How’s This for Face Protection?

What’s wrong with this picture?

It may be great for keeping sandwiches fresh but Saran wrap doesn’t quite work as face protection. But at least the worker in this photo has something covering his face; too bad you can’t say the same about his feet.

The Moral: You must ensure that workers exposed to flying debris and sparks are equipped with and use proper eye and face protection.

3 Reasons to Pay Attention

1. 3 out of 5 workers who suffer face and eye injuries on the job weren’t wearing any face or eye protection
2. 2 out of 5 workers who suffer face and eye injuries on the job who were wearing face or eye protection got hurt because they were wearing the wrong kind of protection
3. Cellophane wrap is the wrong kind of face protection—in fact, it’s like having no face protection at all

4 Kinds of Face & Eye Protection

The first thing you need to do is select the right kind of face protection to use. The 4 most common types are:

1. Safety Spectacles have safety frames (usually metal or plastic) + impact-resistant lenses + sometimes side shields

• Protect  the eyes from flying objects, sparks & dust

2. Goggles completely cover the eyes, eye sockets and facial area around them

• Protect the eyes from impact, dust & splashes
• May come with tinted lenses

3. Welding Shields are made of vulcanized fiber or fiberglass and fitted with filtered lenses that must be of a shade number necessary to protect against the particular hazard

• Protect eyes from burns caused by intense light
• Protect eyes & face from flying sparks & metal splatter & slag chips from welding/brazing/soldering/cutting operations

4. Face Shields are transparent plastic sheets that extend from the eyebrows to below the chin and across the entire width of the head and may be polarized to protect against glare

• Protect against dust, splashes & sprays
• Don’t protect against impact—unless you wear safety spectacles or goggles underneath

8 Face Protection Dos & Don’ts

There are 8 things to do/not do to ensure proper use of face protection:

DO clean your face protection regularly following company/manufacturer instructions

DON’T use goggles if they’re scratched, don’t fit right or the elastic band is frayed

DO inspect your face protection each time before you use it

DON’T use safety spectacles if they’re scratched, bent or don’t fit right

DO ensure that face & welding shields are disinfected periodically

DON’T use face protection that’s not designed to protect you from the actual hazard you face in doing the job

DO make sure you actually use your face protection

DON’T use face protection equipment if it doesn’t fit right, obstructs your movement or blocks your vision