Banner with employees in BP® protective clothing (PPE).

EN ISO 20471

EN ISO 20471 - Protective clothing

Standard for high-visibility clothing

Protective clothing for visual signalling of the wearer in all possible light conditions during the day (daytime visibility due to fluorescent background material) as well as when illuminated by headlights in the dark (nighttime visibility due to reflective material).

When the days get shorter and it is dark for a long time, a particularly dangerous time begins for workers in road construction: in order to be seen early enough by the drivers of passing cars, they need Hi-Vis protective clothing that offers optimal visibility. People who work, for example, at railway or port facilities, at airports or in waste and disposal operations also depend on such high-visibility warning protective clothing to be able to carry out their activities safely. The EN ISO 20471 standard specifies the requirements that PPE must meet.

Two industrial workers. A woman and a man in neon yellow hivis warning clothing

Questions and answers about EN ISO 20471*

What does EN ISO 20471 mean?

EN ISO 20471 describes the requirements for protective clothing to visually signal the wearer in all possible lighting conditions. The warning clothing should ensure that the wearer is conspicuously visible to vehicle drivers or operators of other technical equipment in all lighting conditions - both in daylight and under headlamp illumination in the dark.

Conditions for wearing depend on local influences such as weather conditions, contrast of the surroundings, traffic density and other factors.

A woman and a man in high-visibility warning clothing.

Which materials are used to increase contrast?

High-visibility clothing basically consists of two materials. The bright orange, yellow or red is referred to as fluorescent background material and increases daytime visibility. The reflective strips ensure better visibility in the dark or at dusk. The reflective material only fulfils its function when it is illuminated by a light source

Tightening of the EN ISO 20471 standard

The standard also specifies the test procedures for PPE - and has tightened them compared to previous standards. For example, fluorescent background materials and retroreflective materials are now tested for compliance with the standard after five cleaning cycles if no maximum number of cleaning cycles is specified. This is intended to provide users with information on the ageing of PPE.

EN ISO 20471: What warning protection classes are there?

EN ISO 20471 is based on a basic risk assessment. In the annex, the standard describes three risk levels: high, medium and low. EN ISO 20471 defines special requirements for situations in which the risk of being overlooked in road traffic is classified as particularly high. According to this standard, there are three high visibility classes (high visibility clothing class 1, high visibility clothing class 2 and high visibility clothing class 3). The higher the class, the larger the minimum area of fluorescent background material and retroreflective material that the PPE must have.

The requirements vary depending on the working environment:

High-visibility class 1 (low risk): Activities in environments with low traffic or machine activity.
High-visibility class 2 (medium risk): Working in areas with moderate traffic or machine activity.
High visibility class 3 (high risk): Working in low visibility conditions (e.g. darkness, rain, fog) or near fast-moving traffic (motorways, railway lines) requires high-visibility clothing class 3.

Which high-visibility class applies to your specific activity is determined as part of a risk assessment.

How do you achieve high-visibility class 3 in EN ISO 20471?

High-visibility clothing class 3 must fulfil high requirements, as we are dealing with extremely serious risks (irreversible damage to health or death) in high-visibility class 3. High-visibility class 3 is therefore only achieved if the high minimum requirements in relation to the fluorescent background material and the retroreflective material are met. For example, at least 0.8 square metres of background material in the corresponding fluorescent colour and 0.2 square metres of reflective material must be used for high-visibility clothing in the highest class 3. In addition, Class 3 high-visibility clothing must cover the torso as well as the arms or legs with reflective strips. This is intended to ensure all-round visibility and maximise safety.

Explanation of the high-visibility pictogram

The number next to the pictogram (here in the picture ‘x’) always indicates the clothing class according to the following overview. The higher the class, the higher the visibility:

High visibility class 1 = 0.14 m² background material (HM) + 0.10 m² reflective material RM (e.g. waistcoat)

High visibility class 2 = 0.50 m² HM + 0.13 m² RM (e.g. jacket)

High-visibility protection class 3 = 0.80 m² HM + 0.20 m² RM (e.g. weather protection jacket)

A woman wears hivis clothing for women in warning orange.

In which areas is high-visibility clothing in accordance with EN ISO 20471 mandatory?

In many professional fields of application, the wearing of high-visibility clothing is required by law.

Industries in which high-visibility clothing is frequently worn are:

Logistics and production parks

Recycling plants

Road construction

Track construction

Work in public traffic areas

Waste management, supply and disposal companies

Airports

* As these are abridged summaries of binding occupational health and safety standards, this article does not claim to fully reflect the requirements defined in the standards. Although this article is regularly revised by our experts, we cannot guarantee that the information is up-to-date and correct.

A woman and a man in protective clothing work on a photovoltaic system.

Is clothing in accordance with EN ISO 20471 also available in combination with other standards?

Challenges posed by cold, electricity, fire, heat and other influences

In certain work areas, protective clothing in accordance with EN ISO 20471 alone is not sufficient. This applies in areas where, for example, there is an electrical hazard due to electric arcs. This applies to energy suppliers, industrial plants with medium and high voltage, the maintenance of switchgear or the e-mobility sector. In these areas, protective clothing must also comply with the EN 61482-2 standard.

High-visibility clothing does not protect against flames, heat, beads of sweat or radiant heat. Therefore, fire and heat protection in accordance with EN ISO 11612 or welding protection in accordance with EN ISO 11611 are required for welding work or, for example, in steel and foundry operations.

High-visibility fabric is also not resistant to chemicals or liquids. For this reason, the standard EN 13034: Protection against liquid chemicals (type 6) is often prescribed in the chemical industry, paint shops or in the handling of hazardous goods.

For outdoor applications, cold protection in accordance with EN 14058 and wind and weather protection in accordance with EN 343 are often required. Another area of work is potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX), e.g. in chemical plants or tank farms. EN 1149-5 is often used here.

Multi-standard clothing: One garment - many standards

The good news is that all these requirements can be met with multi-standard protective clothing. This means that personnel working in these areas do not have to constantly switch between different protective clothing, but can work in their multi-standard clothing at all times. With its Multi-Protect Plus collection, BP® offers particularly lightweight and comfortable multi-standard protective clothing.

High-visibility protection

Types of reflective tape

Important regulations:

Reflective strips for clothing must be at least 50 mm wide and may not be inclined by more than +/- 20° to the horizontal.

The distance between two reflective strips must be ≥ 50 mm and always ≥ 50 mm from the hem (sleeve, trouser leg).

Gaps in the reflective material ≤ 50 mm and sum of all gaps/stripes ≤ 100 mm.

High visibility clothing with long sleeves must always have two reflective strips. If a product with short sleeves covers a reflective strip around the torso, the sleeve must also have a reflective strip.

High-visibility trousers, regardless of length (including high-visibility shorts), must always have two reflective strips on the clothing.

BP® uses several different types of reflective tape, which are explained below:

Glass sphere technology: Thousands of small glass spheres are applied to a textile carrier material and reflect incident light back to the source. Due to the glass ball technology, the strips are relatively light and thin. Nevertheless, they offer excellent reflection values. Segmented reflective strips, which are also based on glass sphere technology, are particularly suitable for stretchable textiles such as shirts.

Microprism technology: Thousands of small microprisms are applied to PVC and reflect incident light back to the source. These microprisms are particularly resistant to dirt and abrasion because they are protected by another plastic layer. The reflective values in wet and poor weather conditions are particularly good.

Segmented reflective strips: Segmented reflective strips manufactured on the basis of glass ball technology are glued directly to the fabric. They are therefore very light and are particularly suitable for use on stretchy materials.