The US construction industry is the lifeline of the nation, with 7.8 million people employed in construction businesses according to the most recent statistics.

With this many people working as bricklayers, HVAC, electrical and plumbing specialists through contractors, arises the need for companies to differentiate their workforce with custom construction workwear.

It's hard to imagine a business card or a contractor's office without a logo, but there are many companies in the construction business that forget the value custom construction workwear can bring. Today, we are talking about the 8 important ways custom construction gear can improve your business.

8 Ways Custom High Visibility Clothing Can Take Your Company Forward

1. Safety

Most jobs in construction require high-visibility clothing. Depending on the exposure to heavy machinery and traffic, workers are required to wear high visibility jackets, vests, and pants. Relying solely on your workers to bring their own safety clothing can be challenging, as there are different standards for every job.

Fonirra Safety Vest

By providing custom high visibility clothing to your workers, you guarantee your workers' safety.

Moreover, when an OSHA inspector comes knocking next time, you have the ease of mind knowing that you have a great security policy in place.

2. Professionalism

Many people do not understand the impact wearing a uniform has on their work performance. According to CEO Today, having a work uniform policy creates a sense of belonging among construction workers.

The camaraderie that comes with a shared element of attire also boosts work relationships, which means less infighting and arguments among your workers. This helps keep professionalism at a high level.

In addition, once you realize that your workers are the first face-to-face interaction channel with some of your clients, you will realize the importance of having a unified, professional look. Even if some of your workers may not have great wardrobes, you will be providing them with great work clothing.

3. Advertising

When you have a custom-made uniform, every employee in outdoor work sites becomes a carrier of your brand. Hi vis clothing is named that way because it captures human attention. By having your logo and brand slogan on the backs of your crews, you won't be needing renting billboards to advertise your business.

4. Company culture

Having a positive attitude is an irreplaceable part of every company's culture. Research made by Coventry University found that "wearing a well-made, well-fitting uniform can make employees feel much happier at work—by as much as 22%."

By providing your crews with branded high visibility clothes, you let them know that you care about their safety and that they are part of a group larger than themselves.

5. Inventory Management

It's not uncommon to take off your working gear during lunch break. Most construction gear looks similar, so crews from different contractors may mistake someone else's clothes for theirs when it's time to get back to work.

If you're providing clothes for your crew, this can quickly turn into a problem. Having distinguishing logos on clothes will provide an additional benefit of reduced number of lost and stolen clothes.

Besides, if you're providing care for your clothing inventory, having a similar washing process for all your clothes will save you time, and make sure that you don't damage some clothes in the process.

6. Employee identification

Custom construction uniform allows people to recognize each other from a distance. If your crew have to work on large sites, this will make it easy for them to identify each other.

It may also make it easier to identify who's responsible for botched work. Otherwise, it quickly becomes impossible to identify who's behind a thick jacket and a helmet.

VT02 High Visibility Work Safety Vest With Pockets

7. Welcoming Visitors

When you have an investor or a customer visiting the site, you may not always have safety clothing for them in place. In addition, if you have office staff that seldom have to be on-site, it's likely that they don't own safety vests. These kinds of clothes should be coming out of your inventory, not out of your workers' backs.

8. Cost Control

Purchasing customized hi vis clothing requires a higher initial investment than buying them off the shelf. If you're a larger business, you may be looking at purchasing well over a hundred pieces of high visibility workwear.

Although this may sound intimidating, purchasing custom clothes in bulk will also help provide more competitive pricing. In the long run, the jackets pay back their initial investment through the OSHA penalties you've avoided, the premiums you save on insurance, and the exposure you get through having your team carry your brand on their person.

FONIRRA CUSTOMIZED CLOTHING PROCESS

How to Get Custom Construction Workwear?

ANSI-ISEA 107 Class and Type

If you're considering purchasing custom construction workwear, you first need to identify what standards are required in your circumstances. It's safe to say that most roadside work requires the highest class of high visibility clothing: ANSI-ISEA 107 Class 3 Type R(Roadway).

If your crew isn't exposed to the traffic, you have more leeway to choose from a lower grade of protection. We have an extensive guide on how to identify this.

Color

You will most likely need to choose from either fluorescent yellow-green or orange-red since ANSI-ISEA-107 restrictions require that. Another point to note is to keep your logo visible on the clothes. For more on choosing hi vis gear colors, you can check out our blog.

Logo Placement & Printing

OSHA requires plenty of reflective fabric to be clear of any obstruction. This includes logos as well. A professional high visibility clothing supplier like Fonirra can help you with identifying how to place your logo for maximum visibility for both your brand and the security of your workforce.

When it comes to the printing method, you can choose from embroidery, silkscreen and heat press. Although an embroidery logo may sound like the best option, seasonality and the turnaround rate of high visibility clothing a heat press logo should be sufficient.

Type of Clothing

Depending on the weather, and how exposed your crew are to the elements, you will require different kinds of gear. Thermal-lined hoodies, hard hats, bomber jackets, t-shirts, and vests can all protect your crew from bad weather conditions. Since vests can be worn on top of other clothing, it's wise to buy them in larger quantities.

Conclusion

There are many brands offering high visibility workwear, but it's important to note that your clothing stock will need to be replenished every year. Therefore you should try getting in touch with your chosen brand's customer support to see if it's easy to work with them. Good brands should be able to guide you in the right direction. Get in touch with our customer support today to learn more.

Stay safe out there!