The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is looking for people outside of the association to help review revisions to the voluntary consensus standard, ANSI/ISEA 107-2010, the American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear.

First published in 1999, this widely-accepted standard specifies requirements for apparel and headwear that is capable of visually signaling the user's presence. The standard is recognized and compliance with it is mandated by federal, state and local authorities as well as private industry entities. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires nearly all workers in or near a highway right-of-way to wear garments that comply with the standard. 

How it works

As part of the development process, standards prepared by ISEA product groups become American National Standards through a consensus process that involves reviewers outside the association. These reviewers submit comments and vote on the approval of the standard. They serve as the final authority in determining whether a standard is submitted to ANSI for acceptance as an American National Standard.

Four categories of participants

ISEA maintains a list of participants, balanced by interest category, for each standard. A reviewer may fall into one of four categories:

• Producer:  A manufacturer of the product covered by the standard or components thereof.
• User:  An organization that uses, specifies or purchases the product covered by the standard.
• Government:  An agency or department that has regulatory authority or other interest in the product. (NOTE: Government agencies that use the product fall under the User category.)
• General Interest:  An organization that has a special interest in the standard due to safety, technical or other requirements or an individual expert with knowledge in the area(s) covered by the standard, but who neither produces nor uses the products.

Consensus review of the proposed update is expected to begin in April 2015. If you are interested in serving as a consensus panel member for this standard, contact ISEA Director of Member and Technical Services, Cristine Fargo at cfargo@safetyequipment.org for details.

The standard is expected to be published as a revised document by the end of 2015.

About ISEA

Arlington, Va.-based ISEA is the leading trade association for personal protective equipment and technologies. Established in 1933, ISEA supports its member companies in manufacturing and marketing the highest-quality products to protect the safety and health of people who may be exposed to potentially harmful situations while working on the job or at home.

For more information visit: www.safetyequipment.org.