Norwegian-based company WENAAS and GORE-TEX Professional developed a smart repair kit for GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments helping to expand the useful product lifetime.

The greatest environmental impact in a lifecycle of personal protective equipment occurs during production and distribution. Extending longevity, or useful life, of a product is therefore  the single most influential factor to improve its environmental impact. This is especially true if a product can be repaired and re-used again. Following this spirit, Wenaas, an international supplier of workwear solutions from Norway, together with GORE-TEX Professional, developed a smart repair kit for arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® personal protective equipment (PPE) to help their customers prolong the garments' product life.

Electrical workers often need to move through difficult, thorny terrain to locate a fault on the power network and climb high poles. During these activities their PPE can get stuck behind something sharp or spines, which, despite the robustness of the material, could result in a puncture or small tear of the outer fabric. While the garment overall would still be fit for use, a tiny puncture could result in a potentially dangerous situation for the wearer in case of an electric arc. By applying the patch, propagation of the tear is avoided, and garment lifetime extended.

"Norwegian electrical utility workers came to us with a problem: some of their employees had small punctures in their Wenaas GORE-TEX PYRAD® garment from walking through dense forest before reaching their service location", illustrates Kristin Lien, product developer at Wenaas. "Together with Gore we concluded that it makes financially and environmentally no sense to replace the entire garment. GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments are top of the line. Our collective goal is to let customers keep their garments as long as possible before having to replace them. Therefore, we developed the repair kit — a win-win solution: cost-effective as well as a very sustainable solution." 

repair kit for the garment

The repair kit consists of four GORE-TEX PYRAD® fabric patches: two round patches (diameter 7,6 cm) and two square patches (10x5 cm). These allow for the repair of small and medium-sized punctures or tears of the fabric — for larger damages two or more patches can be combined. The kit comes in two color versions: fluorescent yellow and navy blue. No special skills are involved to repair the garment: the patches have flue on the backside — a short instruction video shows that all that's needed is a hairdryer and/or an iron to permanently attach the patch. After repair, the risk of harmful incidents is avoided by using a protection patch made of GORE-TEX PYRAD® arc-protective materials and can be washed as usual. And in the rare case the fabric is damaged in the exact same place again, a new patch can even be applied over the previous patch. "The feedback from our customers is very positive", concludes Lien, "the repair kit absolutely solved their problem."

Jonas Andersson, sales Associate at GORE-TEX Professional says: "Our sustainability approach is about providing exceptional long-lasting products while at the same time reducing the environmental footprint. The idea of the repair patch is to avoid further tear propagation which could result in losing the required protection. And through these patches, users can contribute to our effort and do something meaningful."

For further product information about the repair kit, visit https://www.wenaas.com/en/products/rep-set-goretex-pyrad-flouresent-yellow-0-10930-19819-32 

about arc rated gore-tex pyrad® technology

Arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments are durably waterproof and reliably protect electrical workers against the thermal hazards of an electric arc. They stay lightweight and comfortable even when wet. Up to 45% lighter when wet or dry than other products of their protective class, arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments feel less bulky to wear leading to more wearer acceptance. The garments provide maximum comfort with the highest protection level, so electrical workers remain safe – no matter the challenge, and no matter the weather.

about wenaas

For more than 80 years, Wenaas has been making workwear and personal protective equipment for women and men in a variety of sectors, with the aim of making their working day securer and more comfortable. We know that our products can mean the difference between life and death, and we never compromise in our product development. We have made a film that highlights a broad range of protective equipment and work clothes in use in different sectors where the right clothing is essential for a good, safe working day. https://www.wenaas.com/en/

about gore

W. L. Gore & Associates is a global materials science company dedicated to transforming industries and improving lives. Since 1958, Gore has solved complex technical challenges in demanding environments — from outer space to the world’s highest peaks to the inner workings of the human body. With more than 12,000 Associates and a strong, team-oriented culture, Gore generates annual revenues of $4.5 billion. www.gore.com

A stormtrooper look-alike working the streets, seemingly having just escaped the movie studio. A jacket with an illuminated city map with a Klimt-style aesthetic. A construction worker as strong as Godzilla. Science fiction? Or reality? Visionary, certainly, but not pure fantasy. These and many more are photorealistic visualizations of workwear concepts GORE-TEX brand created with AI and partners.

"At Gore, we always start with the end users. Where do they work? What are their needs? What are their pain points? How can we improve comfort? Our focus goes beyond just laminates, tapes, and textiles - we are committed to understanding the daily challenges our end users face and then collaborate with leading manufacturers to constantly improve workers' protection and comfort," says Leonard Schlichting, Business Leader Workwear at Gore.

from street operator to heritage handyman - there is not the "one" future of workwear

During its process, the GORE-TEX fabrics' team collaborates closely with leading workwear manufacturers, think tanks, research agencies, universities as well as end users. The helicopter view of megatrends and macroeconomic market research is blended with hands-on information, resulting from interviews with end users from different fields that are confronted with "their" specific challenges and risks day in and out. In cooperation with their designer Jo Baumgartner at the consultancy Q'rateur, the pile of information and future signals was condensed into four future personas.

four personas as archetypes of special functional needs

These future personas symbolize different design trends, each representing an archetypal end user with very specific protective needs. They add a human touch and enable the team to put themselves into the shoe of each end user. Moreover, they are a perfect canvas to investigate and explore new ideas, some radical, some pragmatic. These four personas were dubbed the Street Operator, Augmented Wireman, High Performer and Heritage Handyman. The Street Operator, for example, has a tough job as he faces challenges on the road, is exposed to hot or wintery weather, pouring rain and heavy traffic and walks dozens of kilometers per day. Smart comfort elements such as active heating and cooling help to regulate body temperature, enhanced safety vests with integrated protectors and active lighting protect against traffic hazards and integrated lighting helps to illuminate the workplace hands-free. The Augmented Wireman needs to move heavy weight around and may have to enter restricted areas in production facilities. His gear includes technical features such as bionics, smart access devices, data screens and smart goggles with augmented reality included.

