Welcome to ISHN’s first volume of feature articles and sponsored content relating to on-the-job hand protection. Safety and health professionals in every industry will benefit from the latest updates and innovations in work gloves – perhaps the most ubiquitous personal protective equipment (PPE) used by workers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that about 110,000 hours a year are lost to hand injuries, and hand injuries send more than one million workers to the emergency room each year.

Typically, the cost of implementing a hand protection program far exceeds the cost of one injury. Hand injuries resulting from cuts and puncture cost the construction industry alone approximately $382 million each year, second only to back strain and sprain injury, according to the BLS.

The National Safety Council offers a guide to estimating costs: Direct cost of a laceration is about $10,000; stitches about $2,000 plus indirect costs; butterfly about $300; and severed tendon about $70,000.

According to the BLS, 70 percent of workers who experienced hand injuries were not wearing gloves. And the remaining 30 percent of injured workers that did wear gloves experienced injuries because the gloves were inadequate, damaged or the wrong type for the type of hazard present.

OSHA’s hand protection (PPE) standard mandates that employers select and require employees to use appropriate hand protection when employees’ hands are exposed to the following hazards:

• skin absorption of harmful substances
• severe cuts or lacerations
• severe abrasions or punctures
• chemical burns or thermal burns
• harmful temperature extremes

Articles in this eBook cover the following:

• Global standards for protective gloves
• New glove testing standards—10 things you need to know
• Gloves with a good grip reduce exertion and fatigue
• The cutting edge of hand protection—Form-fitting gloves and cutresistant materials
• One size doesn’t fit all—break with tradition and match gloves to hazards
• Assessing levels of abrasion, cut, tear & puncture exposure
• Function, feel & protection
• Beyond arc flash protection—Protect hands from all possible exposures

ISHN thanks all the subject-matter experts who contributed articles, and appreciates the contributions of ISHN’s Hand Protection eBook Volume One sponsors. I’m sure you’ll find this eBook to be valuable in assessing safety and health hand protection risks, technologies and solutions in your workplace.

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