At work or at home, clothes are clothes, right? But when what you’re wearing can mean the difference between life-altering injuries or walking away from a fire-related incident, your clothes are much more than just shirts and pants.
When you see the data on how effective good flame resistant protection is at preventing workplace tragedies, it becomes even clearer that FR workwear needs to be viewed as the critical safety equipment that it is for workers in hazardous environments. At TenCate Protective Fabrics, we’re dedicated to equipping safety professionals with everything they need to build strong safety cultures. And that includes shifting attitudes around FR workwear to ensure we’re all on the same page about how important it is to invest in it, wear it, and wear it correctly.
Read on to learn how FR workwear functions as safety equipment and get recommendations for making the best selection for your needs.
What’s More Important Than Your Life?
Consider the toolbox of a worker who appreciates the value of a high-quality tool. High-quality doesn’t necessarily mean “most expensive,” however, good tools are usually something many workers are willing to invest in. The right tools make your job easier and safer.
Now consider the protective garments of a worker who just sees them as shirts and pants, a uniform they’re required to wear. By not realizing the importance of that protection, that worker may select garments that don’t offer appropriate protection, or may wear their workwear incorrectly.
The best drill can’t save your life in a flash fire event but flame resistant protective workwear can. You don’t have to get the most expensive option on the market, but you should at least give your decision the same amount of care and consideration as you would when researching a new tool. Your safety is worth it.
We’ve Done the Research
Manufacturers of flame resistant fabrics like TenCate Protective Fabrics certainly have the view of FR garments as an important piece of safety equipment. Why? Because we know how effective good protection is at preventing death and serious injury when things go wrong.
Beyond the energy and resources poured into development, many folks don’t realize the full breadth and depth of testing that FR manufacturers do to ensure protective fabrics and the garments made with them meet or exceed the standards for protection. The qualifications that must be met for a product to be certified are robust and for good reason: it is life-saving protection.
At TenCate Protective Fabrics, we have always been committed to providing the utmost protection with high-quality materials to get everyone home safe at the end of the day. When so much goes into these products that serve such an important role, it makes sense to spend a little more time and energy ensuring you’re making the best possible selection.
What to Consider for Selection
When it comes to selecting FR workwear, there are several factors to take into consideration:
- Risk Assessment – What risks exist in your workplace and what level of protection is required by governing standards to mitigate those risks?
- Fabric Weight – More recent advances in FR fabric manufacturing have allowed for much lighter-weight materials to be created instead of the rigid, heavyweight fabrics that had traditionally been associated with FR clothing. Lighter weight can mean greater comfort, however…
- Breathability – Breathability and moisture-wicking ability are even more important than fabric weight when it comes to comfort. A trash bag is very light weight, but you’d be in your own personal sauna if you tried to work in one. Look for fabrics that offer increased breathability and moisture management systems to not only increase comfort for the end user, but also reduce the risk of heat stress.
Shifting Safety Cultures
Viewing FR workwear as safety equipment isn’t enough just as an individual mindset shift—safety cultures truly change when the entire organization, including both folks who are and aren’t required to wear protective workwear, are aligned in this philosophy. Robust safety cultures are likelier to have greater engagement and compliance with the proper ways to value, wear, and care for the garments.
Valuing FR garments appropriately at all levels of an organization allows for proper resourcing and budgeting of a protective workwear program. You wouldn’t skimp on other critical safety equipment; you shouldn’t skimp on FR workwear either. And how good is the rest of your equipment if you’ve experienced a fire and can’t mobilize? Understanding the interconnectedness of all your safety program components creates a stronger safety culture and helps garner support for making the best selection for the workplace.
Proper wear and care of FR garments also must be clearly and regularly communicated to end users and/or administered via a qualified partner, like an industrial launderer. For instance, not everyone knows that you can’t use hydrogen peroxide-based detergents on any FR. At all levels in an organization, but especially at the end user level, it is critical that there are clear, readily available guidelines for how to wear and care for FR workwear to allow it to do its job.
Get Help Making the Right Selection
You have a friend in the protective workwear industry: at TenCate Protective Fabrics, we are always available to support safety managers and end users in making FR selections for their unique circumstances. Reach out to connect with one of our flame resistant fabric experts to discuss your safety goals:
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