What started as a site visit at a paper mill (one of six world-class sites in the cellulose business) to discuss cut-resistant safety gloves quickly transitioned into a discussion about an additional hazard the site was facing: fogging safety eyewear. The site's safety leader saw the HexArmor safety eyewear their PPE distributor representative was wearing that day and started asking questions.
The problem
The paper mill produces specialty fluff and market pulp that’s delivered worldwide to customers for a variety of high-end uses and converting technologies. Their products are used in applications ranging from paper products to diapers to hygiene products.
Due to the nature of the paper machine process, workers are constantly looking over the open vat area in the wet end of the paper machine where condensation rises. The humidity is extremely high, causing workers’ glasses to fog instantly so they are unable to see – making it nearly impossible to perform their tasks safely.
Additionally, before HexArmor®, the paper mill was utilizing 20-30 different brands, tints, and coatings making consolidation of SKUs a big need.
How HexArmor® helped with the solution
During the initial trial, the site's safety leader took the anti-fog safety glasses and performed an everyday maintenance task on the paper mill machine to see how HexArmor's safety glasses would fair in the high humidity conditions, one of the most challenging environments in the mill. This time, instead of having to lift the gasses off his face due to fogging (so he could see) the safety glasses didn't fog at all. Despite his best efforts to even try and make them fog, he couldn't.
The HexArmor® safety team recommended implementing the HexArmor® VS250 in TruShield®2SF for the site maintenance employee working around the wet end of the paper machine. TruShield®2SF is a proprietary dual-action anti-fog coating, ideal for environments where there is constant environmental fogging, such as a paper mill. Lenses with TruShield®2SF have dual-action permanent anti-fog of the interior and exterior of the lens.
Shortly after the maintenance employees started wearing them, other employees caught on and begun to wear them as well due to the look and comfort of the frames.
The results are in the feedback
Worker morale was always positive at the paper mill but after implementing HexArmor® safety eyewear, the employees truly felt that their safety team was trying to get the best PPE for them. They agreed that HexArmor's anti-fog coatings worked better than anything else on the market.
"PPE is the last line of defense, so we obviously don't want to rely on it, but at the same time, they might as well meet all our expectations as much as possible," said the site's safety leader.
"We are not looking for PPE to be the only solution to our problems, but since we have to wear safety eyewear, we might as well wear the best that's out there."
Want to see how HexArmor® can help you keep your employees safe and maximize employee compliance while also reducing injuries? Request a trial today.
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