Page 31 - OHS, March 2020

cut-proof or puncture-proof glove.
“A glove doesn’t make you superhuman,” Myrick said. “But
good cut and puncture protection is a common-sense investment, since spending money upfront to prevent such an expensive injury will deliver long-term cost savings.”
Proactive & Balanced Safety
Being proactive about safety is always better than being reactive. ISEA-member suppliers will typically go out of their way to help educate any company regardless of where it’s at on the journey to- ward better safety.
“Sometimes we don’t get a call until it’s too late,” Gietzen said. “Something has happened at a company, and that’s often what spurs it to embrace change.”
As Watson recalls, prior to the injury he witnessed several years ago, the employees, supervisors and even safety team members had initially been more focused on cut rather than puncture hazards— and it was hard to find the protection rating on a glove back then.
“A lot of [glove] companies are doing a better job of labeling and including the protection levels for different types of hazards,” Watson said.
Watson also notes that end users need to look closely at a sup- plier’s spec sheet to understand not only the level of protection, but also what part of the hand that level applies to. Don’t assume that
a glove protects all parts of the hand equally. For example, he says, a glove might have a protection level of A8 for the palm, while the fingers and back of the hand might have a rating of A4.
Those differences stem from the trade-off, as Watson puts it, between safety and dexterity. A glove can’t prevent all injuries, but rather has to balance usability and safety. Lack of dexterity can lead to hand fatigue and other types of injuries (such as from dropping an object), as well, he notes.
“When you reduce dexterity, you trade one hazard for another,” Watson said. “As safety professionals, we have to educate ourselves about the hazards we can truly protect against and in some cases think in terms of PPE reducing the severity of injuries when elimi- nation has not been achievable with the hierarchy of controls.”
The takeaway here for safety managers is that choosing the right hand protection is a nuanced and complex process—and taking the time to do it well is vital. As Mark Bateman, director of sales at Bob Dale Gloves, warns: Beware of rogue suppliers who just show up with a box of gloves to try out. The best companies in the indus- try go out of their way to listen closely to prospective customers, reality-check their needs, and offer in-depth education based on the latest industry standards.
Lydia Baugh is director of external affairs at the International Safety Equipment Association in Arlington, Virginia.
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