Updated ATPV rating for high-visibility fabric

Hard Yakka together with Tecgen have released updated information regarding the high-visibility shirts and overalls in the Hard Yakka Protect with Tecgen Select range.

The Tecgen Select fabric is an inherent fire-retardant (FR) fabric that has been used globally but is new to Australia. It meets the safety standards NFPA 70E and NFPA 2112 as well as NFPA Hazard Risk Category 2 (HRC2) and is claimed to be lighter than other FR fabrics on the market. While the US is far more advanced when it comes to FR standards, Australia is ahead when it comes to high visibility. The Tecgen fabric comes in traditional workwear colours including navy; however, it has never been available in high visibility due to the lack of demand for it in global markets. The high-visibility FR fabric was developed by Tecgen for Hard Yakka to meet the demands of the Australian market.

The fabric has been put through Hard Yakka testing. Navy returned consistent results of an arc thermal performance value (ATPV) of 8.0 cal/cm² or above, putting it in HRC2. The high-visibility fabric, though, has showed variable results and, as a consequence, Hard Yakka has amended the ATPV rating  to 7.2 cal/cm² HRC1. The variations in testing are based on fabric variability, worker condition variability and test variability. All very standard in textiles which are documented in industry research.

The garments impacted by this change have been relabelled to reflect the new ATPV ratings. The changes affect the following styles: