In hopes that we may be physically on campus this school year, we feel the need to update our shop safety protocol given the Covid-19 situation. Wearing a mask is a must on campus and in our shop but safety glasses tend to fog up when the two are worn at the same time. Since both are absolutely necessary we are trying to find an option that serves as eye protection and a mask for the mouth and nose that does not compromise safety in either area.
Here are some options we are considering: https://www.blocc.kr/
This is a Kickstarter campaign for a full face polycarbonate shield that is worn like safety glasses, covers the whole face, and can be worn with a mask
(These are more expensive than typical face masks and are not available immediately)
We would appreciate any ideas and recommendations regarding COVID/shop PPE. We are planning on acquiring more tools to minimize contact and require hand and tool sanitization upon entering the shop and using tools and equipment. Hopefully, we will have a build season and we would like to be as prepared as possible for a smooth and safe season.
Raygear makes some fantastic shields (tried on a few different kinds at a machine shop) and they happen to produce this non-vented version, if you can find it in stock.
It is interesting, but I think mask plus glasses is not too much a problem. The biggest lesson is to have a mask with metal strip that you can squeeze gently to conform to you nose, and to do that. After that, it generally is not an issue. Also, maybe get the glasses with an anti-fogging coating.
Iād probably keep flimsy or uncertified face shields out of the shop. They are okay for sneeze guards in higher traffic areas, and are good behavior modifiers for not touching your face, but they arenāt really the eye protection you want and may be misleading in that regard.
Iāve heard that rubbing soap on glasses can help keep them fog-free for several hours, that may be enough to keep them usable for the time of a shop meeting.
Iād recommend giving every team member a set of their own safety glasses (or face shield) that they can bring to each meeting rather than having a group safety glasses bin to help ensure the safety glasses/face shields are sanitary.
I would also say that if you can (I noticed your team is from LA which has a warm climate), wheel some tools outside to build, as most of the spread from covid comes from airborne aerosols, and building outdoors seems to reduce the concentration of aerosols significantly when compared to indoor environments.
Iām aware outdoor activities significantly reduce the concentration (and thus rate of transmission) but Iāve never such an exact number put to it. Do you have a source for this claim?
I donāt have a lot of issues keeping my safety glasses (or my sunglasses) clear. Itās that metal strip on the nose that helps.
If I was going to go overboardāand bear in mind that Iād leave this part up to the students to decide if they wanted to do thisāa full-face respirator, safety-rated shield with dust-only filters (could also use organics filters) and a cloth covering for the outlet (you make that last one) would be a relatively inexpensive option (~$200 each at McMaster plus extra filters). Downside is that you canāt talk through them easilyāand they need to fit properly. Other downside is that theyāre likely to be harder to find these days.
If I was really going to go overboard, a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) is between 5 and 10 times the cost of a full-face respirator but has the outlet already covered and is somewhat easier to talk through. But, that would be seriously overboard. (Iāve used them before. Theyāre awesome if theyāre available. But theyāre overkill for FRC.)
I just had an eye exam yesterday and they used tape to seal the cloth mask to my nose so my glasses wouldnāt fog up. Donāt know what type of tape it was.
4096, Ctrl-Z, has been making several different face shield versions. The visors (clear parts) are all cut on our Velox 5050 while the frames of the UIUC design are also fabricated on the CNC router. We can cut about 70 of the UIUC frames in 4 hours.
The Deere clips can be 3D printed relatively quickly.
We were part of the team that helped with the UIUC design; our version is not as wide or tall as the official design as the official design was specifically made for health care workers. Face Shields | COVID-PPE | UIUC
In all cases, the clear visors are 0.020 PETG.
Our cost on all of these is about $3.00 and we have donated nearly 700 to date.
FWIW, our plan is to have team members wear face masks and safety glasses; our local public health department wonāt allow face shields without face masks.
If you are interested in some of these, let me know.
I feel the need to reiterate a point made earlier in this thread.
There are face shields that are designed to help mitigate the spread of infectious disease. The face shields you designed meet that requirement, but do not replace the purpose of face masks.
There are face shields designed to serve as eye protection in a shop environment. The face shields you designed are NOT tested and rated to meet that requirement.
These face shields are a very useful tool in helping keep our medical professionalās PPE stores stocked, and perhaps even shielding some of the ācivilianā populace from catching COVID. You should be commended for making them. But they are not the appropriate PPE for a shop environment.
I agree with others that the fogging shouldnāt be an issue if thereās no gap between mask and face at the nose-bridge area. This can be accomplished by using masks with a metal strip that you form to your face (Iāve never had fogging problems with N-95s), or by attaching the top of the mask to your face (Iāve heard white medical tape works well).
Along with that warning, Iād reiterate that face shields arenāt substitutes for masks. Itās made me hesitant to fulfill the few requests I get for face shields because I think too many people donāt understand this.
Now I do think there is a potential for a face shield sans mask to reduce viral load and in effect how sick someone might get. But my current understanding gives me no confidence that a face shield would prevent someone from getting sick, where proper two-way mask wearing does.
The same applies to sneeze guard or dividers. I saw some people suggesting classroom desk dividers instead of masks. Barriers like this and face shields are second level protections that can be in addition to masks.
Generally speaking, face shields can be worn in addition to glasses/goggles, but not instead of them. They typically do not fit closely to the face and so garbage can easily get inside of the face shield and bounce into the wearerās face and eyes.
Beyond that, face shields are there to stop droplets from landing on a personās face. If everyone else is wearing a mask (and they should be) the face shield is a bit redundant, though arguably still helpful if othersā masks are not effective.
Viruses may be active on these shields for days. They need to be frequently sanitized and you should consider your hands ādirtyā after touching your face shield.
There are many, many, many solutions to this problem.
Any mask worth wearing should have a metal strip in it to conform to the nose. This fixes the problem for the majority of users.
If you need additional protection, here are some things to try:
Use a strip of medical tape to hold the mask top down on the face
Wear the mask higher up (just under the eyes) and then place the glasses nose bridge on top of the mask, pinching it down. You may need chums to keep your safety glasses from sliding off though.
Some recommend using a tissue inside the mask to pad the area around the nose bridge
From a different direction then @CIM suggests (which is valid, of course)ā¦
Anti-fog wipes for glasses are widely available and inexpensive. You can even use plain dish soap and a few other household items as an inexpensive anti-fog agent. SCUBA divers and snorkelers do not have the benefit of air circulation and they have managed to solve this problem.
I am a big fan of anti-fog treatments for safety glasses. I used to spend a lot of time in my workās clean rooms wearing a mask, hood, and full bunny suit all day. I also did this with a face shield sometimes for certain pieces of equipment. It works.
My diving instructorās recommendation: spit! Spit on the inside of your dive mask, rub it around and rinse (without rubbing). Works pretty well for anti-fog. Of course, not too sanitary in the shop.
