August is National Eye Exam Month
It is always a great time when a bunch of safety professionals get together to chat. This happened this past weekend when several of us in the field ended up on someone’s back patio. There were five of us discussing what we see at various facilities. A topic that was recurrent throughout was Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) particularly eye protection. This got me to thinking about how ICC can help get the word out about this. Oddly enough, August is National Eye Exam Month. Let’s put these two together and see what happens.
Back in 1989, Sears Optical created National Eye Exam Month. Many ophthalmologists and optometrists take this time to focus on eye safety. Just for general knowledge, an ophthalmologist is someone who specializes in medical and surgical eye disease, whereas an optometrist is a medical doctor who specialist in eye and vision care. Most of us spend at least 40 hours at work a week with many doing more. A large number of us work at computers, outside or even near chemicals. This puts stress on our eyes. Depending on your age, an eye exam could be useful even if you have no symptoms. The American Optometric Association provides some basic guidelines around when to get an exam.
Eye Exam Schedule
- Children: First exam at 6 months of age. This would be followed by another at age 3 and then again when they start school. If a child already has glasses or contact lenses, then a yearly exam is best. Also, those with certain risk factors such as crossed eyes, developmental delays, or a history of familial eye disease.
- Adults between 18 to 60 years old: The recommendation is once every two years. Here again, certain risk factors could mean yearly exams. The factors here are a bit different and include diabetes, high blood pressure, or certain side effects from medication.
- Adults 61 years old or older: Annually is best. At this point in life maintaining your vision is key. Older adults are at a higher risk of glaucoma and macular degeneration.
- Eye injury: If at any point in a lifetime an eye injury occurs, always consult an eye doctor. These include sports injuries, eye strain, allergies, and the like.
Eye protection is important in between the exam times listed. This is where ICC Compliance Center can help. We can provide you with several options for in and around the office and facility. Our options include signs for fences, tanks, hallways, doorways, etc.
ICC Options
Safety Signs
Personal Protection Signs
Here we have signs that could be placed on walls or doors leading into a work area. They would serve as reminders for what the PPE requirements are in that particular area.
OSHA Workplace Labeling
Now that OSHA HazCOm2012 and WHMIS 2015 are in full swing, revisions to workplace labeling is a must. Our system provides an easy way to meet all the requirements for those systems and in multiple formats.
Machine Warning Labels
These can be placed on machines to inform employees of the potential hazards or procedures for safety.
Custom Signs
We also have the ability to develop and print custom signs. Perhaps you want to create a sign specific to your business for such things as recycling, spill clean up stations, evacuation indicators and the like.
What a great partnership. You now have the perfect starting point for starting discussions on PPE in the workplace. Now would also be a good time to look around the site to see if any signage or labeling needs updating. After that, give us a call so we can best determine how to help meet those needs. We only have two eyes, so let’s keep them healthy well into old age.
