The latest protective goggles from Bollé Safety use a “first-of-its-kind” technology designed to conform to a user’s face.
Safety glasses have long been a staple in industrial workplaces, but workers are increasingly turning to goggles as a more robust alternative.
“While safety goggles are certainly not a new concept, a host of new innovations are making them more comfortable to wear, which is fuelling category growth as more workers shift to the additional protection that goggles provide,” Bollé Safety product director Vincent Azibert said.
With 130 years of history and its products in more than 100 countries around the world, Bollé Safety is a premier expert in protective eyewear.
After four years in development, the company recently launched its new Universal Goggle (UG) range to the Australian market.
Built with safety, comfort and style in mind, the UG collection is suitable to a wide range of industrial applications, mining chief among them.
The UG range protects workers’ eyes against external hazards such as impacts, gases and liquids, radiation, and more. This protection is achieved by reducing the gap between the frame and the skin for optimal protection.
The UG collection features a new form-fitting design that utilises ‘wave’ technology.
“This is a first-of-its-kind technology with an accordion-style bellows system that allows the goggle to conform to a user’s face and evenly distribute sealing pressure,” Azibert said. “The result is a safe, reliable and comfortable fit for various face shapes.”
The goggles’ frame is constructed of thermos-propylen rubber and non-UV stabilised polycarbonate, making it flexible and impact-resistant. It is also compatible with prescription glasses, with slots allowing most glasses to fit perfectly under the goggle without creating any pressure points.
The goggles are rounded out with Bollé Safety’s signature platinum anti-scratch and anti-fog coating on both sides of the lens, allowing for greater durability and maximum optical clarity.
The UG range is also compatible with a shield designed to protect the lower part of the face. This shield clips easily and intuitively onto the UG, and is ideal for applications where there is a risk of flying debris.
The UG collection includes a variety of models suitable to different industrial applications.
“There are various situations where wearing goggles is important, but they do not all include exposure to the same risks,” Azibert said.
“Some workers may need protection against dust or even gas hazards, requiring a fully sealed and tight eyewear solution, while well-vented goggles would serve better in a humid environment. So the industry has been challenged with a need to develop a variety of use-specific protective eyewear.”
And that is exactly what Bollé Safety did with the UG range.
Each model is distinguished by a unique colour strap, marking differences in ventilation, lens colour, material, and the intended application.
The green UG model is ideal for the mining industry, as it is completely waterproof. It is also suitable for work involving inflammable products, dangerous gases, and fine particles.
The yellow UG offers indirect ventilation and is suitable for applications where impact is the primary hazard, such as many areas of surface mining operations.
The cool grey version is made with a neoprene strap, which is more chemical-resistant than nylon. This model is ideal for workers who are around solvents and acids.
Finally, the grey UG is designed with welding lenses and is suitable for welders handling class 2–5 gases.
The Bollé UG range is also designed with sustainability at heart to help sites meet their environmental, sustainability and governance commitments.
The goggles can be easily dismantled, allowing the materials to be recycled separately. The packaging, a high-density polyethylene bag, is also completely recycled and recyclable.
Whether it’s guarding against gas, debris, or impacts, Bollé Safety’s UG range has a solution to almost any eye-related workplace hazard.
“Our role as personal protective equipment eyewear specialists is not to move people away from safety glasses towards goggles,” Azibert said.
“It is to make sure that people use the best-suited protection for their job, allowing them to work safely and effectively.”
This feature also appears in the July-August issue of Safe to Work.