En 471

1Colour and Textile Products

Jay Instruments & Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Colour and Textile Products

Let us review EN 471

Colour Control of High Visibility Protective Clothing with reference

to EN471 Euro norm

Manish Kapadia

Chief Manager

JISL Mumbai

INDIA


Establishes requirements:• Color and minimum areas for retro reflective

and background materials.• Minimum washing cycles• Cites test methods for materials• Retro reflective materials should be placed to

ensure overall visibility of human form, of the wearer.

EN 471 basics


EN471 Basics

• High visibility warning clothing should posses following requirements of EN 471

• Colours within specified colour range • Minimum luminous density factor

– Fastness to light – Colour fastness: abrasion resistance, fastness to

perspiration, washing cycles, dry cleaning, hypochlorides, and ironing

• Dimensional change• Maximum tensile strength / bursting strength


Performance Requirements of Materials

• Color

• Retro reflection-night

• Fluorescence-day

EN 471 basics


• Fluorescent material: material that re-emits optical radiation at wavelengths longer than absorbed; used as Background material

• Retro reflective material: material that reflects the light emitted by a light source back to that source

• Combined material: material with combined fluorescent and retro reflective properties.

EN 471 Terms


Overview of Garment ClassesPerformance Class 3: • For use in most severe environments• Offers the greatest amount of fluorescent and

reflective coveragePerformance Class 2: • For moderately severe environments• Balance of fluorescent and reflective materialsPerformance Class 1: • For low-risk environments• Lowest levels of fluorescent and reflective materials


Overview of Garment ClassesEmployers have to choose the Class severity.(EN471 doesn't directly specify the same)

Garment Selection should focus on

Risk Exposure Assessment• Task load• Nature of the work• Color and complexity of the work• Environment• Lighting


Factors deciding Garment Classes

• Speed of Traffic through the Work zone• Amount of Traffic through the Work zone• Time of Day• Is the work taking place during the day or night?• “Background Clutter” in the Work zone• Amount of Activity in the Work zone• Other construction vehicles, etc.• Type of Activity the Worker is Performing• Where is the worker’s attention?• Towards on-coming traffic or the task at hand?• Location of Work• Proximity to traffic and other construction vehicles


Classification- class 1:

• Class 1:• parking lot attendants,• people retrieving shopping carts from parking areas,• workers exposed to the hazards of warehouse

equipment traffic and roadside• sidewalk maintenance workers

• some delivery vehicle drivers..



• background material: > 0.14 m² • retro reflective material: > 0.10 m²

or • combined material: > 0.20 m²

These figures are specified by EN471

• For workers in occupations that permit full and undivided attention to approaching traffic; when backgrounds are not complex; when workers on foot are separated from traffic; and, when vehicles are moving at speeds not exceeding 25 mph.




• For workers who require greater visibility under inclement weather conditions; when backgrounds are not complex; and, when tasks divert attention from approaching vehicle traffic.



Examples• forestry operations• ship cargo loading operations• roadway construction workers• utility workers• survey crews• railway workers• school crossing guards in traffic




Classification- class 2: Yellow orange fluorescence in Daytime




Classification- class 2:Retro-reflective material shines in night




Classification- class 2: continued

•Delivery vehicle drivers

•High-volume parking and/or toll gate personnel

•Airport baggage handlers/ground crew

•Emergency response personnel,

•Law enforcement personnel

•Trash collection and recycling

•Operations accident site investigators



• Roadway construction personnel and flaggers, utility workers, survey crews, and emergency response personnel, vehicle assistance

• Anyone who has a high task load and is in close proximity to moving equipment or traffic at high speeds

• Work Occurs at Night• Worker’s Attention is Diverted from On-Coming Traffic

and Surrounding Environment• “Cluttered” Work Zone with High Levels of Activity• Worker must be Visible from All Angles and Identifiable as

a Person• Worker has no separation between them and traffic





IdentificationFire: red, Police: blue, EMS: green

Optional Criteria




• For workers on foot and vehicle operators whose high task loads place them in danger; when the wearer must be conspicuous through the full range of body motions at a minimum of 390 m (1,280 ft); and, when the wearer must be identified as a person.

