A total of 20 JCB frames are available, offering a huge variety of options, from diverse designs and styles, to greater colour combinations, and different frame sizes, in men’s, women’s and unisex designs.

The frames are available in metal and polycarbonate, with a wide choice of lens materials, depending on the requirements of the specific work activity, and so are suitable for a large range of industrial settings. Each lens has undergone a variety of safety tests and the frames all have side shields, which include the JCB brand.

Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: ‘We have subjected more than 440 pairs of prescription safety glasses to extremely rigorous tests. As you would expect from Specsavers and JCB – these glasses are tough! We are also really pleased with the aesthetics of the range.’

The new JCB frames are available through the Specsavers Corporate Eyecare eVoucher scheme, where eyecare can be easily purchased and managed online.

For those yet to come across the phenomenon, 100% safety eyewear policies are where employees are expected to wear their safety eyewear for the entire time they are in the at-risk workplace. PPE policies used to dictate that, for example, an employee must wear their safety eyewear while actually at their workstation and performing a hazardous task. It is, however, becoming more and more common now, particularly within manufacturing environments, for employers to ask employees to wear safety eyewear for the whole of the time that they are in the warehouse or on the shop floor. So the comfort and fit of safety eyewear has arguably never been more important. 

Comfort

Specsavers Corporate Eyecare has undertaken independent research* into safety eyewear to investigate the importance of comfort when it comes to safety eyewear. This revealed that 78% of employers worry that employees remove safety eyewear if it is not comfortable. If employees are expected to wear safety eyewear 100% of the time, issues of comfort may well become even greater. 

There are several steps an employer can take to help ensure the comfort of the safety eyewear they provide. It seems an obvious solution, but trying on safety eyewear to check for comfort before it is purchased is something that not all employers enable their employees to do. Safety eyewear that is selected online or from a catalogue, with no ability to try on before it is purchased, is not always able to meet individual needs. 

Fit

Having safety eyewear properly fitted by a professional has two major advantages: firstly, the eyewear can be checked for comfort and secondly, it can be adjusted for fit. Both of these measures have a positive impact on safety: crucial for the eyewear to be effective, and to increase the likelihood of it actually being worn.   

Styling

When it comes to choosing the best style of safety eyewear, there is no substitute for actually trying them on. This gives the wearer the opportunity to feel the weight of the glasses and to check for comfort and quality. It helps if the optician has a full range of safety eyewear readily available in-store. Styling is perhaps more important than many people would originally consider. Of course, safety must be the main concern but, being able to choose a preferred style and having more modern options, will have an impact on individuals actually wearing their safety eyewear. In fact, safety eyewear has progressed a great deal in recent years and now comes in a wide variety of male, female and unisex styles, in different colour options and even wraparound-style frames.

Administration

With 100% safety eyewear policies in place, it is likely that more employees will be required to wear safety eyewear more often. This in turn has implications for administration. It helps when an eyecare policy is easy to put in place and manage. Safety eyewear needs to be replaced at regular intervals, prescriptions will change frequently, and employees will come and go. This makes it essential that the administration process is simple and straightforward, right from procuring safety eyewear in the first place, through to distributing provision to employees and enabling them to quickly and easily obtain their eyewear. Equally, it is important that pricing structures are transparent and consistent across all employees. 

Common sense

Nobody would even consider buying their everyday glasses without trying them on. So why do some employers deem this appropriate for choosing something as essential as safety eyewear? The increase in the amount of time and circumstances for which employees are now being expected to wear their safety eyewear should be reflected in the amount of care given to the selection of safety eyewear. This is not to say that it should take extra time or increased budget, it is simply a case of finding an eyecare policy that enables individuals to be treated as such. A policy that allows choice, and offers quality and expertise. 

Arval is campaigning to promote eyecare among the drivers and fleet managers of more than 90,000 company cars and vans that it leases in the UK alone. Leading by example, Arval is also working with its own employees to ensure high standards of eyecare.

