Keeping a Sharp Eye Out

There have been lots of innovations when it comes to protecting workers from falls, but how can today’s safety eyewear help prevent fall-related injuries?

• By Joey Cocciardi
• Aug 01, 2023

The simple phrase “watch your step,” has a deeper meaning when it comes to workplace safety. Workplace injuries can have a significant impact on an entire organization, from the worker who suffered the injury to the organization who may need to train and retrain others to fill in and to the economic impact that an injury causes. The average cost of an eye injury in the healthcare field is $68,000. This number only includes directly related costs and not indirect costs like possible liability claims, lost time and more.

While work-related injuries will always be a part of the equation, there is good news in that the rate of injuries is declining as employers continue to put more steps in place and adopt better practices to reduce workforce injuries while the safety industry continues to develop new innovations aimed at making the process safer for everyone involved.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workforce injuries have declined from 1.3 per 100 workers in 2017 to 1.0 per 100 workers in 2021 across all channels.

It’s interesting to note that the healthcare sector is among the industries with the highest incident rates, with 5.2 injuries per 100 as of 2019, which is down from 10.4 per 100 in 2010. This is a particularly unique sector because it is projected to be the fastest-growing industry through 2024, yet it continues to have one of the highest injury rates. We want to make sure that moving forward anyone in the healthcare industry has knowledge and access to the proper PPE for their specific needs.

With QSSP and OHSA-30 credentials, I’m required to be up to date on the latest OSHA regulations. Having spent the past nine years working in the healthcare industry with a specific focus on selling safety products and solutions into healthcare, one of my roles is to assess hazards and provide recommendations to a wide range of verticals, spanning from Mine Safety to manufacturing to healthcare.

Slips, trips and falls are the number one cause of injury across all verticals, and we’re always looking at what can be done to help prevent those falls. Prevention is key, and when assessing a safety profile, we must always ask; How can we eliminate dangerous situations from the workplace?

New Tools

On the technology front, we’re seeing innovative new tools that help organizations put preventive measures in place to help them identify areas of vulnerabilities and put processes in place to help reduce occupational accidents, this has led to the rise of assistive and predictive technologies to help manufacturers and organizations, as well as individuals, make better, more informed decisions when it comes to safety in the workplace.

These technological advancements may span from the use of wearable devices to immersive technology to artificial intelligence and even to drones.

Equally as important, however, is the role that product engineers who supply products to the workforce are having on the industry. Smart devices incorporated into PPE have been a leading driver of workplace safety measures, as new “smart PPE” products are capable of monitoring the condition of the employee and their surrounding environment, constantly on the lookout to prevent incidents. Add in technology like panic buttons and built-in exoskeleton support that assists workers in lifting, climbing and prolonged standing and it’s easy to see the impact innovations are having on preventing injuries and accidents.

Safety Eyewear Innovations

Another improvement, which is near and dear to my heart, is the significant advancements made to the safety eyewear market. It is no coincidence that better safety eyewear and higher adoption rates have led to a significant decline in workplace accidents.

On the eyewear front, one of the ways we can continue to build a more safety-oriented workplace is by ensuring workers have glasses they want to wear, glasses that fit them properly and glasses that have optical clarity which prevents distorting their peripheral vision.

Peripheral vision is how workers can typically first see a hazard, and if their peripheral vision is impaired, they are not going to register an obstacle or hazard that may put them in harm’s way ultimately causing them to trip or fall.

To help improve the use and employee adoption of safety eyewear, glasses are now available that are designed specifically to fit all different kinds of head shapes. In healthcare, we see a majority of women on the front line. While in the past, they had very few options to meet their needs, they now have glasses available that fit all different types of head shapes, including glasses specifically designed to fit women better. With a better fit, healthcare workers are significantly more likely to properly wear their safety eyewear. This influx of more customized solutions has been something that has drastically helped to prevent accidents and injury.

Lens technology has evolved dramatically with new technology that eliminates fogging and scratching having a significant impact on keeping workers safer in the workplace. Fogging has been a primary cause of accidents, particularly among workers whose jobs require them to move between indoor, cooler environments and then into outdoor, humid conditions. Specifically in the healthcare market, fogging is a particular concern, as wearing a mask causes a “chimney-effect” which can result in fogging.

Other Improvements

At the same time, additional advancements provide for coatings that eliminate scratches, which can have an impact in all conditions, especially among those working around heavy machinery, where precision is of critical importance, or in areas that require quick movements like emergency rooms and operating theaters. Lens material also plays a role in ensuring the workforce has the best vision possible as high-end manufacturers have turned to the highest quality polycarbonate lenses to provide clear vision, which is particularly noticeable in improving a worker’s peripheral vision, which as we mentioned is key to helping prevent a wide range of accidents from occurring.

Another area of specialty with a tremendous amount of demand for was safety glasses with prescription solutions. Workers across all sectors now have access to a full line of Z87 rated prescription glasses, that, in some cases, include advanced technology that eliminates fog and scratches and are manufactured in-house, making it easier than ever before for the end user to get prescription safety glasses that meet or exceed their specific needs. For those that don’t want or need prescription safety glasses, there are also a wide variety of Over The Glass (OTG) safety glasses available that will seal out the elements and provide a comfortable, fog-free experience for those who wear prescription glasses underneath their safety equipment.

We’re also seeing lens technology that helps workers transition from indoor to outdoor uses, which is of particular concern on construction sites. The safety eyewear market has evolved with technologies that work with different lens tints in a wide variety of SKUs, which are adaptive to indoor, indoor/outdoor, and outdoor work environments. These advanced new lenses offer enhanced sight, visual comfort, and definition, shielding eyes while boosting eyesight in all light-sensitive scenarios, including UV, glares, LED, welding gas and low contrast.

Providing the correct safety glasses to workers is a huge step in creating a safety-oriented workforce. Glasses might seem like a small step, but without the proper fit, styling, lens coatings and anti-fog/anti-scratch solutions, you will expose yourself to a high level of risk for incidents like trips and falls, slips and more. By working with manufacturers that specialize in creating technologically advanced and people-oriented solutions for safety eyewear, you can help to prevent this level of risk and provide a safe workplace for your employees. This is a great place to start when working through a safety assessment, and when implemented, it creates better results for employers and employees alike.

This article originally appeared in the August 1, 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.