CANBERRA
The nation’s leadi
The construction industry and labour hire
companies will need to find solutions to
the cost of prescription safety glasses
for project labour workforce employees
following changes to the Australian
Standard for prescription eye protection.
The revised standard may leave noncompliant workplaces and their
employees exposed.
Ron Greenwood of OPTX Australasia,
who will exhibit at the WA Safety Show
from 24-26 August, says the cost of
new or replacement prescription safety
glasses that must meet the new standard
are expected to be borne by employers,
who have a duty of care to provide
protective equipment for workers.
Government agencies may fund
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More info: www.gbca.org.au
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prescription safety glasses where
required once workers provide medical
confirmation that prescription glasses
are needed, but there are many
workers who require corrective vision
for reading only.
For them and their employers new
technology may come to the rescue, says
Ron Greenwood. Magnifying stick-on
lenses applied to standard safety glasses
are both inexpensive and effective.
“Optometrist-prescribed bifocal safety
glasses generally range from $300 to
$600 per worker and that’s something
rarely budgeted for in a construction
project where workers come and go,”
he says. “The appropriate strength
OPTX 20/20 Hydro Tac stick-on
magnifying lens we’ll have at the WA
Safety Show and a pair of safety glasses
can effectively be less than $50.”
The new standard stipulates that
prescription safety glasses comply with
As a result, no glass lenses – even if
hardened – meet the new standard; the
frames, not just the lenses, must also
meet certain requirements; both the
lenses and the frame will have indicators
on them to enable safety authorities to
check their compliance.
The change to Australian Standard
AS/NZS 1337.6 requires manufacturers
of prescription safety glasses to be
licensed.
Ron Greenwood is keen to address
common misconceptions regarding
the use of protective eyewear and
prescription eyewear in an industrial and
construction environment: He says:
n The long-term use of eye protectors,
which meet the requirements of
AS/NZS 1337 and AS/NZS 1338 and are
selected and fitted in accordance with
AS 1336, will not harm or weaken the
eyes of the wearer.
n Eye protectors with tinted lenses
that conform to AS/NZS 1337 will provide
protection against sun glare and solar
ultraviolet radiation equivalent to that
of general-purpose sunglasses that
conform to AS 1067.1.
n There is no additional risk to
wearers of contact lenses from any
radiation arising from any welding
process or operation such as exposure
to arc flash. AS 1336 provides more
information about the use of contact
lenses in industrial workplaces.
n Prescription spectacles may not
provide adequate low-impact protection
unless they are produced in accordance
with Section 7 of AS 1336.
More info:
www.wasafetyshow.com n
www.wasafetyshow.com
