What would you prefer? A slight vision loss or complete blindness?

Our eyes are extremely vulnerable when performing manual work. Even a small fragment may cause irreversible damages. Workers should be trained to wear protective eyewear at all time. Unfortunately, in reality it is not so simple!

The challenge of seeing clearly

A few years ago, Dean Sexsmith, manager at Honeywell, met eye protection experts to discuss how to improve protective eyewear. “They told me that employees were simply not wearing glasses. They put them on their foreheads. I was flabbergasted. They told me it was due to fogging”.

Fogging is by far the most common irritant identified by workers who justify the fact of not wearing protective equipment when performing their work. In second place comes the issue of too many scratches on the lens. In summary, rather than looking through blurred lens, they preferred to take a risk!

As a result, injuries remain

Every day, some 700 Canadian workers suffer from eye injuries at work (source: CNIB). Some are minor injuries that will heal quickly. However, too many of them have permanent repercussions, from slight vision loss to complete blindness.

Even minor injuries require forced sick leaves. An employee who is unable to work means direct and indirect cost repercussions. You may have to offer a compensation if it is proven that you have not made every effort necessary to secure the worksite.

Even if the employee is solely responsible for his own injury, his absence will affect your production! You may need to find a replacement for a few weeks. Not to mention that the occurrence of many similar accidents could damage your image.

Spread the word

Make sure that each employee at risk of eye injury has the adequate eye protection. Most importantly, ensure that the equipment is worn; no deviation will be tolerated!

Do not hesitate to contact SPI to assess your workplace and get advice on the necessary measures to protect the eyes of your employees.