To coincide with National Eye Health Week (18 to 24 September), construction employers are encouraged to assess their eye protection measures to ensure they are adequately safeguarding their workforce
Protecting your employees' eyes when they are working on site is required by UK law, but some employers might not be aware that there are many steps that can be taken beyond workers wearing goggles and glasses.
Construction sites can present a variety of hazards for workers’ eyes, including falling debris, wood splinters and flying nails. So, it's very important to plan adequate eye protection measures for all employees.
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Provide suitable PPE for the eyes
The first important measure to take is to make sure you are providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers.
Indeed, the NHS information on eye safety lists not wearing the correct protective equipment as one of the first reasons for injury.
Adequate PPE includes helmets and gloves, but specifically for eye protection, workers will need durable goggles that enable good vision while also protecting their eyes from dust and falling objects.
Goggles with anti-fog ventilation and anti-scratch materials will offer protection and good vision in changing environments.
The use of goggles can also combine with the use of safety glasses. Safety glasses are useful to have as an option when the eye area does not need to be completely covered, and can still give protection against impacts from anything flying through the air.
Offering both to your staff is the first thing that you can do to protect their eyes. If there are dangerous flying particles around, the last layer of protection is a face shield, so you should have these on hand if your staff will be working with metal.
Conduct regular tests on PPE and other equipment
Even if your PPE and machinery is good quality, it will need checking and maintaining, and then possibly repairing or replacing.
Introduce a system of regular checks to keep all your equipment working well, and repair or replace anything that is faulty.
Making sure that your equipment is safe will reduce accidents and make it easier to work in a safe way.
It's also worth introducing cleaning rotas for equipment, as goggles, glasses and face shields need to be cleaned regularly to maintain good vision through them.
Cleaning other equipment will reduce the possibility of debris and dust causing eye issues.
Maintain consistency in your health and safety
It's important to have consistency in your health and safety measures, so that employees all know what the policy is, and what to expect when they are at work.
Your company should have clear protocols for assessing and protecting against dangers on construction sites, and these should always be maintained.
When starting a new project or construction site, you should also conduct an assessment of what hazards might be present, and develop protections in a health and safety plan.
Every project will be different, so it's important to take a step back and think what your staff might need on each project.
You should also recommend that your employees get regular eye tests. Often, we don't get our eyes tested until we sense that something is wrong.
If any of your employees work with screens, you are required by law to arrange eye tests if they ask for them. It's worth having a process for arranging this.
Catching preventable eye problems early can greatly help to mitigate them. Encouraging your staff to get eye tests every year can go a long way to preventing larger issues.
Communicate health and safety policies clearly
All your health and safety policies should be backed up with clear and consistent communication with staff.
When health and safety plans for new sites are drawn up, make sure employees are aware of all the protocols you've put in place. This will help avert accidents and ensure that if accidents do happen, staff understand how to respond to them.
Clear communication on site will also ensure that employees feel empowered to step in if they see a situation that they are worried is unsafe.
It will also mean that everyone is aware of what's happening throughout the construction site, and can therefore wear appropriate PPE.
Training staff to help them reduce risks on site
When you have clear protocols developed to avoid and deal with hazards while working, make sure that you train your employees to work safely and consistently.
If you take on new employees, give them sufficient training so that they are comfortable with any equipment they will be using and understand your company's safety procedures.
This will also ensure that employees understand what things are within their remit, and what they need to escalate to management and more senior staff.
Having a system in place and having everyone adequately trained on machinery and procedures will ensure that everyone is safer and more efficient on site.
Construction sites do present risks to those working on them, but by putting some basic health and safety measures in place, you can ensure that your staff will be safe while completing their projects.
With the right equipment and some well-designed safety protocols, you can ensure that all your construction sites are running safely and efficiently.
Kelly Friel is digital product manager at Zoro.
