edition to wear HVSA but may
still work
concern. Class 1 is the only option for Type “O” garments.

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” 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.

Three classes of HVSA help the user and employer choose the proper garments based on expected work environment risks.
The classes state the minimum amount of background and retroreflective material and specify placement of retroreflective
material, as well as any technical requirements for garment design.

in an environment with moving equipment/vehicles and accompanying struck-by hazards, and where visibility is a

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