Traffic speed > 50 miles per hour.(Not specified in EN)


Design Specs of garments

-Retro reflective bands shall be at least 50 mm large (30 mm for safety harnesses)

-Closure systems must not interrupt the background or retro reflective material by more than 50 mm

-Number and position of retro reflective bands:

- Coveralls: 2 horizontal bands around the torso; 2 bands on the sleeves on the same height as on the torso; 2 bands on the trouser legs


Design specs of garmentsjackets, waistcoats: -2 horizontal bands around the torso and around the sleeves at the same height

- or 2 horizontal bands around the torso and around the sleeves at the same height plus a vertical band over each shoulder, reaching to the uppermost torso band

- or 1 horizontal band around the torso plus a vertical band over each shoulder; 2 horizontal bands around the sleeves


Design specs of garments

Other requirements for the background material - dimensional stability (< 3 % shrinkage)

- mechanical strength - impermeability to water (ENV 343) - water vapor permeability (ENV 343)


Design of garmentsSize Designation


Design of garments

Documentation Information for the user

- To be provided by the manufacturer in at least the official language(s) of the country of use; precise and understandable for the user.


Documentation Information Content

• Name and address of manufacturer or his authorized representative

• Name and reference of the product

• Reference to the relevant product standard

• Explanation of pictograms and of the performance levels obtained

• Instructions for use, e.g. safety checks before use, specific area of use and limitations of use (time of wear in specific conditions), storage and maintenance instructions, instructions for cleaning and disinfection, the maximum of cleaning cycles without impairment of the performance level etc.

• Packaging instructions for transport


Documentation Information Content

Pictogram


Design specs of garments- Color

The chromaticity and the luminance factor are specified for the following 3 colors:

- fluorescent yellow - fluorescent orange-red -fluorescent red

The color shall be measured in accordance with the procedures defined in CIE publication No. 15.2, using an instrument with polychromatic illumination (CIE D65 illuminant). The instrument shall have a 45/0 illuminating and viewing geometry. The color coordinates shall be determined using CIE standard illuminant D65 and 2° standard observer (=CIE 1931 standard colorimetric observer).


Instruments used for color

Use of Konica Minolta Japan-make CM 2500c 45/0 reflectance

spectrophotometer with Konica Minolta SpectraMagic NX software with PC-

Windows XP &

Retro-reflectance meter from Zehntner, Switzerland




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Color

No other colors are allowed as background material.

The requirement shall also be met after an artificial weathering test (UV radiation).

Color fastness shall also be guaranteed against rubbing, perspiration, washing, dry cleaning, hot pressing and bleaching.




Requirements for retro reflective material

•New materials shall meet minimum reflectance criteria

•Minimum criteria are also set after a number of test exposures:

abrasion, flexing, folding at low temperature, temperature variation, washing, dry cleaning, & influence of rainfall (Running water tests)


WHY HIGH VISIBILITY?

More than 30% of all fatalities at work in the EU are associated withmoving vehicles (Source “Accidents at Work in the EU” Eurostat, Statistics in Focus – theme 3 – 4/2000).


Why High Visibility ?

High visibility garment makes the wearer conspicuous at all angles during both day and night as well as periods of poor visibility.

This is achieved by 'contrast'. In daytime this is achieved with colour contrast - the fluorescent component fabric standing out against the background scene.

To achieve optimum colour contrast, a significant amount of background material must be incorporated. (Ref: EN471).During night time or conditions of poor visibility, colour contrast cannot be seen. What is needed is 'luminance contrast', commonly known as brightness contrast. This is achieved by the use of retro reflective materials.


Retro-reflectance Meter

Retroreflection is a special kind of reflection where the light is reflected back toward the source (headlight) but spreading out into a very narrow cone.





Retro-reflectance MeterLEVEL 2

LEVEL 1




Retro-reflectance MeterModel ZRW 5070 R’

Illumination angle + 5

Observation angle 0.20

Light source Halogen lamp with stabilized luminous intensity (x 2).

Measuring Censor According to V ( )

Measuring range R’= 0 to 2’000 cd.m-2 .lx-1

Data Memory 1000 measurements

Display LCD display

Accumulator 8 NiCd batteries

Dimension (L x W xH)

280 x85 x 250 mm.

Weight 1.70 kg

Standards DIN EN 471 Warning clothing


ATIRA : Konica Minolta s/w SpectraMagic screen with CM2500c for EN471


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Various Values-report• Beta β= Y/100 for each sample. it indicates the overall brightness

of thesample.

• Higher the β, the brighter the sample. So it should be higher.

• Also, the criteria is that tone should not be out of context. That is thereason of limit values for each shade. (The Quadrilateral)

• The moment you fill up the columns, x,y & Y for each sample, the graphs , β can be calculated automatically.

• EN-471 base also gives these values for Red, Orange, yellow etc.


EN-471 :

Visibility from a safe braking distance is key to safety & protection.

• THANK YOU

Manish Kapadia.

Documents

En 471