Siemens Energy is a global leader in energy technology, pioneering and operating the systems that are helping to decarbonise the energy sector. It’s work that requires busy and complex shop floors at all of their sites, and robust safety and PPE protocols. The Lincoln site is a prime example, with half of the 1,200 employees spending their time on a bustling shop floor. Eyecare is priority number one here – there are no second chances with eyes – and it was the focus of a broad project to forge a working environment that keeps employees in the best position to do their jobs safely and effectively.

The team’s ethos was that people will wear PPE that really works for them – and with safety glasses this means frames that are comfortable, robust, and don’t impair their vision. On a mission to make safety glasses a hassle-free part of the day-to-day, Siemens Energy teamed up with Specsavers to provide a corporate eyecare offering that not only meets their eyecare obligations, but also showed their teams that the business is ready to invest in their safety and comfort.

Managing change

The shop floor at the Lincoln site contains a multitude of equipment, job roles, and processes, which were previously risk-assessed on an individual basis to determine whether they required safety eyewear. In 2015, a focus on eye safety was the driving focus of a shift in policy to make safety glasses mandatory everywhere on the floor. This was a serious change for many employees, who weren’t used to wearing the glasses for long periods of their work day, and it was a shift that needed to be managed and communicated carefully.

“We certainly encountered challenges, particularly at the start. The safety glasses that we were offering were cumbersome and uncomfortable for employees, and it made building that understanding of why things were changing all the more difficult”, said Lee Wilson, Head of EHS at Siemens Energy.

“The situation was particularly difficult for people who wore glasses – fitting the safety specs over the top was a real nightmare, and it had the potential to damage the relationship between our health and safety team and the people that we’re protecting.”

It was time for a different approach, one that showed employees’ concerns were being heard and the reality of their day-to-day understood, above all for those requiring vision correction. This is where Specsavers came in – through the company’s corporate eyecare offering, Siemens Energy provide employees who need prescription PPE with glasses that can be worn comfortably for long periods and allow them to get on with their job with completely clear vision.

“Working with Specsavers has been a gamechanger, not just for employees who now have proper prescription eye protection, but also for how the change is perceived as a whole,” said Lee. “The process of going to Specsavers, getting your eyes tested, and then being fitted with a pair of safety glasses that fit well enough to wear all day has been crucial in communicating that the health and safety team and the business is invested in a solution that really works.”

An open, two-way dialogue between Siemens Energy and Specsavers has also been fruitful in finding the right solution for the teams on the shop floor, allowing everyone to flex to the needs of the EHS team at Siemens Energy and the employees in the factory. This work is making a big impact on safety – since the project started, there have been a number of occasions where the glasses have prevented incidents that would have previously resulted in eye injuries.

A smooth operation

For the other half of workers in Lincoln who aren’t on the shop floor, eyecare is equally important, and they’re also able to benefit from the corporate eyecare partnership. Before switching to Specsavers, Siemens Energy administered corporate eyecare on an ad hoc basis, where employees would go to their regular opticians and claim the cost back from the business. 

By changing to Specsavers corporate vouchers, the team were able to ensure that everyone got a consistent, local service and knew exactly what they were entitled to, without having to dig into their own pocket first. 

This change also came with its own change management process, with trust needing to be built in Specsavers, as well as fears to be allayed that bringing it all under one brand was simply for the sake of cost cutting. Once the routine was established, however, the easy process of receiving the voucher, getting their eyes tested at their local branch and receiving glasses if they need them helped build this trust, and convinced many employees to use Specsavers for other eyecare needs such as contact lenses.

“For us in the EHS team, benefits systems that are quick and easy to operate are worth their weight in gold. Getting employees to take advantage of what’s on offer is half the battle, so being able to deliver within days or even hours is crucial – striking while the iron is hot ensures benefits don’t get lost to busy schedules”, said Lee. “We’re also able to be flexible – if someone’s prescription changes, they don’t have to wait until the following year to get a new voucher. Being able to adapt people’s needs does more than anything to prove you’re really invested in looking after them.”

Siemens Energy’s partnership with Specsavers has enabled the business to inject serious positive feeling into health, safety and wellbeing both on the shop floor and in the office, and crucially smooth the transition to safer ways of working.

Learn how Specsavers Corporate Eyecare can support your workplace at 

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/corporate