We’re excited over a recent mention of eye protection in the workplace. The Lakeside Vision blog gave our safety glasses a shout-out in their “Protecting Your Eyes at Work” post, and we’re thrilled! Eye safety compliance in the workplace is one of our chief concerns here at Safety Glasses USA. So many of our customers are business owners looking for the ideal eye protection for their team members. We discuss the benefits of safety glasses in our blog posts, but many people still don’t wear the proper eye protection at work until the worst happens.
Always wear safety eyewear when using power tools.
Firsthand examples are important
If you’re a faithful wearer of safety glasses, we’re giving you a pat on the back! Often, however, you may need to provide a loved one a needed push to ensure those safety glasses stay on, or again convince your team members that safety glasses are genuinely for their safety and not just another regulation. Here’s just one firsthand example from the Lakeside Vision team on what can happen when you fail to wear ANSI Z87.1 certified eye protection:
A demolition worker was doing his typical day-to-day work – sans safety glasses – when a board hit him directly in the eye. The man waited a few days, thinking his eye would heal on its own, instead of contacting his eye doctor. His eye, unfortunately, only became slightly better. He finally went to the doctor, who found a piece of wood still in his cornea. The wood had penetrated through about half of the cornea. Immediate surgery was required, and a plug was inserted into his cornea to prevent leaking. The man is doing fine, but we hope he wears safety glasses from now on!
Serious eye injuries can happen in a split second. However, consistently wearing safety eyewear prevents most injuries.
Eye injury statistics
Firsthand examples and eye injury statistics often convince staff and family members to wear safety glasses. Here are some workplace eye safety statistics that you can communicate to your team to make your workplace a zero-injury zone in 2012:
- The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that of those involved in eye accidents, three out of five victims were not wearing safety glasses or safety goggles. Unfortunately, we can’t stop accidents from occurring, but we can help you stay safer.
- 70% of eye injuries were caused by flying particles or sparks, with many of these objects smaller than a pinhead! These are items moving so fast and so small that there isn’t a chance you’ll see them, but there’s a big chance safety glasses will prevent them from hitting your eyes.
- Safety Glasses are not the best solution in every situation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 94% of eye injuries occurring when workers wore eye protection resulted from chemicals and particles penetrating the space around the eyewear. Assess the risks in your workplace and select the appropriate type of eye protection. In many circumstances, safety goggles are a better choice than safety glasses.
Summary
Eye protection in the workplace is a serious matter. It often takes real-life examples and statistics to reinforce to your family members and staff that eye injuries can happen to anyone at any time. The workplace should feel safe and secure. Our knowledge and expertise at Safety Glasses USA and talented eye doctors like those at Lakeside Vision and across the country help make workplace eye safety a reality.
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