Eye Protection Policy on Construction Site

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Permalink Reply by Jason Burzynski on August 5, 2009 at 4:28pm

If people are being injured simply being on-site, you then have a recognized hazard that OSHA says you must protect your workers from. It is never unreasonable to require the use of PPE whenever there is a hazard present that can not be eliminated through adminitrative or engineering controls in my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Kinney on August 5, 2009 at 6:33pm

No jamey it is not unreasonable to have a policy that requires eye protection on the job site at all times, If the hazard exists which seems that you have proven with the injuries that you have had then it is you obligation to go through the steps to mitigate the hazard.

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Bateman Brewer on August 17, 2009 at 12:38pm

Keep in mind that regular safety glasses don't provide 100% protection from "dust in eye" - if the dust is blowing in the wind, so to speak, it can still get around ear pieces and up/over frames. Is it a specific type of dust?

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Permalink Reply by George Wilson Bowskill on August 22, 2009 at 8:35am

A simple company safety policy would be more than sufficiant to deam that eye protection been worn within the confines of the job site, Having said that it would need to be a written policy and should be posted at the entrance to the site, this would cover all employees contractors and vendors

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Permalink Reply by Rick Holm on February 3, 2010 at 3:56pm

Our industry (steel pipe making) requires a lot of grinding. We have found that Guard Dog Safety Glasses or Goggles (http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/foam-pad-goggle.html) have eliminated issues of getting dust in your eyes. If you are in an extremely dusty environment our procedure also requires you to look down and dust off the top of the glasses prior to removing them.

Rick
USW Local 6673

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Permalink Reply by J.P. Sankpill on July 13, 2010 at 6:54pm

Rick....Great to hear that Guard Dogs are working for you! We assemble them here in Kansas City at the U.S. Safety factory. We also have some new models if you want to take a look.

http://www.ussafety.com/full_content.php?article_id=938&full=ye...

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Permalink Reply by Bryan on June 15, 2010 at 7:26pm

My company does work in very dusty environments and we provide spoggles when conditions are too much for regular safety glasses. The spoggles are more lightweight, form-fitting, and comfortable than regular goggles. We make all of our workers keep spoggles with them in addition to regular safety glasses so they can adapt to conditions as they change. Another note about the spoggles - they come with both the "arms" (like regular glasses) as well as an adjustable headband (like goggles).

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Permalink Reply by Rick Holm on June 17, 2010 at 1:30pm

In the event that glasses with adjustable headbands or anything else when allowed to hang around the workers neck, combined with rotating equipment must have tear away features.

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Permalink Reply by RiskAnalytics, LLC on June 28, 2010 at 7:49am

Good safety glasses make all the differnce. If you provide the chem goggles we all used to wear in Chemistry class, nobody is going to wear them. So get some stylish, UV protected glasses that your employees won't mind wearing and provide them free of charge.

You also might want to consider some emergency eyewash stations, or at a minimum providing a solution for employees who may get dust in their eyes to wash out their eyes. As always, without proper training on both eyewear and emergency eyewash protocol, they are both going to collect dust on your jobsite. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lorenzen-Safety Geek on July 1, 2010 at 4:48pm

It is always fair to institute a policy concerning the wearing of PPE to protect the worker from known hazards. Has your company looked into the wrap around style of safety lenses? I know they won't completely protect from airborne dusts but they do provide a lot of protection. Our company policy is to be wearing safety lenses at all times unless you are in an administrative office setting. I don't find that unreasonable at all.

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Permalink Reply by J.P. Sankpill on July 13, 2010 at 6:49pm

I agree with the previous post, that the type of eye protection makes a big difference. One suggestion is to look for eyewear that is close fitting and has a foam backing that forms a breathable seal around the face. Also, make sure you get ones that have anti-fog lenses. The seal around the face will cause fogging unless you have a good AF coating. Lastly, if you have people that wear prescription, try to find a model that offers an Rx option.

Here's a list of products our company offers that are specially designed to prevent injuries from windblown dust. A couple models, such as Pantera QS and Hornet DX are Rx Capable:

http://www.ussafety.com/full_content.php?article_id=938&full=ye...

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