Safety Glasses: All in favor say “EYE”

Assessing and knowing your work area will assist you in equipping your staff with the correct PPE. The first step is to be aware of the hazards in your area. Let’s have a look at the possible hazards and then see which PPE will suit your needs best.

Injuries to the eyes are very common in the engineering, construction and manufacturing industries. The responsibility of safety starts with the employer; this is a task that can simply not be neglected. The employer needs to ensure the area is safe to work in, and importantly that the employee is equipped with the correct gear (PPE) to safely complete their tasks on a daily basis. Regular safety checks need to be done to ensure the employee is complying to the rules; there should always be a safety representative present in the work area to ensure compliance of the employer and employees. Something very important to mention over and above the direct impact on eyes is to ensure adequate lighting is provided; poor lighting can cause eye fatigue, sore eyes and possibly headaches.

The first step would be to assess the work area and identify the hazards. Let us look at the Eye and Face hazard types, example of such hazards, and possible related tasks that may cause such hazards.

😎  Impact Hazard (including dusty areas): This is the most common hazard in the engineering, construction and manufacturing environment This can be caused by flying particles such as sparks, chips, shavings, sand, stone and dirt. Although these objects may seem small, if any of these objects hit the eye with impact it can cause serious damage to the eye and might even end up in losing sight.

The tasks that may put the employee at risk are grinding, drilling, saw, sanding, chiselling, chipping and buffing.

The absolute minimum should be Safety glasses, preferably glasses that will cover the eyes from side impact. However, there is nothing as over exaggerating when it comes to safety. Even better will be Safety goggles that will cover all openings around the eyes, which will avoid any access to the eyes. And the employer that really loves his employees will equip them with a face shield over and above the prementioned options. We know you all love your people… “Look after your employees, and they will look after your customers.”

😎 Heat / Chemical Hazard: These hazards are irreversible and can cause serious injuries to the eyes and face. This can be caused by being exposed to high temperatures, splashes of hot molten metals or hazardous chemicals, hot sparks, chemical vapers and mists.
These hazards are caused by tasks such as furnace operations, pouring, casting, hot dipping and welding sparks (this is under optical radiation too), degreasing and handling of acid and chemicals,

The minimum should be heat or fire resistant, anti-fog safety goggles. We recommend to equip your employees with face shields over and above the goggles, the hot splashes or sparks and the exposure to chemicals can definitely cause injury to the exposed skin on the face.

😎 Optical Radiation Hazards: The hazards are lasers, ultraviolet, infrared and intensity of visible and radiant light (welding). These hazards cause more than just physical damage. And long periods of exposure to such radiant hazards can cause retinal burns and cataracts that can cause permanent blindness. You should be cautious and ensure that any visitors to such work areas are protected too, and not just the employee that physically work in such areas.

Tasks that cause such hazards are laser and torch cutting, brazing, soldering and welding.

It is important to know the density and intensity that these lights produce to ensure the correct and adequate lens or film is used to protect your employee’s eyes. Welding glasses and goggles can be used for these hazards, but ideally the correct gear will be to cover the eyes from the glare and face from the sparks.