It can be difficult to persuade and remind staff to wear protective glasses at work. Sunglasses are of course important not just in the summertime but all year round, in order to protect eye health and prevent ocular injury.
Here is our guide to getting the right PPE and, importantly, encouraging workers to wear it.
According to recent studies, a large percentage of workers are increasing their risk of eye injury by failing to wear safety sunglasses in the workplace.
A team of researchers who published a recent study in the medical journal Injury Epidemiology (2020) a studied 500 workers in small industrial workplaces and discovered that none of the workers wore safety glasses all the time for the activities that they really did need to be wearing them as PPE. Five percent never used them at all. The main reasons cited were work demands (95%) and poor vision through the lenses (75%).
An earlier study published in the journal Accident, Analysis and Prevention (2009) found that Lack of comfort/fit, and fogging and scratching of the eyewear were suggested as the most important barriers to PPE usage. Younger age and lack of safety training were other important factors affecting use of PPE.
Here’s what you can do to encourage use of PPE sunglasses.
STEP 1: Staff training
If it’s not included in your health and safety training, make a point to add it now. Make it clear that outdoor workers and drivers can and should wear sunglasses when the weather is appropriate for the following reasons:
Failure to wear sunglasses in brigh conditions can increase the risk of eye diseases including pterygia, pingueculae, macular degeneration and even cataracts.
Drivers should use sunglasses to reduce the glare of sunlight and to increase the range of vision, so they are better able to spot other road users and hazards.
Wrap-around sunglasses can also help to shield your eyes against wind and debris if you are working on a site where this is a hazard. Simple wearing PPE sunshades can help to avoid irritating conditions such as dry-eye syndrome.
STEP 2: Provide appropriate products Fogging and scratching of lenses, poor vision through the goggles and poor comfort or fit have all been identified by researchers as reasons that workers fail to wear sunglasses during working tasks. Investing in poor quality products will therefore most likely be a wasted effort.
Specially designed PPE sunglasses can help to avoid these issues. These Terminator Xtra Safety Specs have the following features, which avoid all of the issues listed above.
They are designed to be scratch-resistant, fog-free and antistatic
They are also designed to be comfortable and a good fit. They have a soft foam nose pad, and adjustable temple length and individually adjustable lens angle.
An extra headband is available which helps with fit, but also means a worker doesn’t have to worry about them falling off if they are using both hands and leaning over, or working at height.
They are lightweight at just 35g
Lenses can easily be changed if they get scratched or damaged or and ther eis an optional RX-Clip for corrective lenses
STEP 3: Remind staff to wear their PPE sunshades
All of the above is helpful, but we all forget sunglasses and need reminding to put them on or keep them at hand.
As always our team are happy to help with advice on the best options for your business. Contact us at sales@cisafety.com or call us on 01726 74264