Banner for protective clothing with increased visibility

EN 17353

EN 17353 - Protective clothing

Equipment for enhanced visibility for medium risk situations

Visual signalling is beneficial for the wearer's safety in many activities. But what clothing should be worn in areas that do not require high-visibility clothing? But even in activities that do not require high-visibility clothing, visual signalling can be beneficial for the wearer's safety.

Standard EN 17353 specifies which requirements the PPE must fulfil. It contains performance requirements for the colour and retroreflection as well as the minimum areas and arrangement of the materials in the protective equipment.

Man in orange high-visibility clothing in accordance with EN 17353.

Questions and answers about EN 17353*

What is EN 17353?

EN 17353 is a European standard for protective clothing for visual signalling of the wearer in medium-risk situations in all daylight conditions (day visibility through fluorescent background material) and/or when illuminated by vehicle headlights or searchlights in the dark (night visibility through reflective material).

What is the difference between the EN 17353 and EN ISO 20471 standards?

Both standards describe requirements for protective clothing designed to improve visibility.

EN 17353 is intended for active road users, i.e. people on the road who take part in traffic and whose attention is focused on road traffic (e.g. cyclists, pedestrians). It sets requirements for protective clothing to improve visibility for activities involving a medium level of risk. It is used in areas such as industry, the energy sector, metal construction, as well as sports and leisure activities. The aim is to increase the wearer’s visibility – especially in poor visibility conditions – without meeting the requirements of the high-visibility clothing standard. The standard distinguishes between different types of clothing.

EN ISO 20471 is intended for passive road users, i.e. people on the road who are not taking part in vehicle traffic and whose attention is not focused on road traffic. It applies to activities in high-risk areas – for example, roadworks – where workers are constantly exposed to hazards from vehicles or machinery. It sets significantly higher visibility requirements and defines high-visibility classes based on the surface area of the materials used and how they are arranged.

Man and woman in protective clothing in accordance with EN 17353 in an old production hall.

What is the difference between EN 17353 Type A and EN 17353 Type B?

EN 17353 Type A applies to situations with a medium level of risk in all daylight conditions. Daytime visibility is ensured by fluorescent background material. All BP® garments for enhanced visibility comply with Type A.

EN 17353 Type B applies to situaions with a medium level of risk when illuminated by vehicle headlights or searchlights in the dark. Night-time visibility is ensured by retroreflective material on all limbs. The reflective strips must be at least 20 mm wide. BP® offers compliant branding (application of reflective strips) for BP® garments for enhanced visibility.

Which areas is workwear compliant with EN 17353 suitable for?

Workwear compliant with EN 17353 is useful in all working environments where garments with signalling properties increase safety, without high-visibility clothing (EN ISO 20471) being required. Many companies do not need to meet the requirements of EN ISO 20471, but still want workwear for their employees that is equipped with additional elements for improved visibility.

For example, for logistics operations, industry or municipal services, EN 17353 is a good alternative, as it significantly improves visibility at dusk, in poor lighting and in restricted visibility conditions.

*As this is a shortened summary of binding occupational safety standards, this article does not claim to fully reproduce all requirements defined in the standards. Although this article is regularly revised by our experts, we do not accept any liability for the timeliness or accuracy of the information.

Author of this technical article

Pauline Holstein

Product Manager at Bierbaum-Proenen (BP) and PPE expert

Pauline Holstein is a Product Manager at Bierbaum-Proenen (BP) and specialises in protective clothing and personal protective equipment with increased requirements for visibility and safety.

In this article, she explains the requirements of EN 17353 for protective clothing for medium-risk situations – particularly with regard to visual signalling, material requirements and use in areas where high-visibility clothing in accordance with EN ISO 20471 is not required.

In doing so, she provides insights into the development of practical PPE solutions by BP for a wide range of applications with increased visibility requirements.

Equipment types for increased visibility

Type A for daylight

Type B1, B2 or B3 for darkness

Type AB2 or AB3 for daylight or darkness

TEAM EQUIPMENT REQUIRED?

You want to equip an entire team or company with PPE and need support in selecting and compiling protective clothing that conforms to standards?

Contact us

A team of five people wear HiVis clothing on railway tracks.

Zwei Männer und eine Frau in Arbeitskleidung auf einer alten Industrieanlage.

What are the areas of application for protective clothing in accordance with EN 17353?

EN 17353 - Type B for use in the dark

A trend can be observed in which protective clothing and workwear is increasingly being equipped with additional visibility elements without fulfilling the full requirements of EN ISO 20471. The clothing is used in medium risk situations.

One example of this is reflective strips on the limbs of Med & Care clothing, so that employees of mobile care services are more visible when crossing the road in the dark. Reflective strips on clothing also help employees in logistics or production companies to carry out their work safely at dusk and in the dark or in poor visibility conditions.

We therefore also offer subsequent reflective stripe finishing in accordance with EN 17353 (type B2 or B3) for selected collections. The image on the left shows examples of reflective striping on work trousers and jackets.

EN 17353 - Type A for daytime use

However, if there is a risk of not being seen during the day, fluorescent protective clothing in accordance with EN 17353, type A, is used. This clothing can be used in waste and disposal companies, such as shirts in high-visibility colour for increased visibility during the day.

Shirts can either support a clothing system in accordance with EN ISO 20471 or be worn individually in medium risk situations. Find our selection of shirts according to EN 17353 (Type A) here.

What is the difference between EN ISO 20471 Class 1 garments and EN 17353 Type AB garments?

Type AB garments must have a larger area of fluorescent background material, whereas class 1 requires more retroreflective surface. EN 17353 clothing is primarily designed for activities that involve active participation in road traffic, while EN ISO 20471 clothing is worn when the wearer is carrying out an activity close to road traffic where there is a high risk of being overlooked and where they need to be protected from road traffic by visual signalling.

The following also applies here: The selection of suitable clothing depends on the area of use and is determined as part of a risk assessment. In general, EN 17353 allows more design freedom in terms of the arrangement of the background areas, the width of the reflective strips and the range of fluorescent background colours.

If you would like to find out more about different reflective striping technologies or the materials used to increase contrast, read our article on EN ISO 20471.