Keeping Santa safe this Christmas
As the festive season approaches, the elves are hard at work preparing Santa Claus for his annual duties. Nonetheless, though it may seem that Santa has the best job in the world, it doesn’t come without its dangers. This blog aims to enlighten you on the dangers that Santa faces, and how we think Santa can ensure he meets the vital elf and safety standards!
To begin, Santa needs to be seen; Rudolph’s red nose is only so bright! Therefore, Santa needs to try to stand out. We have all seen his bright red suit, however, against bright red Christmas decorations, traditional red isn’t as visible as it once was.
The solution - we suggest that he swaps his famous red suit for high visibility garments. phs Besafe have two ranges of high visibility workwear available; Bright Gear and our Glow Gear, and both of these ranges are fully compliant with the EN20471 high visibility standards. This will, of course, help to disguise Santa, ensuring that he isn’t recognised by children around the world.
Another concern for Santa is staying safe when travelling to deliver presents. The reindeer's travel at extremely high speeds, as well as at high altitudes. Not only is it important that Santa remains highly visible to avoid collisions with aeroplanes, but he must also stay warm.
The solution - We offer layering options with high visibility coveralls, coats and trousers, as well as short and long-sleeved polo shirts.
In contrast to the above, it is also important that Santa is protected against fire and flame. Although most houses cater for his iconic fireplace entrance, some houses do forget to extinguish fires in time. This means that the chimney and fireplace remain hot.
The solution – We suggest using garments from phs Besafe’s Flame Gear range. This fire-retardant workwear is designed with protection and comfort in mind, meeting the EN1149-3 and EN1149-5 2006 European standards and not restricting movement.
As Santa must slide down many chimneys throughout his shift, he is sure to get very dirty. Whether it is soot, dust or cobwebs, Santa’s work clothes are going to become less visible. As we have already stated, not being seen is a real concern.
The solution – We are extremely proud of our professional laundry service. We treat our products with specialised detergent so that they retain their unique properties, and we are well practised washing 569,000 garments annually.
For practical workwear to function correctly it must fit well. This is another concern that Santa faces. As with everyone at Christmas time, Santa indulges on the best candy, mince pies and eggnog. In that one night, if Santa had a glass of milk and a mince pie in every house, he would consume 150 billion calories, 60,000 times his recommended daily intake. This means that his suit does get a little tight at times.Additionally, the job is tough. Santa squeezes down chimneys, tends to the reindeer, climbs on roofs and does this all at high speed. All of this causes severe wear and tear. With all this work coming in one night his suit is bound to get damaged.
The solution – phs Besafe carryout 58,000 alterations and repairs each year. We are well equipped and well-practised to alter Santa’s workwear whenever he needs, and we can fix numerous damages to high visibility and flame resistant garments.Sometimes, however, damaged garment cannot be fixed, or over time their hi-vis has deteriorated so much that they do not meet health and safety standards. This is typically around 50 washes. At this time, it is essential that Santa (and any workers) get new protective workwear and don’t wear the unsuitable garments again.
The solution – We provide a uniform destruction service for retired garments. Santa could send his unsafe items to us and we will securely dispose of them, ensuring no one else can wear them again.
With all this said, we hope that Santa has a safe journey this year and that everyone has a great Christmas! For more information on any of our products or services please contact us.