Arval has trialled the Specsavers Corporate Eyecare’s eVoucher system for employee eyecare. This allowed Arval to administer its eyecare policy online and distribute electronic vouchers directly. Different eVouchers are available to cover the specific requirements of VDU eyewear, safety eyewear or driver eyecare.

Laura Butler, key accounts manager for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, explains: "Our research into employers’ choices concerning safety eyewear reveals that it is the overall package of quality, reputation, reliability and assurance that is vital in ensuring eyewear is good value for money." 

Quality is one of the biggest factors with 75% of respondents stating that quality is either the most important aspect or one of the most important aspects when choosing safety eyewear. Knowing that the product has a good life span is also a key driver, with 88% of employers stating that a 12-month guarantee would be valued or highly valued. 

The reputation of the supplier also plays a big part in the decision-making process, with 88% stating that this is important or very important to them.

Laura Butler comments: ‘It is vital to find a trusted and reputable supplier when it comes to safety eyewear.  Not all safety frames are the same, and it’s important that companies have confidence in their chosen supplier. The eyes can be extremely vulnerable to injury and it’s imperative that they’re well protected, and that the wearer has confidence in their safety glasses.’

Given this concern over ensuring that the eyewear provided is of the very highest quality, it is a worry that many employers feel their staff could do better at looking after their frames.  Just 18% of employers believe their staff look after their safety frames very well by, for example, keeping them in a case when they are not being worn.

Premium Club offers benefits to employees at no extra cost to the employer. In the last nine months, more than 400 Premium Club eVouchers have been issued to employees in the Republic of Ireland alone. While this is a significant figure, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare sys there are still many more employees who could benefit from this cost-free opportunity. To help with the communication of this offering, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare has created downloadable posters, which can be personalised and used within the workplace to promote the benefit.

Whenever standard eyecare eVouchers are purchased by the employer, whether for VDU, Safety or Driver eyecare, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare supplies Premium Club eVouchers at no extra cost to the employer. Three Premium Club eVouchers are available for each employee, annually. These can be used by the employee and by two members of their family, to receive significant discounts on glasses. 

All of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare’s vouchers are now available online. This means that the whole process from purchasing and managing eyecare, to distributing and redeeming it, is fast, simple and efficient. The employer simply emails vouchers directly from the online system to the relevant employees. All that is then required is for the employee, or their family member, to present the voucher, as a printout or on their smartphone, at any Specsavers store. 

Personalisable posters with employee information on Premium Club may be downloaded at www.specsavers.ie/corporate/employers/downloads 

Health and safety professionals and HR managers will be able to see for themselves how simple it is to place orders, allocate vouchers to relevant members of staff, review real-time redemption reports and make payments, online. Employers may even allocate vouchers via email, generated directly from the system, and the employee can use their smart phone to redeem the voucher for eyecare at any Specsavers store.  

Specsavers says the modern look of  its wraparound-style safety frames means the glasses are popular with employees and so are more likely to be worn. They are available as an alternative choice under Specsavers’ standard safety vouchers, so may be offered at no additional cost to the employer. 

Laura Butler, key accounts manager at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says: "It is exciting to have two such innovative products on our stand for the Expo. The eVouchers are really changing the way in which people purchase and manage eyecare for their employees. The time and cost savings, along with the convenience, have made the eVouchers an instant success with all our existing clients. The wraparound-style safety frames also seem to have caused quite a stir. Making safety eyecare more appealing is a simple idea but with wide-reaching effects."  Stand N2201.

A staggering 78% of employers disclosed that they worry staff remove safety eyewear if it is not comfortable. The results go on to show, however, that safety managers are working to address the issues and ensure employees are provided with appropriate eyewear.

While many safety frames are available to be ordered from a catalogue, 87% of safety managers stated that they believe it is important to physically view and try on a range of safety glasses, in store. They see the benefits of this as being the ability to try different styles for comfort and fit (73%). They are also aware of the benefits of seeing and feeling the quality of the frames (55%), as well as the weight (31%).

