Global construction firm puts worker safety in focus on prestigious London development. For over 55 years, globally renowned construction company Multiplex has been shaping skylines around the world, bringing large-scale and complex structures to life.

The Situation

Over 1000 workers operate on its prestigious 62-storey, 22 Bishopsgate office development in Central London. Multiplex Health and Safety Managers on the site – Carl Beisser and Martin Wilshire – identified Multiplex employees requiring prescription (RX) glasses who were unable to use the safety glasses provided as part of the company’s 5-point PPE requirement.

Instead, they were wearing over specs or goggles over standard prescription eyewear – a situation Carl and Martin were unhappy with, feeling it would impair a workers’ vision.

Carl and Martin committed to addressing this through positive change, by ensuring that Multiplex staff requiring prescription glasses were given a specialist safety eyewear solution. The same high-quality safety eyewear solution enjoyed by everyone else on site.

The Solution

Instead of taking the traditional approach of sending workers offsite for an eye exam at a high street optometrist, Carl compared the time and costs of this method to using the new Riley ‘On+Sight’ service.

Carl’s analysis showed that the Riley On+Sight service not only saved Multiplex significant time in terms of workers leaving the site for an eye exam but also saved money when comparing the cost of Riley safety glasses to the leading high street alternative.

Another significant advantage of the Riley On+Sight service was that the Riley safety glasses were of higher quality; specialist safety eyewear.

The Benefits

According to Carl, there were multiple benefits to working with the Riley team and using the On+Sight service.

“It was really beneficial to undertake the cost/time analysis in the first place as this really highlighted the savings that we would be making by using the Riley eyewear and the On+Sight Service. We also liked the fact that there was a ‘one-price’ approach no matter what lenses were required – standard, varifocal, or bifocal. However, it wasn’t simply a matter of saving time and money.

“The quality of the safety eyewear we are providing workers through Riley is significantly higher than the options available on the high street. Quality features like impact-resistant Polycarbonate lenses as standard, the level of comfort and fit and the fact workers can adjust the fit for their particular face shape are all above what we would be offered from the high street,” said Carl.

“It is also the convenience that the team really like. They can have their eyes tested on-site, choose their frames and within a few weeks, have the safety glasses delivered directly to work,” he added.

According to Carl, the implementation of this new approach has been really welcomed by workers, who have responded positively to the Riley safety eyewear solutions they have selected.

But above all else – workers have a specialist safety solution designed around their specific prescription needs.

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