Solopress’ CE-Marked Face Shields have been given the seal of approval after the British Standards Institution (BSI) officially certified them as ‘safety eyewear for use by healthcare workers, first responders and other personnel involved in the efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus and avoid its further spread.’
They were tested by the BSI to determine whether they conformed to the PPE Regulation and EU recommendation 2020/403 scheme, with the results showing that they passed with flying colours and are BS EN 166:2002 compliant.
In order to be classified as PPE, the face shields needed to pass a series of stringent tests which included:
- General construction. Eye-protectors shall be free for projections, sharp edges and other defects which are likely to cause discomfort or injury during use.
- Headbands. Headbands, when used as the principal means of retention, shall be at least 10mm wide over any portion which may come into contact with the wearer’s head. Headbands shall be adjustable or self-adjusting.
- Field of vision. Eye-protectors shall exhibit a minimum field of vision.
- Spherical, astigmatic and prismatic refractive powers. The visor must not affect the wearer’s vision or strain their eyes.
- Quality of material and surface. Except for a marginal area 5 mm wide, oculars shall be free from any significant defects likely to impair vision in use, such as bubbles, scratches, inclusions, dull spots, pitting, mould marks, scouring, grains, pocking, scaling and undulation.
- Protection against droplets and splashes of liquid. Face shields cover a prescribed eye-region rectangle fully.
- Lateral protection. The face shield protects from at least 10mm at the corner of the eyes.
On receiving the news, Solopress managing director Simon Cooper said: “I am delighted that the face shields that we have started producing in-house in the fight against coronavirus are now officially CE marked.
“When we originally discussed what we could do as a business to help and manufacturing face protection was suggested, we sought out the required standards immediately to decide whether we were able to produce something that would genuinely help to stop the spread of the virus.
“I was fully confident that the finished article was of a high-quality and ticked all of the required boxes, but to have this confirmed by the BSI is fantastic and a huge credit to our team here who have worked so hard to adapt our manufacturing capabilities in order to achieve this.
“While the quality of the face shields will have been evident already, I’m sure this news will be well received by the health care facilities, care homes and NHS dental hubs who we have made donations to, as well as the thousands of businesses who have made orders of to keep their staff safe.”
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