ANSI High-Vis Standards: What Local Public Works Directors Need to Know

For public works departments, high-visibility apparel is more than a uniform choice. Crews may spend their days repairing streets, maintaining utilities, clearing storm debris, working around heavy equipment, or performing tasks only a few feet from moving traffic. In those environments, making workers easier to see is a fundamental part of managing exposure to struck-by hazards.

That makes ANSI/ISEA 107 an important standard for public works directors, safety managers, supervisors, and procurement teams. The current ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 standard establishes requirements for the design, materials, performance, and labeling of high-visibility safety apparel, commonly called HVSA. When departments also want names, department identification, or municipal branding on workwear, our screen printing and embroidery services can help create a more consistent crew appearance, but decoration should always be planned around the garment’s safety features and applicable requirements.

Understanding ANSI high-vis classifications helps public works leaders make better purchasing decisions, standardize apparel across crews, and avoid assuming that every fluorescent shirt or reflective vest provides the same level of visibility.

What ANSI/ISEA 107 Actually Covers

ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 is the American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel. It establishes criteria for garment design, fluorescent background materials, retroreflective materials, testing, performance, and product labeling. Its purpose is to improve a wearer’s conspicuity under different lighting and working conditions.

A key point for public works directors is that high visibility is not determined simply by color. A fluorescent yellow-green or orange-red shirt may look highly visible, but ANSI compliance depends on the finished garment meeting specific requirements. The amount and placement of visible material, reflective performance, garment design, and intended work environment all matter.

ANSI/ISEA 107 classifies compliant garments by both Type and Performance Class. Type relates primarily to the work environment in which the garment is intended to be used. Performance Class reflects factors including the amount of visible material and garment design.

This distinction matters when purchasing apparel for multiple public works divisions. A worker operating inside a controlled facility does not necessarily face the same visibility hazards as a street maintenance employee working beside active traffic.

Understanding Type O, Type R, and Type P Garments

ANSI/ISEA 107 divides high-visibility safety apparel into three primary Types: O, R, and P. Choosing the appropriate Type starts with understanding where employees work and the hazards around them.

Type O: Off-Road Environments

Type O apparel is intended for occupational environments where workers are not exposed to public roadway traffic. These garments may be appropriate in certain off-road work areas where moving equipment or other hazards still make enhanced worker visibility valuable.

For a public works operation, that could include some controlled facilities, yards, or other locations isolated from public traffic. Directors should not assume, however, that Type O apparel is appropriate simply because a worker spends only part of a shift near a roadway. The garment selection should account for the actual exposure associated with the employee’s duties.

A job hazard assessment is therefore more useful than selecting one garment solely on the basis of job title. Two employees within the same department can face substantially different visibility risks.

Type R: Roadway Environments

Type R apparel is intended for workers exposed to roadway traffic. This is often the category most relevant to public works crews because municipal employees routinely perform street, utility, drainage, landscaping, sanitation, and infrastructure work near vehicles.

Workers repairing pavement, inspecting utilities from the roadway, maintaining signs, or working within traffic control zones may fall into this type of environment. Vehicle speed, traffic volume, sight distance, lighting, weather, and the presence of construction equipment can all affect the level of visibility needed.

OSHA has also recognized vehicle traffic as a significant hazard for highway and road construction workers. Its guidance states that high-visibility garments are required in specific circumstances and explains how the General Duty Clause applies to workers exposed to struck-by hazards from public and construction traffic.

Type P: Public Safety Environments

Type P is designed for public safety personnel and certain emergency-response applications. Depending on the agency and employee responsibilities, this category may be relevant to personnel performing incident response, traffic control, or other public safety functions.

Public works directors should be careful about automatically assigning Type P garments simply because employees sometimes respond to emergencies. The appropriate apparel depends on the work environment, agency responsibilities, applicable regulations, and hazard assessment.

When responsibilities overlap between public works, emergency management, utilities, police, fire, or transportation agencies, coordinating apparel policies can help prevent inconsistent PPE requirements during joint operations.

What Performance Classes 1, 2, and 3 Mean

Performance Classes generally increase as the amount of high-visibility material and body coverage increases. Class 1 provides the lowest level of body coverage within the ANSI classification structure, Class 2 provides greater visibility, and Class 3 provides the highest level of visibility and body coverage among the three classes.

Class 1 is associated with Type O applications. For departments working around public roadway traffic, Class 2 and Class 3 garments are usually the more relevant classifications to evaluate based on the work environment and applicable requirements.

