Page 29 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2018

Any rules that apply to clothing your workers might wear also should apply to sleeves. Be sure to consult OSHA and company regulations before adding or subtracting any type of PPE on a job.
into barrels or other receptacles that contain sharp materials. Even the receptacles themselves can cause injury as bins become worn over time and may have sharp, uneven edges.
Consider every part of a task when evaluating a job because even something as seemingly simple as transporting heavy objects can cause arm injuries. Workers tend to take the biggest load they can comfortably carry and cradle items against their chest, risking friction, pinches, or scrapes to the arms. Depending on the mate- rial, an abrasion- or cut-resistant sleeve will provide better protec- tion than a shirt sleeve. But sleeves aren’t just for protecting against cuts and abrasions. Be sure to take a look at jobs that involve expo- sure to chemicals and heat or flames. Chemical splash, radiant heat, and hot materials can easily injure arms if your workers have only shirt sleeves, which can also gap open between wrist and elbow, or no arm covering at all.
One place that sleeves may actually increase danger rather than protect from it are jobs that involve power rotating equipment. Any rules that apply to clothing your workers might wear also should
apply to sleeves. Be sure to consult OSHA and company regulations before adding or subtracting any type of PPE on a job.
What’s In It for Your Workers?
The expression “comfort is king” applies doubly to safety because workers tend to shed uncomfortable PPE as a job goes on. Jason Lee, manager of Health & Safety Services at Magid, said, “The number one complaint I get about sleeves is that they’re hot and uncomfortable. Even if workers have their sleeves on, they’re fre- quently pulling them up or down and wearing them improperly.”
Some manufacturers are even developing sleeves specific to particular industries, for example anti- microbial sleeves with high cut protection for food service, making sleeve choice a no-brainer.
Advances in FR and cut-resistant materials mean that manufac- turers can now provide cooler, one-ply protective sleeves that offer the protection of a two-ply sleeve in a product that’s half as thick. In addition, yarns made with coreless technology eliminate the fiber- glass, steel, or basalt core that can break and cause contact dermati- tis in some workers. Instead, the fibers themselves are infused with strength-enhancing micro particles to provide cut protection with-
You need more than just equipment.
You need a safety solution.
The job can often be dangerous. When protecting yourself and your workers, you need more than just equipment, you need a safety solution. One complete with on-site safety evaluations, cutting edge protective products and engineered systems, hands-on training, and the knowledge and expertise
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