Engineering Safety Glasses Survey

[Phyrxes]

Done,

I suspect that most people responding to this thread probably bought and care for their own personal pair of safety glasses and would give different results that are different than the average team member that simply pulls a pair out of the bin that I suspect most teams have inside the door to their work area.

I know we populate that bin with CHEAP safety glasses that we ordered for around $1 a pair and they probably don't fit most people comfortably.

[Ninja_Bait]

Was that last one a trick question?

I hope everyone knows that dropping your safety glasses while doing something requires safety glasses instantly makes you less safe, whether it is because you're distracted for a moment or just plain unprotected.

By the way, it is possible to polish scratches out of safety glasses (and other plastic products like it, like airplane windscreens), so don't write off a nice comfy pair just because you can't see through them yet.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Answered yes to the headaches but that is unrelated to safety glasses and more related to teams screaming "ROBOT!!!" in the pits and the overly loud music.

Seconded.

Originally Posted by Phyrxes

I suspect that most people responding to this thread probably bought and care for their own personal pair of safety glasses and would give different results that are different than the average team member that simply pulls a pair out of the bin that I suspect most teams have inside the door to their work area.

I agree. Cheap safety glasses are junk. Spend a whole $10 on your own good pair, keep them clean and unscratched, and replace them when necessary. No headaches, you'll forget you are even wearing them-the best kind of safety.

My prescription safety glasses cost $300, and I trust my eyesight to them. Worth every penny. Do you have any idea how much a braille newspaper costs?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

I agree. Cheap safety glasses are junk. Spend a whole $10 on your own good pair, keep them clean and unscratched, and replace them when necessary. No headaches, you'll forget you are even wearing them-the best kind of safety.

I carry my pair in a belt pouch if they aren't on my head (in the proper orientation). The pouch protects them and can serve as a light cleaning cloth; then I can just whip them out on the way into the lab, and put them back in when I leave for more than a minute. They're quite comfy, and it beats the cheap ones in comfort. I only use those in an emergency--haven't used a pair regularly in my life. I've broken a pair; I replaced it right away.

[Katie_UPS]

My safety glasses are more grab-and-go (cheap ones that I took from my brother) and are defiantly showing their 5 years (maybe more) wear. Hopefully I'm adding some normalcy to the data.

[Jessi Kaestle]

My view of the value of safety glasses is slightly skewed since my company provides them to us free of charge. That being said I value the glasses sitting on my face properly and having full range of vision without fogging over their ability to get scratched since I can easily replace them.

[PAR_WIG1350]

The main issue I have with safety glasses is that, since I wear glasses and my nose doesn't have room for a second pair, my safety glasses rest on the frame of my normal glasses. Over time the additional weight on the nose pads begins to get quite irritating.

[Retired Starman]

I have found that McMaster-Carr's 55035T3 are the best all around safety glasses. They are fog-free (really), easily go over prescription glasses, are comfortable with adjustable angle and ear pieces, and the frame can be reused on new lenses which can also be purchased (55035T92). I keep these for people who don't need safety glasses enough to justify safety prescription lenses.

Personally, I have a set of prescription safety glasses. They have a set of prescription lenses in a frame under a Uvex safety shield which can be replaced. Still the same number of surfaces to look through, but only one thing hanging on your head. The replacement shields are available on-line for a few dollars, but you still have to buy new prescription lenses whenever you get new (regular) glasses. The expense is justified by keeping the only two eyeballs I will ever have safe. There are just some things you don't skimp on!

Dr. Bob

[Steve W]

I wear company supplied, prescription safety glasses. I just got a new pair that I have worn to an all day VEX tourney and an FLL tourney with no issues. My old ones use to give me headaches but these new ones are great (and a bit stylish).

[ttldomination]

My team has invested in about 30-40 of these for our glasses wearing population and while I can't tell if they're safer, they are definitely much more comfortable and impair my vision much less.

- Sunny G. and my poor peripheral vision.

[Rangel]

If you wear glasses and can't afford prescription safety glasses, you can always use safety goggles. You can get a pretty nice pair at home-depot for 20 dollars. I have had these for a year and they are pretty scratch resistant, never fog on me, and are quite comfortable. If you can stand to wear these "stylish" bad boys in public then they are a perfect choice.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

[torihoelscher]

Thank you everyone for filling this survey out for my Engineering class!! I have more than 200 responses and its very beneficial to this project!!

Again,

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

[Carol]

I assume that you are surveying the off-the-shelf, non-prescription safety glasses. Most large companies supply custom prescription or non-prescription safety glasses to their employees, indistinguishable from regular glasses (except for the side shields).

[tsaksa]

I do not wear prescription glasses, but like some of the other mentors, I find that as I get older I do need reading glasses at times. I just use regular drug store reading glasses, not true prescription glasses, but they can be a pain to wear along with standard safety glasses.

I tried using some safety glasses that were sold as reading safety glasses in a power that seemed good for use at normal working distances, but they were mostly sold with those little bifocal bumps that never really were in the right place. I also tried the stick on lenses with similar poor results. Working with electronics or mechanical devices is different from reading with a book on your lap, and I find I need to hold my head at odd angles to use these bi-focal type of safety glasses. After using them for a while I end up with a stiff neck.

What I really wanted was a pair of off the shelf safety reading glasses where the whole lens had the same level of magnification. I finally found what I wanted. The product is called Mag-saf and is available for about $15 from Amazon and other places. (No connection) They are plastic and probably scratch easily, but I have never had a problem because I always wear them with a strap so that I am never tempted to put them down where I shouldn't. Works for me. I think they are great.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by tsaksa

I do not wear prescription glasses, but like some of the other mentors, I find that as I get older I do need reading glasses at times. I just use regular drug store reading glasses, not true prescription glasses, but they can be a pain to wear along with standard safety glasses.

I tried using some safety glasses that were sold as reading safety glasses in a power that seemed good for use at normal working distances, but they were mostly sold with those little bifocal bumps that never really were in the right place. I also tried the stick on lenses with similar poor results. Working with electronics or mechanical devices is different from reading with a book on your lap, and I find I need to hold my head at odd angles to use these bi-focal type of safety glasses. After using them for a while I end up with a stiff neck.

What I really wanted was a pair of off the shelf safety reading glasses where the whole lens had the same level of magnification. I finally found what I wanted. The product is called Mag-saf and is available for about $15 from Amazon and other places. (No connection) They are plastic and probably scratch easily, but I have never had a problem because I always wear them with a strap so that I am never tempted to put them down where I shouldn't. Works for me. I think they are great.

A clip-on loupe magnifier could also help in similar situations. A quick search showed monocular versions for as low as 5 dollars and binocular versions for as low as $7.50, the higher-end models exceed $200.00, but those are probably overkill.
The cool thing about these is that many are somewhat adjustable.