Progressive Distributor - All eyes on safety

All eyes on safety

Distributor salespeople who know the facts about protective eyewear and safety standards can help end-users protect themselves and their bottom lines

by Paul Markgraff

When it comes to personal protective equipment, end-users on the plant floor or on the job site take eye protection extremely seriously. An errant spark, sliver or splash can put an end to an employee’s workday or cause long-term vision problems.

In spite of the seriousness, the never-ending push toward cost-cutting at many businesses has relegated safety glasses to the commodity heap. Consequently, new lines of safety glasses have entered the U.S. market from overseas that do not meet standards set forth by regulatory agencies like OSHA.

Because no third-party product certification exists to make sure this incoming eyewear meets these important standards, end-users run the risk of wearing unsuitable eyewear that may not protect them if the unthinkable should happen.

So, the responsibility to protect the end-user’s eyes can fall to the supplier and distributor, who are each in a position to conduct testing and due diligence to make sure the eyewear they purchase meets or exceeds safety standards.

By understanding current safety regulations and learning how to separate the good suppliers from the bad players, distributors can go a long way toward building healthy relationships with their end-user customers.

Knowing the basics
Safety eyewear is ubiquitous in a huge number of industries across America because of standards adopted by regulatory agencies.

OSHA requires that “the employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.” [29 CFR 1910.133(a)(1)]

OSHA also requires that protective eye and face devices comply with ANSI Z87.1, the American National Standard for eye and face protection. These broad rules ensure that numerous manufacturing and construction activities require workers to use safety glasses.

In 2003, ANSI updated its Z87.1 standard for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices.

Perhaps the most significant change affecting all eye and face protectors was the introduction of a two-level classification for impact protection, according to the International Safety Equipment Association’s (ISEA) Use and Selection Guide – Eye and Face Protection.

Lenses defined as “Basic Impact” must withstand the impact of a 1-inch ball dropped from 50 inches, plus a penetration test for plastic lenses. These lenses and frames are marked with Z87 to show they pass the minimum impact test.

The second type of lens and frame – defined as High Impact – must pass more stringent high mass and high velocity impact tests. These lenses and frames are marked with Z87+ to indicate they passed the more severe testing.

In 2008, ANSI will introduce its new Z87 standard, which is a radical departure from the current standard, according to Janice Comer-Bradley, technical director for ISEA. ISEA is the secretariat for the Z87 standard. The revision will be arranged by hazard. For example, if an end-user’s processes expose a worker to a radiation hazard, an impact hazard or a splash hazard, the new standard will list what type of performance requirements are required for the different types of eye and face protection.

“We really think this is going to help the end-user,” says Comer-Bradley. “If they haven’t already done a hazard analysis in their workplace, it will force them to identify their primary and secondary hazards. Then the employer can assign protection that’s consistent with prevention.”

Knowing what questions to ask
To help end-users identify what types of protection they need under the current standard – and to get them asking the right questions to be compliant with the future standard – distributors can ask some very basic questions, including these questions from ISEA’s use and selection guide:
• Is the hazard a particle or a liquid?
• Are particles traveling at a high rate of speed?
• What is the particle size?
• Is the eye hazard from a specific source of equipment or is there excessive debris in the work area?
• Is the liquid at a high temperature?
• Is the liquid a chemical?
• Is the worker exposed to light hazards, and if so, what wavelength?

Once they’ve identified the hazards, end-users can choose a type of protection or a combination of protectors to mitigate the risk associated with those hazards. ISEA provides a selection chart based on potential hazards in its Use and Selection Guide – Eye and Face Protection ($15, plus shipping and handling).

End-users can also conduct safety eyewear training. Distributors can help them by suggesting a list of training objectives, including:
• Recognizing the hazards and eliminating them where possible
• Selecting the right equipment for each application
• Considering environmental factors
• Properly fitting eye protection to the employee
• Inspecting and maintaining eye protection
• Understanding the consequences of not following supplier instructions

“It’s very important for a distributor salesperson to understand what the end-user is looking for in terms of safety eyewear,” says Dave Roll, vice president of sales and marketing for H.L. Bouton Co. Inc. “Once the distributor salesperson understands the types of hazards associated with a customer’s workplace, he can better serve the interests of his customer.”

Knowing your supplier
Understanding the customer is only half the battle for the distributor salesperson. Knowing the safety eyewear supplier is extremely important, as well. As few as 10 years ago, knock-off safety eyewear that came into the U.S. from foreign suppliers obviously didn’t meet OSHA or ANSI safety standards.

Today, substandard safety eyeglasses get shipped to the United States and unscrupulous sellers pass them off as the real thing because Z87 or Z87+ is printed on the product, even though the glasses have never undergone any safety testing.

“Glasses have become an MRO product, where the buyer thinks it’s just a commodity item,” says Pete Esposito, eastern regional sales manager for eyewear manufacturer Radians Inc. “They forget that glasses are a safety item. It’s not like buying trash bags. Someone could go blind.”

Esposito says distributors need to have a relationship with their eyewear supplier. He says it takes five minutes to complete basic due diligence on safety eyewear.

“Find out where the glasses are manufactured and find out how they are tested and when they were tested,” he says. “Ask if the glasses are meeting all of their specs, then ask for documentation. Legitimate manufacturers will have no problem providing this information.”

Comer-Bradley says ISEA is making an educational push to show end-users the importance of protecting themselves with bona fide safety eyewear. She says current attitudes among purchasers rank safety eyewear among other commodity products, which sets a dangerous trend.

Purchasers need to think about safety equipment as a first line of defense, and look at the total cost of ownership of a product, she says. Saving workers’ eyes lowers workers’ compensation costs and absenteeism. Insurance rates can also be affected by faulty safety equipment as equipment failure can result in an injury.

“It’s a phenomenon I can’t understand as a safety professional,” says Comer-Bradley. “If you look at what some of this stuff does – eyewear, hardhats, fall protection – if this equipment doesn’t work the first time, you are in real trouble. For some reason, the lowest common denominator is assumed to be OK; buyers assume the 50-cent goggle is exactly the same protection they would get from a $5 goggle. These attitudes need to change.”