Eye Safety Matters: Protecting Your Vision with the Right PPE
In 2025, Eye and Face Protection was cited 1,665 times in the construction industry by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Eye injuries can happen quickly, but workers can prevent them with the right personal protective equipment (PPE). While PPE includes many types of protective equipment, this article focuses on the importance of performing a PPE hazard assessment and selecting the right eye protection for the task.
Eye injuries can happen in a split second. Flying debris, dust, wood chips, metal fragments, chemical splashes, and sparks are all common hazards that can cause serious damage. Fortunately, employers and employees can prevent many of these injuries by identifying hazards ahead of time and using the proper eye protection for the task. A PPE hazard assessment is an important first step. During the assessment, employers evaluate each task, identify potential eye hazards, and select PPE that provides the appropriate level of protection before work begins.
Choosing the Right Eye Protection
Safety glasses with side shields that meet ANSI Z87.1 standards are appropriate for many work activities and meet OSHA’s minimum eye-protection requirements. For other jobs, safety glasses may not be enough on their own. Tasks that involve chemical splashing hazards, grinding, welding, or similar exposures may require additional PPE such as goggles, face shields, or welding helmets with shaded lenses. Face shields should be treated as secondary protection and worn with safety glasses or goggles, not in place of them.
Fit, Inspection, and Maintenance Matter
Eye protection also needs to fit correctly. It should sit comfortably and securely without blocking the employee’s vision. Replace safety glasses or goggles that are scratched, cracked, damaged, or do not fit properly. Employees who wear prescription glasses should use prescription safety eyewear or approved goggles or lenses that are designed to fit over their regular glasses. Employees should clean eye protection regularly, inspect it before each use, and store it in a clean, dry location when they are not using it.
Eye Safety Goes Beyond PPE
PPE is only one part of the hierarchy of controls. Employers should reduce hazards whenever possible by implementing engineering controls, safe work practices, and administrative controls. Effective training reinforces these efforts by teaching employees to recognize workplace hazards, understand when eye protection is required, wear it correctly, and replace it when necessary.
Taking a few seconds to put on the right eye protection can make a big difference. Employers can help by completing hazard assessments, providing the proper PPE, and reinforcing safe work practices. Employees can do their part by inspecting their eye protection, wearing it when required, and replacing it when it is no longer safe to use. Protecting your vision is a responsibility that starts before work begins and continues throughout every task.
RETTEW can help strengthen your organization’s eye safety program through comprehensive safety training and workplace safety support. From PPE requirements and hazard recognition to OSHA compliance and safe work practices, our experts provide practical, hands-on instruction that helps employees identify risks and work safely every day.
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Keep your team safe on the job. Register for a class today!
All classes are held at the RETTEW Training Center in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, unless otherwise noted.
September 14-16: HAZWOPER Technician, 24-Hour
September 14-18: HAZWOPER Site Worker, 40-Hour
September 17: First Aid, CPR, BBP, and AED (7:30 AM – 1:00 PM)
September 18: Permit-Required Confined Space (Entrant, Attendant, and Supervisor) (7:30 AM – 1:00 PM)
To register, please contact Ed Kauffman at 717-516-7487 or via email at ed.kauffman@rettew.com, click on the event link above, or enroll through the course listing on our website calendar.
Samantha Harsh, MS, CSP, CHST
Ms. Harsh, a Health and Safety Consultant on RETTEW’s Health, Safety & Environment team, is a certified Construction Health and Safety Technician and Certified Safety Professional. She has more than ten years of experience in construction oversight and teaching safety courses. As an OSHA-authorized outreach construction trainer, she conducts OSHA 10-hour and OSHA 30-Hour construction safety training. Among her various areas of expertise are construction equipment inspections, fire safety, first aid and CPR, and fall protection. Ms. Harsh is also skilled in analyzing and interpreting safety guidelines and regulations to ensure employees and companies are following applicable safety laws.
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