BOC sharpens eye-safety focus with new prescription safety eyewear

by Press Release on 2011-09-08

BOC has sharpened its focus on eye-injury prevention with its state of the art range of safety prescription eyewear for the huge number of Australian & New Zealand workers who wear spectacles.

The new safety eyewear is in response to BOC figures showing 36% of the 11 million people employed in Australian manufacturing and industry required visual correction and that eye injury was having a devastating impact on human health and the economy.

Senior Product Manager, Safety at BOC, Joe Martinez, said an aging work population combined with worrying statistics that up to 50,000 eye injuries occur per year costing industry approximately $60 million had driven the company to find a solution.

“About 95 per cent of eye injuries treated in Australian hospitals are a result of carelessness and lack of attention to basic eye safety precautions,’’ Mr Martinez said.

“The vast majority of eye injuries can be avoided by taking a common sense approach to hazardous activities and ensuring you are wearing the correct eye protection during all potential hazardous tasks around the home and in the work place, even if you are just lending a hand.

“Different situations require different types of protective eyewear.  The main types of protective eyewear are general purpose safety spectacles and general purpose positive seal safety spectacles.

“These products are now available as Safety Prescription Eyewear from BOC,’’ he said.

Providing optimal peace of mind for employers and employees, BOC’s Certified Safety Prescription Eyewear is a cost effective and diverse range built to the highest level of compliance with Australian and New Zealand standards. Available with a certified Bollé prescription safety frame range, features include unique polyurethane lens material which is chemically inert, strong and lightweight.

“Certification involves independent testing by a NATA accredited facility and all test results are reported to SAI Global who “certifies” the products as meeting the standards,’’ Mr Martinez said.

The range is supported by an onsite service by BOC including unique product selection performed by certified opticians; education and training to OHS personnel and committees and workplace assessments providing best solutions for all types of work conditions and environments.

BOC recommends the following precautions and actions for workers requiring Safety Prescription Eyewear.

 - Visit your Optometrist every 2 years for a full eye examination to ensure your spectacle prescription is updated
 - Always wear Safety Prescription Eyewear based on your current spectacle prescription to ensure best visual performance.
 - Ensure you are wearing certified safety prescription eyewear which complies with AS/NZS 1337.6:2007.
 - Effective management of eye health is an important contribution to a healthy, safe and productive workplace.


About BOC
BOC is a member of The Linde Group which supplies compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment around the globe. The company develops safe, sustainable and innovative solutions for customers in many specialty sectors, heavy industry and medical environments. For more than a century the company's gases and expertise have contributed to advances in industry and everyday life, including steelmaking, refining, chemical processing, environmental protection, wastewater treatment, welding and cutting, food processing and distribution, glass production, electronics and health care. For further information, see www.boc.co.nz 

About The Linde Group
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.  For more information, see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com