Safety goggles are a vital necessity in any workplace that includes potential eye hazards. Having the proper eye protection in place is essential in many work environments to guard against injuries and to meet OSHA requirements. When engineering, work practice, and administrative controls are not feasible or do not provide sufficient protection OSHA requires employers to provide personal protective equipment to their workers and ensure its proper use. Eye and face protection must be provided when necessary to protect against chemical, environmental, radiological or mechanical irritants, and hazards.
Some of the more common occupations that have a high risk of eye injury are construction, carpentry, medical care, electrical work, plumbing, welding, and auto repair. Even if your main industry is not one of the occupations listed here, there could still be certain departments or tasks within your business that might require the use of safety goggles, such as maintenance and repair work on equipment used for your business. Consider the type of work performed in all areas of your business to determine if potential eye hazards are present in your workplace.
Safety goggles are recommended or required any time the following potential eye hazards are present in the workplace:
- Flying Debris (dust, concrete, metal, wood, etc.)
- Chemicals (liquids and gases)
- Radiation (visible light, ultraviolet, heat, infrared, lasers, etc.)
- Bloodborne pathogens (hepatitis or HIV)
Employers are responsible for providing the necessary eye protection required by OSHA standards. Make sure your employees know the requirements for your work environment. Safety glasses, even those with side shields in place, often do not provide enough protection to meet the OSHA requirements for the type of hazards present in your workplace. Safety goggles provide protection from object impact, flying dust, chemical splash, and various forms of radiation.
Some of the added features of safety goggles are:
- Highly impact-resistant
- Provide a tight, form-fitting facial seal
- Protect the entire eye area against hazards coming from any direction
- Some can be worn over prescription glasses and contact lenses
All of these facts can make perfect sense, and still, many employees are resistant to wearing their safety goggles or simply “forget” to put them on at the start of their work day. It might be helpful to remind your employees of the additional reasons why safety goggles are so important. It is especially beneficial if you put a program in place and have extra safety precautions to make sure people are using safety goggles properly.
More reasons to wear safety goggles:
- It’s the LAW – in many instances where eye hazards exist
- Eye injuries are painful and often times the damage sustained is permanent
- Injuries can happen at any time and rarely come with any warning
If you, as the employer, make safety a priority in your workplace – chances are good that your employees will too. Reach out to Advanced Safety & Health for a safety consultation to see if your workplace requires the use of safety goggles for all or some of your employees. Need more help? We can also assist with safety training and creating a safety program. Let our safety experts help you create and maintain a safe work environment – start a conversation today.
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