Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that it has launched the industry’s first “connected ready” electrical safety lineman gloves, which use embedded tracking technology developed by Honeywell to ensure gloves are always properly tested and certified before linemen use them for the most hazardous of electrical work.

Honeywell’s new  Electriflex™ safety gloves include an optional embedded RFID tag, allowing utiliies to help ensure the gloves meet safety requirements when worn by linemen working on power lines carrying up to 35,000 volts of electricity.

Every six months, utilities are required to re-test and certify that electrical gloves worn by lineman meet U.S. and international safety standards. Using the RFID-enabled gloves and Honeywell’s Safety Suite software, utility companies can better track and manage their inventory, automate safety compliance reporting and better protect line workers.

“These ‘connected-ready’ gloves will make it easier for utilities to ensure their linemen have the right certified gloves protecting them should they grab a high-voltage wire, while they also help utilities improve efficiency through simpler and faster records management, inventory control and forecasting ability,” said Kevin Pietras, marketing leader, Honeywell Industrial Safety, a global leader in safety and personal protective equipment. “The cloud-based Safety Suite will help utility safety managers make more informed judgments about when to replace equipment, monitor glove usage, and educate crews around worker safety and asset management.”

Honeywell is developing a range of Connected Worker technologies designed to improve safety and worker productivity, while allowing customers to better leverage data to drive better outcomes and save money.

The RFID tag used in the new gloves is a patented, non-metalic material that permits scanning of information even when the tag is bent or stretched. Users can scan the glove and, using the software, easily and quickly access a record of manufacturing history, including type of equipment, class, date of manufacture, test dates and sources, insulating material composition and other information. The information can be used to generate reports and certification labels, which can be transferred in real time to a smart phone, laptop or other networked device.

The data can be compiled automatically into reports eliminating time-consuming manual audits and data logs, creating a birth-to-death history of the product that can be accessed on a smart phone or other mobile device for convenience and real-time awareness.

The Electriflex line, from Salisbury by Honeywell, is notable for its flexibility, dexterity and comfort, and has been used by linemen for more than 25 years.

Honeywell is the global leader in personal protective equipment, industrial safety products and services, which include equipment to protect workers from helmet to boot, including hearing protection, safety harnesses, respiratory and electrical safety equipment, turnout gear for first responders and protective eye-, hand- and footwear.

For more information about Honeywell Industrial Safety, its products and services, visit http://www.honeywellsafety.com.  

Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) provides products, software and connected solutions that improve productivity, workplace safety and asset performance for our customers across the globe. We deliver on this promise through industry-leading mobile devices, software, cloud technology and automation solutions, the broadest range of personal protective equipment and gas detection technology, and custom-engineered sensors, switches and controls. We also manufacture and sell a broad portfolio of footwear for work, play and outdoor activities, including XtraTuf and Muck Boot brand footwear. For more news and information on Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, please visit http://www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.