Abby Pringle, senior sales and corporate adviser at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says: "Companies talk about engaging staff and this is, of course, important. We recognise, however, that it is also vital to engage with employers. For an employer to be able to disseminate the facts about the benefits they offer to their staff and to encourage buy-in, they must first be aware of the opportunities and options that exist. Our aim is to bring knowledge to employers in any location, at the touch of a button.”

The e-newsletter informs employers of developments within eyecare, such as guides to legislation, research into specific industry sectors and the wider health benefits of eye examinations. It looks at all areas of corporate eyecare including VDU, health and safety and driving. The e-newsletter will be produced on a regular basis and is issued to clients of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare. 

As part of its enhanced digital communications, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare has already produced a series of online posters that can be downloaded and personalised to help employers publicise their eyecare offering to employees. 

Abby Pringle continues: ‘We aim to cover all three points of the communication triangle between us as the provider, the employer and their employees. The communication needs to flow in all directions and, using the latest in technology, we are working hard to ensure this happens. There will be more digital developments to come in the near future.’  

Premium Club eyecare vouchers will be provided by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare for Building Services employees, who are the largest users of safety glasses within Fife Council. About 250 employees are eligible and will receive this care through Specsavers’ voucher system.

Specsavers Corporate Eyecare launched an online system of eVouchers last month. Having seen the online demonstration and reviewed the highly successful pilot scheme with City and County of Swansea Council, Fife Council Building Services has also adopted eVouchers and is benefitting from the supporting management system.

Under this new contract, all employees at Fife Council Building Services will be entitled to three Premium Club vouchers a year, one for them and two for members of their family. These entitle the bearer to discounts on eye examinations and glasses at any Specsavers store. Safety Eyewear vouchers provide the employee with safety glasses made to meet their individual prescription and now include bifocal and varifocal lenses. 

The company's research revealed that:

•  Over 6% of the population in Ireland have diabetes1.

•  Each year, more than 10,000 Irish people suffer a stroke2.

•  High blood pressure affects one in four people in Ireland3.

Abby Pringle, sales and account adviser for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare in the Republic of Ireland, says: "Our research4 and experience shows that employers are generally aware that eye examinations test more than just vision and can check the overall health of the eye. While some are aware that eye health can be related to wider health issues, many of the details are quite sketchy." 

Employers mostly associate an eye examination with detecting diseases of the eye rather than screening the wider health of the body. While the vast majority know cataracts and glaucoma can be detected through an eye test, far less are aware that diabetes, high blood pressure and symptoms associated with strokes and brain tumours can also be detected.

Experts generally accept that illnesses and conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure are on the increase:

•  The number of people with diabetes in the Republic of Ireland5 is expected to rise by 37% between 2007 and 2015. 

•  The number of adults in Ireland aged 45+ with hypertension6 is expected to increase by 28% in the 10 years to 2020.

Once made aware that a full eye examination, costing as little as €19 per employee, can also help to detect and monitor these serious health conditions, most employers become acutely aware of its high value to both employees and also to the company as a whole.

Abby Pringle explains: "When employers are aware of the availability of good-value eyecare and its much wider benefits, they embrace it, and that’s good news for their staff. Preventative healthcare is becoming more important and we’re pleased to see that employers are beginning to understand the fuller benefits of eye examinations. However, we would like to see eyecare policies more clearly communicated to staff, in our experience, the better employers communicate their eyecare policies, the more the employee also appreciates their full value." 

1.    http://www.diabetes.ie

2.    http://www.stroke.ie

3.    Nationwide survey for World Hypertension Day 2013.

4.    Employer research conducted for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare by EMedia in Summer 2013.

5.    Institute of Public Health’s report Making Diabetes Count 

6.    http://www.publichealth.ie