Class 2 provides greater visibility than Class 1 and is common in roadway-related occupational settings. Class 3 increases conspicuity further, helping identify more of the worker’s human form. That can become particularly important where vehicle speeds, limited sight distance, poor weather, nighttime work, or complex visual backgrounds make workers more difficult to recognize.

Higher classification should not replace a proper risk assessment. Departments need to match apparel to the hazards employees actually encounter and verify any requirements imposed by federal, state, local, contractual, or project-specific rules.

High-Visibility Apparel and the MUTCD

Public works directors should also understand that ANSI/ISEA 107 does not exist in isolation. Roadway operations can involve requirements and guidance from the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, or MUTCD, as well as OSHA requirements and state or local rules.

The MUTCD is particularly relevant when employees are working within the right-of-way or temporary traffic control environments. The current federal MUTCD is the 11th Edition, published in 2023. Departments should confirm which MUTCD provisions and other requirements apply to their specific projects and jurisdiction rather than treating a garment purchase as a substitute for reviewing applicable safety obligations.

This is also why procurement specifications should be precise. A purchase order that merely requests “safety yellow shirts” leaves considerable room for interpretation. Identifying the required ANSI Type and Performance Class, where applicable, gives vendors and department staff a much clearer standard.

Logos and Customization Need Careful Planning

Municipal departments understandably want employees to be identifiable. A department name, city logo, division designation, or employee name can help residents recognize authorized personnel and create a consistent professional appearance.

Customization, however, should never be approached as though an ANSI-rated garment were an ordinary polo or T-shirt. Printing or embroidery can potentially cover fluorescent background material or interfere with reflective components depending on its size and placement. Public works buyers should verify that the planned decoration is compatible with the garment and does not compromise required visibility or compliance.

At RKT Shirts, we recommend starting with the correct safety garment first and then planning decoration around it. Providing the original editable or vector artwork, preferably an AI/vector file, also makes it easier to review logo size and placement before production.

Build High-Vis Apparel Into a Department-Wide Program

Purchasing compliant garments is only part of an effective visibility program. Apparel also has to remain serviceable in real working conditions. Public works clothing is exposed to dirt, asphalt, grease, repeated laundering, sunlight, abrasion, and demanding weather, all of which can affect appearance and performance over time.

Departments should establish a consistent inspection and replacement process rather than leaving the decision entirely to individual employees. Supervisors should watch for badly faded fluorescent material, damaged reflective material, excessive contamination, tears, or modifications that could affect the garment’s intended performance.

It is also useful to standardize approved garments by job function. Instead of allowing each division to order whatever high-vis item is readily available, procurement teams can maintain an approved list based on job hazards, ANSI Type, Performance Class, season, and working conditions. That simplifies reordering while helping supervisors know what employees should be wearing.

Training completes the process. Employees should understand why particular garments are required, when they must be worn, how they should be cared for, and when damaged apparel needs to be reported or replaced.

What Public Works Directors Should Ask Before Ordering

Before approving the next uniform or safety apparel order, public works leaders should begin with the work environment rather than the catalog. Determine whether employees are exposed to public traffic, construction vehicles, heavy equipment, low-light conditions, poor sight distances, or emergency response situations.

Then confirm the required ANSI Type and Performance Class for the job based on the applicable hazard assessment, regulations, agency policies, project specifications, and roadway requirements. Check the garment’s labeling and documentation rather than relying solely on its fluorescent color or product description.

Finally, consider how the garment will actually be used. Seasonal conditions, layering, rain gear, employee movement, durability, laundering, and logo placement all affect whether an apparel program works effectively in the field.

High Visibility Starts With the Right Specification

For local public works departments, ANSI high-vis requirements should be treated as a safety specification, not simply a clothing preference. Understanding Type O, Type R, Type P, and the applicable Performance Classes gives directors a stronger foundation for selecting apparel that fits real workplace conditions.

The safest approach is to evaluate hazards first, confirm the applicable regulatory and project requirements, choose properly classified garments, and only then address department branding and customization.

If your department needs custom-decorated workwear, RKT Shirts can help review apparel and artwork options for screen printing or embroidery. Our standard production time is 7 to 10 business days after artwork and invoice approval and receipt of the 50% deposit, with shipping transit time considered separately.

Request a quote for your public works apparel order, call +1 (704) 987-1687, or email sales@rktshirts.com.