14 JULY 2023
AS/NZS1337.6 STANDARDS FOR PRESCRIPTION SAFETY EYEWEAR
What is the difference between standard prescription eyewear and safety prescription eyewear? First and foremost, safety eyewear must meet a higher standard of impact resistance. All safety eyewear in Australia and New Zealand must meet the Australian Standard AS/NZS1337.6.2012. The standard is administered through Standards Australia, which is a non-profit organization with representatives from industry groups, professional optical agencies, consumer groups, various independent organisations, and other experts and the AS/NZS1337 standards, focus on eye protection.
IMPACT RESISTANCE
In terms of safety eyewear, impact resistance is the most important difference when selecting prescription safety eyewear vs. non-safety eyewear, which is sometimes called “dresswear” by eye care professionals. All safety lenses/frame combinations must be tested by a NATA approved (National Authorised testing Authority) laboratory, before being fully certified and added to any manufacturers licence.
For impact resistance there are two key designations:
Low impact: This test involves a steel ball 6.35mm in diameter being projected into a safety job at 12m/s. Should a lens or frame crack, chip, or break into 2 parts then it will be deemed a failure.
Medium impact: frame and lenses are tested together as a complete device. For this test, a 6.35mm diameter steel ball shoots out at a speed of 40m per second. Here again, the lenses/frames only pass if they do not crack, chip, or break. This is the medium impact test. Furthermore, the lenses cannot become dislodged from the frames.
Additionally, prescription lenses tend to be thicker than those used for non-prescription safety eyewear which means they’ll generally be more robust even when the same lens materials is used.
Impact resistance is only one of many other tests carried out on safety frames, and once certified and added to the suppliers’ licence, gives the wearers peace of mind that they are wearing a safety job that has been tested accordingly and thoroughly.
CHEMICAL RESISTANCE
The Phoenix (trivex) lens used in our prescription safety eyewear is completely resistant to all common chemicals (acetone, ammonia, windex, solvents etc.) making it the perfect material for safety in the workplace. Phoenix lens materials are also extremely lightweight and are 10 x stronger than standard lenses. They also offer improved optics when compared to other safety lens materials.
At All Australian Safety, we ensure ALL our safety eyewear supplied is certified to meet the medium impact standards as a minimum.
EASY TO FIND MARKINGS
But how can you tell whether or not your prescription safety eyewear has been tested to these standards? The short answer: markings on the frame and lenses themselves indicate the type of testing that a pair of safety eyewear has undergone and passed per AS/NZS standards.
LENSES (marking found etched into lenses and include, but not limited to):
- Manufacturers identity (usually a letter)
- Prescription type (R denotes they are prescription lenses)
- Impact rating (I denotes Medium impact)
- Lens tint (O for outdoor untinted or category number 1,2,3 for sunglasses)
Here is a example of etchings on a typical All Australian supplied safety prescription order:
FRAMES (Look at the front of the safety frame and/or the temples to find these markings etched or permanent applied)
- Manufacturer’s identity (name, trademark or SAI Global licence number)
- The number of this standard (1337.6)
- Supplier conforming to SAI Global licence requirements can use the 5-tick logo as well
Let’s look at an example. Here is the etching found on the frame of a typical All Australian Safety supplied safety prescription order:
So, when you’re looking for a pair of prescription safety eyewear be sure to check for the engravings or markings on the frame first and check that your lenses have the appropriate etchings that denote it as a compliant Safety job.
WORK WITH ALL AUSTRALIAN SAFETY
Eye protection is no joke. Every day, industries across the country have workers experience eye injuries, of which 90% are preventable with the proper safety eyewear. We can offer various solutions to any sized business and whether its onsite with our qualified sales team, or online with local independent eyecare providers, we have a solution to meet your needs.
Whether you have a single location, or a larger work force spread across the country, All Australian Safety can help outfit them with prescription safety eyewear!
