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). Continual improvement of PPE has been ongoing for decades. Each improvement brings the opportunity for further prevention of injury and illness. The new back of hand standard, ANSI/ISEA 138, is the latest standard in the sector seeking to set the bar for protecting workers hands.

The hands are a workers most important tool. However, hand injury statistics clearly reveal that significant opportunities exist to improve occupational hand safety.