The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) exists to protect Canadians from hazards in almost every aspect of daily living. Standards are enacted to ensure products and services meet a level that will keep people safe. From plugging in an appliance, to putting on a helmet to driving on a bridge, to the overhead lighting to pipes in the wall, standards are in place. Recently another much-needed standard was added by the CSA, a standard, which 3M Canada helped to develop. This standard, CSA Z96 - 2002 addresses high visibility apparel.

It has long been recognized that consistency was needed in the area of high visibility apparel. "Every jurisdiction in Canada had promulgated different criteria for highly visible safety clothing," says David Lucas, 3M Senior Rep, Personal Safety Products and Chair of the CSA Technical Committee designing the new standard. There was no east to west harmonization across the country," he adds. In 1999, a standard on the same subject, ANSI/ISEA 107, was published in the U.S. The CSA determined that a broader standard would be necessary in Canada, one that would cover a wider range of occupational applications. The goal was "to produce a minimum, uniform standard in harmony with the U.S. and European models, but appropriate to Canada," says Dave Shanahan, 3M CSA Manager, Occupational Health and Safety Projects. "We wanted to consider the way in which garments would be worn. They had to be able to stand up to cold weather, ice and snow."

The standards couldn't be arriving soon enough. The Association of Worker's Compensation Boards of Canada reports that one out of every 100 occupational fatalities involves workers on foot being hit by vehicles or mobile equipment. In 1998 alone, 24 workers were killed in that manner.

The standard lists three classes of high visibility clothing ranging from Type A, which offers the greatest visibility under poor light conditions to Type B which provides superior visibility and is more conspicuous than Type C. A risk analysis is conducted to determine how much retroreflective and high visibility gear is necessary.

Compliance with the standard will be voluntary, but compliance with the CSA standard will be a goal of many in high-risk industries. "This is a voluntary standard," says Lucas "It allows end-users to do their risk assessment work and choose the proper equipment to meet their particular safety needs." Ultimately though, the standard should create increased worker safety.