Advancing Safety Standards with Coats® Innovative High-Visibility Revolution

In hazardous work environments, every precaution counts. From construction sites to road maintenance, ensuring the safety of workers is paramount. Among the many safety measures, high-visibility workwear is a crucial element in accident prevention. Let's explore why high visibility workwear is so essential, and how Coats® innovative products such as Coats® Signal™, Coats® Signal™ Lucence™, and Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ PRO are revolutionising safety standards.

Understanding the Significance of Visibility

According to the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 5,500 workplace accidents were fatal in 2022. The numbers keep increasing year-over-year, and high-visibility clothing can aid in reducing these numbers.

High-visibility clothing enhances worker’s visibility to car drivers or other moving objects. Accidents could be significantly reduced if a worker uses high-visibility clothing in risky situations during work.

Coats® Solution for Enhanced Visibility: Introducing Signal™ Technology

Coats® Signal™ technology elevates visibility solutions significantly, ensuring that workers remain highly visible even in dark, low light or adverse weather conditions with its retro-reflective, fluorescent, and phosphorescent material.

Coats® Signal™ offers a selection of high-visibility materials designed for protective clothing, workwear, accessories, and apparel.

Key Features & Advantages

• Coats® Signal™ articles surpass the prerequisites of major high-visibility regulations, ensuring the highest level of performance.
• Coats® Signal™ products are specifically engineered to endure harsh industrial laundry conditions. They have been tested and proven to withstand up to 70 industrial laundry cycles, including tunnel drying at 160°C.
• Coats® Signal™ is certified according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, CLASS I.

The main applications include protective clothing for firefighters and other professionals, apparel and accessories, luggage and travel goods.

Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ and Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ PRO: Revolutionising Safety Measures

Coats® Signal™ Lucence™

Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ is a line of sew-on tapes, self-adhesive materials, and heat transfers that incorporate a patent-pending, groundbreaking safety innovation based on VizLite DT (a phosphorescent technology).

Signal™ Lucence™ introduces an innovative feature to high-visibility workwear: glow-in-the-dark properties. This innovation ensures that workers remain visible even in total darkness, providing an additional layer of safety in environments with varying light conditions. This feature is of high value for professions such as firefighters, where visibility can be severely compromised in smoke-filled environments.

Key Features & Advantages

• Quick charging under artificial or natural UV light in less than 10 minutes.
• Up to 8 hours of visibility on a single charge, without the need for batteries and cables.
• Accelerated testing demonstrates that the phosphorescent pigments can work for 20 years, making the technology as durable as the clothing itself.
• Material is independently tested to fulfil domestic and industrial laundry requirements.
• Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ is certified to fulfil global standards - FR Protection, Anti-static, High-Visibility, Arc Protection, OEKO-TEX® etc.
• It’s a lightweight product and doesn’t add weight to the clothing.

The main applications include Footwear, Apparel, Activewear, PPE, Firefighter uniforms, and High-Visibility Workwear.

Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ PRO

Coats® Signal™ Lucence™ PRO presents a line of high-performance sew-on tapes that can integrate three cutting-edge technologies into one material. These technologies include retro-reflectivity, fluorescence, and phosphorescence, catering to the specific needs of the professional high-visibility workwear and firefighter industry.

For firefighters facing the inherent dangers of fighting flames, Signal™ Lucence™ PRO offers unparalleled protection. In addition to its phosphorescent properties, Signal™ Lucence™ PRO incorporates flame-retardant technology into the tape. This ensures that firefighters are not only visible, but also protected from the intense heat and flames they encounter in the line of duty.

Achieve superior protection in various lighting conditions with phosphorescence, retro-reflectivity and fluorescence with a single tape. In particular the phosphorescent technology helps firefighter in terms of situational awareness, i.e. it will make firefighter more visible and also improve their orientation which results in better and quicker decision making and less time in the risk zone.

A light source can illuminate Signal™ Lucence™ PRO to boost visibility, emitting a glow in the absence of light or under reduced lighting conditions. Furthermore, it is washable and has undergone independent testing to ensure it complies with domestic laundry standards.

Key Features & Advantages

• A single tape that allows for the integration of three technologies into garments without the necessity of sewing on different tapes.
• The Photoluminescent material does not require any battery or cables. It can absorb both natural and artificial UV light through electron excitation. Subsequently, it emits an afterglow in low light or zero light conditions. Whenever the Signal™ Lucence™ PRO material is exposed to UV light, it undergoes recharging.
• It has a short charging duration. The charging time varies depending on the type of light used. Generally, a daylight charge will take approximately 5 minutes, while a charge in overhead fluorescent light will take around 10 minutes.
• The long afterglow persists for up to 8 hours, with the initial hour shining the most brightly.
• It meets all standards for firefighter apparel and high-visibility.
• STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, CLASS I certified
• The primary application is in High visibility PPE for Firefighting and other professional segments.

Saving lives, one garment at a time

The importance of high-visibility workwear cannot be overstated. In industries where split-second decisions can make the difference between life and death, investing in the appropriate safety equipment is non-negotiable. High-visibility workwear not only protects workers but also contributes to overall workplace safety by reducing the risk of accidents and injuries.

As we strive to create safer work environments, high-visibility workwear is emerging as a cornerstone of safety initiatives. With innovations like Signal™, Signal™ Lucence™, and Signal™ Lucence™ PRO, workers can enter hazardous environments with confidence, knowing they are equipped with the latest in safety technology. By prioritising visibility in workwear, employers are demonstrating their commitment to safeguarding the well-being of their workers. In the quest for safer workplaces, high visibility is not just a feature; it's a lifesaver.