Survey Says Lots of Workers Not Wearing Required Eye Protection

"This high rate of noncompliance seriously jeopardizes worker health and safety. In many instances, uncomfortable eyewear or fogged lenses could be responsible," says Valona Renner-Thomas, product manager, Eye and Face Protection, Kimberly-Clark Professional.

"The results are very disconcerting when you consider that 90% of eye injuries can be prevented through the use of proper protective eyewear. Enhancing eyewear practices is critical to creating exceptional workplaces—those that are safe, healthy, and productive for all employees."

OSHA requires employers to provide eye and face protection to guard against chemical, environmental, radiological, or mechanical irritants or hazards. Yet, data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show that nearly 3 out of 5 injured workers were not wearing eye protection at the time of their accident or were wearing the wrong kind of eye protection for the job.

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Most Important and Challenging PPE

The importance of eye protection was evident to survey participants, with 80% saying they would encourage a coworker or employee to wear eye protection if he or she were not in compliance, and 22% saying they would report the employee to a supervisor or find a way to halt dangerous work operations until the worker complied with PPE protocols.

In addition, protective eyewear came in first when respondents were asked to rank the most important PPE category for on-the-job safety. It was also deemed the "most challenging" PPE category in terms of compliance, which leads to the question:

How can compliance be improved?

• Greater comfort and fog-free lenses could help, according to the survey results. When asked what would most improve compliance with eye protection protocols, the top choice was more comfortable eyewear—with features like flexible, comfortable nose pieces (56%), followed by fog-free lenses (22%).
• Also, 51% of respondents reported having been forced to wear uncomfortable eyewear or eyewear they did not like while at work. Of these, 46% wound up purchasing their own eye protection, while 45% said they "used it anyway."
• Fogging was also a problem on the job, with 88% of respondents saying they or someone they worked with had been unable to see or complete a task properly because of fogged lenses. Also, 40% of respondents reported this had happened on "numerous occasions."

Regarding off-the-job safety, only a quarter of respondents said their organizations encouraged employees to take protective eyewear home, even though 84% of respondents said they would consider using eye protection from work as their everyday glasses.

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Train for PPE Compliance

One of the best ways to make sure your workers wear required PPE is through consistent and comprehensive training.

As its name implies, the OSHA Training System is a complete system to meet your full training needs, including PPE training. All the materials are prepared in advance, so no prep time is required. All you do is reproduce what you need and put it to use. Materials include:

• 32 complete safety units, meeting every key OSHA standard. Each includes full background for trainers, a ready-to-use safety meeting, and follow-up handouts. View a Table of Contents.
• Quizzes, handouts, and copies of employee booklets, coordinated to the safety meetings. (Additional booklets can be bought in any quantity at a discount.)
• A complete training recordkeeping and tracking system that tells you which employees need what training, and then tracks your program to ensure they get it.
• Quarterly updates, included with the program. You receive at least 4 new safety units every 90 days, covering new OSHA standards and training needs.

If you share the common problem of never having enough time or the right materials for training, we’d suggest you examine the OSHA Training System program. We’ve arranged for you to do so for up to 30 days at no cost or risk. Just let us know and we’ll be happy to make all the arrangements.