AI offers tremendous opportunity for swift visualization

How do these folks look like? "In the past, it would have taken many boards, flipcharts and prototypes in tedious work to visualize concepts for such personas. A tool that has opened vast possibilities in design and quick visualization is Artificial Intelligence (AI) for us" says Reza Jamshidi Azad, garment concept designer at Gore. It has evolved from a toy to play with to a serious tool. The key term here is "generative design," a process that uses AI algorithms and cloud computing to quickly develop photorealistic visuals.

stylish design is increasingly becoming a differentiator in workwear

AI offers not only speed and endless inspiration, but also adds an element of style.  "We know from research that design is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor in purchasing decisions. Workwear is no longer just about what workers have to wear for safety, but what they want to wear" Reza continues. "AI helped us to add this aesthetic element for end users to not only look good at work, but also at after hour drinks."

So, will we see these concepts in reality? "This is not on Gore to decide. We are a material science company and develop technologies for functional clothing, but not a manufacturer of workwear. As a consultant and sparring partner for the manufacturers though, we can help spark new concepts and styles that are supported by our technologies" Schlichtling sums up. "But who knows? I love to dream big and could not be prouder to meet an end user wearing one of these garments one day."

When it comes down to selection of PPE, one of the most important criteria is “comfort & lightweight”.

Especially when the consequences of a non-used PPE can result in severe injury or death, the only proper PPE is the PPE that is worn and ideally loved by the users.
An electrical arc flash is definitely such a high risk scenario. For this reason, the risk assessment for the specific workplace is key. With more detailed technical evaluation done in the last few years, many utility companies have decided that they need a protection upgrade from class 1 to class 2 (IEC 61482 box test) or even higher.

Surprisingly the protection was often upgraded for the jackets only, while the trousers stayed at class 1 protection- despite the risk evaluation would require a class 2 protection. When discussing this gap there are multiple official explanations: “the arc typically hits the upper body”, “there is some overlap of jacket and trousers”, “the trousers have pockets with additional material, giving higher protection anyhow” and others.

Off the records, the truth is different: “you can put off your jacket easily when you are not in a risk situation- but you don’t undress your pants on the street. People don’t accept uncomfortable and too warm multilayer trousers”.

So sometimes there is an accepted and tolerated risk to expose workers to a threat with garments that may not protect them in the worst case.

To extinguish the gap between best protection and comfort & wearer acceptance, Gore has developed the PYRAD technology. Expanding from our core of laminates for rainwear application, we have created a lightweight, single layer Gore PYRAD® fabric for the everyday workwear use. Garments made from this single of Gore PYRAD® fabric easily protect against class 2 arc exposure and have an ATPV rating of > 35.

We claim this to be the lightest weight and most comfortable single layer arc protective fabric on the market- suitable for everyday use also in warm condition or heavy workload.

I decided to challenge this positioning about comfort and give it a personal try. I´m not familiar with electrical working but I have a good sense of comfort check in mountaineering and other sport activities. So the plan for the challenge was an extended alpine tour in a GORE PYRAD arc rated workwear trousers:
Climb Germany´s highest mountain Zugspitze and continue with the alpine climbing traverse (up to grade UIAA 3) of the 8 km famous ridge “Jubiläumsgrat” in one push as a nice daytrip. Guidebooks calculate 7-8 h for the Zugspitze (via Höllental & Ferrata) and 6-10 h for the ridge from Zugspitze to Alpspitze.

The ridge is extremely exposed with hundreds of meters steep terrain on both sides of the sometimes only 40 cm wide ridge- it requires extended mental focus and concentration as there is no option for mistakes- similar as for an electrical worker who needs stay focused on his job. No-one wants to create a blackout in a city or industrial plant with an arc because of being distracted by discomfort.

The ascent of Zugspitze on the other hand (at least if you do it in 4 h as we did) gives you some sweat and physical effort- also as a worker who needs to carry heavy equipment and work hard.

The overall time for the main trip was 8,5 h bottom up + traverse to Alpspitze (followed by an epic, not measured time for the 1900 m descent). Temperature was 14 ° C at 4 o clock in the morning, wet conditions (no issue for the PYRAD pants) through the tunnel system of the Höllental, between 20-28 °C during the day and significant sun exposure.

My conclusion after an overall 3178 m uphill and 27 km overall distance:

1. Hivis arc rated trousers are not very common in alpine environment and give you many surprised comments along the climb
2. The overall comfort was pretty good given the conditions and the workload. Comfort was even better than with my normal polycotton workwear trousers which feel much more sweaty.
   Of course a modern, ultra-lightweight, high stretch Gore wear running trousers is more comfortable- no doubt. Gore PYRAD® technology is great and a significant step towards comfort in PPE, but it can´t do miracles. Stay realistic! However the Gore PYRAD® trousers were comfortable and “fast” enough to pass by all the other climbers that took the first cable-car up in the morning to save the 2200 m Zugspitze climb. Great gear for such a protective garment indeed!
3. If you decide for the proper sizing, choose a not too tight fit. The inner side of the fabric may stick a little bit to the skin when you are sweating a lot and the fit is too tight (as my trousers was) – just as a too tight jeans will stick.

Gore arc rated PYRAD garments for allday use (in contrast to PYRAD rainwear for bad & cold weather) are commercial available at #BSD in Dresden, #Iturri and #vanHeurck (they even integrate stretch panels into the garments).