When it comes to the hot and steamy conditions prevalent in paper mill environments, fogging safety eyewear has continually been a safety and compliance issue. Workers are left to deal with impaired vision or take eyewear off completely in order to see – exposing themselves to injury while doing everyday tasks. See how this paper mill became fog-free with HexArmor®.
The challenge
The main issue at this paper mill was severe fogging in workers’ safety eyewear while working around the paper machines. Employees were complaining about not being able to focus on the task at hand as well as having to take off the eyewear to constantly wipe or clean the lenses.
To resolve the problem, they trialed several types of safety eyewear, including AO, Genesis, Bolle, and a few other generic models, but could never find an anti-fog solution that worked.
In 2018, the safety manager at the mill found an article on HexArmor’s permanent anti-fog eyewear right before attending the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) in San Antonio, TX, and was interested in learning more about the anti-fog and hydrophilic technologies. While at the show, he found the HexArmor® booth and was able to speak about the issues he was experiencing.
The solution
After the consultation, samples of HexArmor’s TruShield® 2SF coating, which offers a dual-action anti-fog coating on the interior and exterior of the lenses to combat heavy steam and fogging, were provided. Once the workers received the trail pairs in the paper machine area, the safety manager said “the positive feedback we received was amazing”.
Because of the success, the MX200 and VS250 models with the TruShield® 2SF coating were implemented in the paper machine area.
- MX200 - Sleek, modern style with maximum protection and comfort
- VS250 - Tri-component design paired with innovative features
Eventually, word of the anti-fog success spread to all areas of the mill, and after further conversation, the safety eyewear was then rolled out into the entire mill.
The result
Not only was the mill was able to experience compliance, comfort, no fogging, and long-term savings because they no longer had to buy “anti-fog wipes and sprays that didn’t work”, but they didn’t have any indirect or direct costs of injuries once they moved to exclusively HexArmor® eyewear.
“HexArmor has been great to work with,” says the safety manager. Because HexArmor® was also able to educate employees on cleaning solutions and provide cleaning wipes to workers into the field, the safety manager went on to say, “the [HexArmor] sales reps were right on top of our needs and readily available to help address and solve any issues they may have”.
The working relationship from the initial conversation to the ongoing support over the years has created a great partnership between the paper mill and HexArmor®, with the mill exclusively using HexArmor® safety eyewear since 2018. Moreover, HexArmor® safety eyewear is currently being used by 99% of all employees in the mill.
"This is exactly the kind of customer service and products I had been looking for. The products and technology work and that makes my job easier. That is why I am so pleased with the partnership we have with HexArmor."
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