Surging Need for Workplace Protection Gear

The prime driver of the global head, eye, and face protection market is rapid urbanization and industrialization, accompanied by strict government and industry rules and regulation. Especially in the developing nations, where the economies are undergoing sector change with robust secondary or manufacturing sector operations. Increasing secondary sector comes with a higher risk of workplace hazards, owing to human negligence or technological error. This creates immense stress and discomfort among the workers, severely affecting their working capacity. The fear of injury and death due to human or technological hazards along with a preemptive measure to prevent them or reduce their impact while result in a surge of market growth of head, eye, and face protection industry. Further, binding government regulation for greater workplace security will also help the market to obtain greater demand.

Some Facts About Workplace Hazards

Workplace hazards can be classified into physical hazards, ergonomic hazards, chemical hazards, and biological hazards. Physical hazards are the most common workplace hazard. Vibration, noise and slips, and trips and falls are common physical hazards that result in injuries and external damage. Intensive hazard may also lead to permanent damage or death. Ergonomic hazards harm the musculoskeletal system, leading to poor body posturing, manual handling, repetitive movement, etc. Chemical hazard severely harms the health of the person whereas the spread of bacteria and viruses results in biological hazards.

As per data from International Labour Organization (ILO), annually, 2.3 million people succumb to a workplace hazard, including deaths and injuries. This corresponds with 6000 deaths per day due to workplace hazards. With 340 million annual occupational accidents, 160 million people severely suffer from illness. Hazardous substance alone causes 651,279 deaths in one year. Moreover, the National Safety Council, USA, reports 5,147 fatal injuries in the year 2017 with an increase in preventable death from 4.398 in 2016 to 4.141 in the year 2017.

The physical, ergonomic, and chemical hazards can be prevented to a great extend using head, eye, and face protection gears, while the effect of biological hazards can be reduced. Evaluation of risks and conducting workplace risk assessment tests will also reduce the chances of workplace hazards. Also, the adoption of safety devices, such as helmets, goggles, and others, will considerably reduce the chances of physical and ergonomic hazards.

Head, Eye, and Face Protection Equipment

By type, the market is segmented into head protection, eye protection, and face protection. Head protection equipment plays a crucial role in the construction and extraction industries. Slip and/ or trip of a tool may hit other workers’ heads, causing severe injury. To avoid this injury owing to human error, head protection gears such as helmets are mandatory at construction sites. The eye and face protection equipment play a prime role in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, to avoid interaction of sensitive body areas such as the eye, mouth, nose, or ears with any kind of airborne material. Hence, workers, who do welding work, or lab assistants, who work with chemicals, use eye-protecting gears to avoid any harm to their retinas.

By End-User Industry, Mining and Construction Industries Are More Prone to Physical Hazards

The Mining and Construction industries are at a greater risk of physical and ergonomic hazards. The involvement of heavy machinery is the prime reason for a greater risk of trips and falls, vibration, noise and slips, and breakdown. Further, extreme temperature and limited source of light, in the mining industry, increase the hazard probability. The oil and gas industry has the same statistics as the mining industry. There is a higher risk of a biological and chemical hazard in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry owing to the usage of chemicals and other elements.

The North American Market Is Anticipated to Grow at a Significant Rate

The North American market is anticipated to grow at a notable rate owing to surging fatal occupational injuries and rising concerns regarding the safety of employees. Growing fatal accidents have raised government and industrial concerns, resulting in increased standards for safety and security. The Department of Labour, USA, reports that the country has seen an increase in fatal occupational injuries from 5,250 in 2018 to 5,333 in 2019, a surge of 2%. Moreover, the department reports that a worker dies on site every 99 minutes in the year 2019. Also, fatalities among workers more than 50 years of age have increased by 8%. Fatalities in the construction industry (private) reached the highest in 2019 with 1,005 injuries. Falls, slips, and trips leading to preventable injuries, increased to 880 in 2019, with a jump of 11%. Also, exposer to harmful chemicals resulted in 313 deaths in the country, in 2019, the highest recorded death in the segment post-2011. Therefore, the government implemented strict laws of providing necessary safety gear to workers. This will in turn increase the market size of head, eye, and face protection equipment.

The Asia Pacific Region Will Show the Fastest Growth in the Market for Head, Eye, and Face Protection Gadgets

The Asia Pacific region is expected to show exponential growth in the market, with the fastest-growing CAGR. The key developers of the market in the region are the rapidly developing industrial sector and robust growth in the construction industry. The developing countries, such as India, China, and South Korea, are anticipated to undergo sector transformation, with the development of secondary or the manufacturing sector. This will increase the demand for the head, eye, and face protection market since they will be a prerequisite for the safety and security of workers.

Outpacing the construction industry, as well, will increase the demand for the safety gear market. the prime reason is the growing population in the region increased in demand for residential accommodation, particularly in India and China. Growing pharmaceutical and chemical industries will increase the demand for eye and face protection gear significantly in the region. Furthermore, new labor laws empower workers and emphasize a need for a safer environment. The India Occupation, Health, and Working Condition Code Bill, 2020, implement the development of a safer environment for workers. This includes providing essential safety gear while working.

Covid-19 Impact

The coronavirus pandemic positively impacted the head, eye, and face protection market. The pandemic increased the demand for eye and face protection gears, to curb the spread of the virus, highlighting the severe effect of biological hazards. Governments around the world mandated the use of face covers, masks, and other protection gears. However, a loss of demand was faced owing to a halt in the construction, mining, and oil & gas industry.