According to the U.S. Department of Labor, injuries to hands accounted for nearly 25 percent of all lost-time industrial injuries - a total of 110,000 annually. Seventy percent of those injuries resulted when an employee was not wearing safety gloves, while the other 30 percent of hand injuries occurred while an employee was wearing the wrong kind of gloves.
Prevention is a key factor for any organization seeking continual improvement in its occupational health and safety performance. In the hierarchy of controls, elimination of the hazard comes first, and the last line of defence is proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
In recent years, technology advancement has allowed manufacturers to create more sophisticated yarns that improve glove performance significantly. The level of cut protection can be increased by using high-performance materials, and by increasing a material's weight.
Selecting chemical protective gloves is a crucial, yet challenging task for safety managers worldwide. Complex portfolios are made even more complicated by evolving standards and regulations, making compliance increasingly difficult in today’s work environments.
When skin is exposed to sweat for a prolonged time, it weakens and becomes more vulnerable. In short, gloves are a necessary precaution, but without taking steps to reduce sweat buildup gloves quickly become a source of discomfort and health issues.
OSHA requires safety managers to identify work situations in which employees require hand protection but, just as important, specify the proper protection needed.