Seeing Eye to Eye with Comfort and Performance

By Susan Silver

No one goes to work expecting to damage or lose their eyesight. Yet, an estimated 2,000 workplace eye injuries that require medical attention occur each day in the United States.¹ Most of them result from small particles or objects striking or abrading the eye. Nearly 40% of eye injuries occur in construction, manufacturing and mining.² According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 90% of these injuries could’ve been prevented with proper safety eyewear protection.

The high cost of eye injuries at work

Workplace eye injuries cost an estimated $300 million a year in workers’ compensation, medical treatment and lost productivity, according to OSHA.³ The top three reasons for eye injuries at work are:

• Not wearing eye protection.
• Improper use of eye protection.
• Wearing the wrong kind of protection for the job.

A Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of workers who suffered eye injuries reveals that nearly 3 out of 5 weren’t wearing eye protection at the time of the injury. Those workers most often reported that they believed protection wasn’t required for the situation.

Focus on fit and function

The type of safety eye protection you should wear depends on the hazards in your workplace. All protective eyewear should comply with OSHA regulations for eye and face protection, and any other applicable requirements. Eye protection needs to be fitted to the individual, or adjustable to ensure appropriate coverage. It should also be comfortable, because workers tend to remove or simply not wear personal protective equipment that’s uncomfortable.

Dust, dirt and debris

In high-particulate environments, eye protection is critical to protect against dust, dirt and debris. For worksites with these hazards, sealed eyewear, such as Honeywell’s Uvex Tirade^™, is recommended. Featuring a frameless unilens design for a wide field of unobstructed peripheral vision, the Tirade also offers a soft foam subframe to ensure a comfortable gap-free fit. For added versatility, the foam subframe is removable, allowing workers to wear the eyewear as a traditional spectacle when working in environments where particles and airborne debris aren’t present. Available in a variety of lens tints, Tirade also features long-lasting fog-resistant lens coatings.

Comfort and convenience

When workers spend long days on the job – indoors and/or outdoors – continuous eye protection is imperative. Between heat, cold, sun and other eye irritants, eyewear should be (and remain) comfortable all day. Eyewear that transitions well from multiple areas of your facility adds another layer of convenience to workers who frequently move from task to task or from indoors to outdoors. Honeywell’s upcoming Uvex Avatar^™ PLUS safety glasses have taken modular eyewear convertibility to a new level. Features include comfort padding for the brow and nose pad, and hollow, lightweight gripping temple arms. A full family range from goggles to spectacles, these safety glasses offer high flexibility to end users. The Avatar PLUS is designed with a nine-base wraparound lens to provide uncompromised peripheral vision and protection. Numerous high-performance lens coatings are available, including premium anti-fog, anti-scratch and hard coatings.

Adjustability and lens replacement

Honeywell UVEX Genesis^® safety glasses exceed ANSI requirements. An Elastomer brow guard also deflects impact. The wraparound nine-base unilens style offers full peripheral vision and coverage. Comfort features include soft flexible nose fingers to reduce slippage and conform to almost any nasal profile. The dual action Uvex HydroShield Anti-Fog lens coating on the Genesis provides 90 times longer-lasting fog-free performance* than most other anti-fog products – even after extended wear and repeated cleanings. And it provides two times greater scratch resistance** than our next-best anti-fog coating.

Even more, easy, economical lens replacement is also available. This allows for use of multiple lens tints and extends eyewear life.

To help focus more attention on eye safety, every March has been declared Workplace Eye Wellness Month by the nation’s oldest eye health and safety nonprofit organization, Prevent Blindness. “Practicing eye-healthy habits in the workplace today, like wearing proper eye protection … whenever possible, can help save our sight now and for years to come,” says Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.

*Uvex HydroShield performance is based on independent lab tests when compared to median test results of other Uvex anti-fog coated products under the EN 166 and EN 168 testing standards.

**Comparative lens life test performed using a Bayer Abrasion Test method and may vary between environment and application.

Sources:

¹cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/fastfacts.htm
²bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/ostb3594.pdf
³aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/injuries-work