How to Choose the Right Safety Vest Colour for Your UAE Worksite

Safety Vest Colours: More Than Just Aesthetics

The colour of a safety vest serves a critical functional purpose beyond simply being bright. Different colours are specified for different roles, risk levels, and environments under international standards and UAE site requirements.

Fluorescent Yellow-Green

This is the most common hi-vis colour and provides the highest contrast against most backgrounds during daylight hours. It is the standard for construction workers, road crews, and general site personnel across UAE projects. ANSI/ISEA 107 and EN ISO 20471 both recognise fluorescent yellow-green as a compliant background colour.

Fluorescent Orange

Orange vests offer slightly better visibility against blue sky and water backgrounds, making them popular in marine, port, and aviation environments. In the UAE, orange is frequently used for road safety and traffic management personnel, and is mandatory in some emirate-specific regulations for flaggers.

Fluorescent Red

Red is permitted under EN ISO 20471 but not under ANSI 107 as a standard background colour. Some UAE fire and rescue teams use red hi-vis garments to distinguish emergency responders from other site personnel.

Colour-Coded Role Identification

Many large UAE projects use colour-coded vest systems to quickly identify personnel roles on site. A common system includes: white for supervisors and engineers, orange for general labourers, green for safety officers, blue for visitors, and yellow for equipment operators. Establishing a clear colour-coding policy improves communication and emergency response on complex sites.

TexiExp can supply safety vests in any colour combination, including custom prints for role identification. Contact us at contact@texiexp.com for customisation enquiries.