Personal Injury Law

Construction Safety - Eye Protection for the Construction Worker

By Justin Rogers

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employers to ensure the safety of their employees within the work environment. Part of ensuring the safety of workers involves providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers in order to prevent injury and guarantee worker safety. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2006 there more than twelve thousand head injuries within the construction industry; over fifty percent of which were injuries to the eye.

The purpose of PPE is to protect workers from the possibility of injury, or to lessen the severity of an injury if an injury should occur. Within the construction industry there are an almost infinite number of hazards which could cause injury to the eye or face if proper protection is not utilized. Such hazards could be sand, dirt, wood chips, extreme heat, or even radiations. Many daily tasks within the construction industry such as sawing, drilling, grinding, welding, soldering, and sanding can all produce hazards which could cause serious injury to the eye or face.

It is the employer's responsibility to determine if the workplace presents hazards which require the use of face and eye protection. After assessing the workplace for hazards, the employer shall verify the completion of the hazard assessment by a written certification identifying the person who performed the assessment and on what date.

If hazards exist within the workplace that require face and eye protection, the employer shall select protective equipment that will sufficiently protect the employee from the identified workplace hazards. The selected eye and face protection must properly fit each employee in need of protection.

In a number of situations, employees provide their own face and eye protection. Where employees provide their own protective equipment, it remains the employer's responsibility to assure the adequacy, proper maintenance, and sanitation of such equipment.

Training is required for all employees who are required to wear protective equipment. The employer should train each affected employee to recognize when and what type of face or eye protection is necessary. Additionally, employees should be trained on how to properly wear PPE, the limitations of the PPE, and the proper care and maintenance of PPE. If it is determined by the employer that a trained employee does not have a requisite understanding or skill required to properly utilize the PPE, that employee should be retrained.

For employees who wear prescription lenses or contacts, employers must ensure that the eye protection either incorporates the prescription or can be work over prescription lenses. An employer is not exempted from providing eye protection for an employee simply because the employee wears prescription lenses.

Again, the employee is not required to provide his or her own face or eye protection. However, an employee may, if he or she so desires, provide their own protective equipment so long as it is adequate.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on July 21, 2008 (boomark / email).