Some of the low-cost imported safety spectacles available
may turn out to be an expensive means of protecting
employees, according to Graham Abbott of uvex UK

The maxim ‘you get what you pay for’
is often heard and is very relevant to
the purchase of some safety
spectacles. It’s possible to pay as little as £2
for a pair of basic spectacles which will meet
the European standard; however, their
performance may fall short when subjected
to the demands of the real world
environment.

When buying safety eyewear, too often a
company will base its decision as to which
brand and type to purchase almost entirely
on its price tag, but there is one important
factor that is worth remembering, apart from
the quality, durability, comfort, style and
effectiveness of the product, and that is its
real cost, by which we mean the cost when
actually in use.

More often than not a better quality
product can actually be less expensive than a
cheap one in the long run, because it will
need replacing less often and will have an
extended product life. Although safety
managers may be well aware of this, they
often have a hard task arguing the case to
those holding the purse strings.Damage to
the eyes is one of the most common personal
industrial injuries. According to the HSE,
there are around 2500 reportable eye injuries
each year in the UK, although, because of
under-reporting, particularly in construction
and the manufacturing industries where eye
injuries predominantly occur, the real
number is believed to be considerably higher.

Coatings
Protective eyewear is often used in harsh
working environments, so the lenses are
usually coated to increase their efficacy and
longevity. This coating is more important
than one might at first think and is a key
factor in ensuring the eyewear is worn and
thus the wearers protected. For maximum
effectiveness, the lens coating should offer
resistance against fogging and scratching.

However, lens coatings need to be cost
effective as well as reliable.

Lens coatings can either be hydrophobic
detergent-based coatings (which can be
washed off) or hydrophilic (moisture
absorbing). A hydrophobic coating repels
moisture which ultimately leads to a build
up of perspiration on the lens which in turn
requires cleaning to remove it – eventually,
depending on the quality of the coating, the
detergent properties will be washed from the
lens, rendering it ineffective.

It’s possible, however, to produce
hydrophilic coatings which are permanent
and do not wash off. The coating becomes
sponge-like, absorbing moisture so that the
wearer does not have to take off their
spectacles or goggles to clear any fog,
enhancing safety and wearer compliance.

Testing
Safety eyewear is subject to a series of
optional tests, under European Standard EN
168:2001, which covers non-optical test
methods on personal eye protection. Under
this standard, lenses may be tested for
resistance to surface damage by fine particles.

The symbol ‘K’ accompanies the CE mark
supplied by the manufacturer if they meet
this requirement. They may also be tested for
resistance to fogging. The test requires that
the lenses remain fog-free for a minimum of
8sec when exposed to an atmosphere above
50°C. Lenses that meet this standard are
marked with the symbol ‘N’. It is important
to ensure that safety eyewear meets and
preferably exceeds this voluntary standard.

As part of its ongoing research and
development into lens coatings, uvex recently
conducted in-house tests on the durability of
the lens coatings of its own and some other
manufacturers’ safety spectacles by
repeatedly washing them to see how quickly
the anti-fog coating deteriorated, assuming
two washes per week for 44 weeks per year.

uvex believes the tests’ results demonstrate
to the buyer that they must consider the
product in more ways than just its price per
unit, important though this is. They need to
take the wider perspective and think about
the real cost of the product over time.

A user of spectacles costing £2 each who
needs 22 pairs a year results in a cost of £44
per person; uvex believes those using
spectacles costing £6 per pair would need
only 3.6 pairs in a year because the anti-fog
coating lasts indefinitely – total cost £21.60
per person, per year.