While the Australian Standards do not indicate
a set replacement schedule for protective eyewear, at some point, your safety
glasses will need to be replaced.
Whether it’s from normal wear and tear, or
changes to your circumstances, here are five signs that it’s time to replace
your safety specs.
1. You
have recently changed jobs, started a new job or increased your
responsibilities to include new tasks
Choosing protective eyewear is a detailed process that takes into consideration the characteristics of the wearer, task and environment.
In other words, you can’t just pick up any old
pair of safety specs and assume they’ll do. Any changes to your work
environment or tasks may require a new pair.
Factors to consider include:
- The hazards you’re protecting against.
- Whether safety glasses, goggles, face shields or a combination are appropriate for the task.
- The impact rating of your protective eyewear—low, medium, high or extra high.
- Whether UV protection is necessary.
- The type of lenses and special coatings required, such as amber, clear, smoke, polarised, mirror, indoor/outdoor.
- The frame shape of the eyewear, based on your face shape.
- Whether you require prescription lenses.
- Compliance and certification of the product to Australian and international standards.
The wrong eyewear could increase your risk of
an injury, so before you do a few extra jobs around the site, ensure your
safety glasses can adequately protect you from all the hazards.
2. Your
safety eyewear is damaged
If your safety specs or goggles get damaged,
then they’re unable to do their job of protecting your eyes.
Whether it’s a knock from a projectile that
cracks the lens or notable scratches that impair your vision, you don’t want a
damaged pair of specs between you and a hazard.
This also applies if you’ve used your safety
glasses for a task that they’re not fit for. Exposure to chemicals or heat
could compromise the integrity of the equipment, making it unwise to keep using
them, even for their intended purpose.
The lifespan of personal protective equipment (PPE) can be affected by a lot of factors, including usage rates, exposure to UV, chemicals, dirt and sweat, and appropriate cleaning and storage.
Consequently, caring for your protective
eyewear is an important part of avoiding preventable damage and ensuring that
it is always fit for use.
Always check the manufacturer’s instructions
for their recommendations for cleaning, maintenance and storage of the product.
3. Your
safety eyewear is old
While we don’t recommend jumping on board with
every new fad, new PPE has a lot going for it.
At ProChoice Safety Gear, we’re always working
to improve our products, using new technology and materials to increase their
effectiveness, comfort and fit.
While an old pair of safety specs may have served you well, it’s worth checking out new products on the market to see if you’re missing out on features that could be offering greater protection.
Additionally, any time a Standard is updated,
you should double check that your current PPE is still compliant.
4. Your
prescription changes
This one is for all of you out there using
prescription safety eyewear. Any time your prescription is updated, you need to
get a new pair of safety glasses. No excuses.
And if you’re not having regular eye checks at
the optometrist, then you should probably start going again, especially if
you’ve noticed yourself squinting or getting headaches.
Being unable to see clearly is not going to
help you stay safe.
5. You
can’t see clearly and it’s not your eyesight
Perhaps your lenses stay blurry despite cleaning, they’re always fogging up or the sun’s glare is bothering you more recently.
As safety glasses age, special surface
coatings can start to wear away and offer less protection, resulting in less
clarity of vision.
Just like with prescription lenses, if you
can’t see clearly then you need a new pair.
Is it time to replace your safety glasses? Check out our new ProChoice Surge Polarised Safety Glasses and Switch Safety Glasses. Both offer 99.9 per cent UV protection with anti-fog, anti-scratch, medium impact lenses. Coloured lens and smoke lens options allow you to choose the pair that most suits your needs.
