• Michelle Dykstra
    59
    In a workplace without the need of hard-hats and with a high percentage of ear muff wearers, we are wanting to smooth the transition to mandatory wearing of eye protection in our manufacturing areas.
    Without inviting commentary on the decision to introduce mandatory eye protection, I'd like to hear your tips and recommendations on how we can best achieve worker comfort without compromising hearing protection.
    I have googled this subject extensively and have found overseas products and studies with recommendations but this information is not very helpful to me as I seek products readily available in NZ and that meet our standards.
    If you have a product combo that you know works for your staff, I'd like to hear about it by way of Direct Message so as not to compromise the Forum Guidelines against product endorsement.
    If you can provide generic advice, this would be most helpful and allow others on the forum to engage in discussion.
  • Admin
    31
    Good thinking to ask people to direct message you with commercial recommendations!

    As a reminder to members, direct messaging in this forum is simple:
    • click on the person's name/icon
    • select 'Send a message'
  • E Baxter
    35
    Hi, not sure if you got any direct messages or not endorsing any particular product but in regard to those who have to wear eye & ear protection you have two main options
    1. switch to earplugs & use standard safety glasses
    2. earmuffs with goggles (soft band is more comfortable & less likely to break the seal) or some safety glasses have soft arms
  • matt Chapman
    4
    Michelle, I'm a civil Engineer, so little manufacturing experience, however, I've worked in the UK on construction sites where the wearing of safety glasses was mandatory so I have some, though limited experience but I'd like to add my two cents worth to this problem.
    Why doesn’t manufacturing consider engineering out the need to wear safety glasses ? and perhaps along with earmuff’s, what I mean is perhaps even atempt to reduce the need to wear either or both at the same time or at all ?
  • WalterVandervort
    0
    I'm a worker with 10 years of experience working at a construction site. My job requires me to entail wearing protective eyewere. I would also like to suggest checking out the Safety 6980 Safety Glasses offered by Gateway. What I find so remarkable about these glasses is that they are built to fit in comfort over all pairs of prescription glasses. Have you ever used this?
    My apologines if this shoud have been posted somewhere else....
  • WalterVandervort
    0
    I found a website specializing in protective gear for workers. Please click here
  • Amanda
    5
    Not sure what your turnover of workers are, but you can get custom made earplugs, which are often very comfortable to wear and often provide greater protection as they are made to fit the shape of the workers ear. They are an expensive one off cost though, however staff normally take better care of them and it normally works out the same cost for disposable ear plugs / ear muffs that get damaged or lost for a year per worker.
  • Tim Beach
    8
    Do a google search on 'Eye Muffs' Trialled a few different models of these a number of years ago, however didn't progress they were not quite right as hearing protection wasn't required a lot of time in that business.
  • EmmaB
    13
    Some great ideas here. My only thoughts are to check out different combinations for different workers (what works for one will not for another) and also alternative methods such as visors rather than glasses.
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