Page 44 - OHS, January/February 2021

PPE: HAND PROTECTION
Pushing the Boundaries of Hand Protection
New technology is delivering next-generation comfort, dexterity and protection.
BY ANDREW SHIELDS
Most industrial work gloves include a back-of-hand impact protector. Usually made from TPR (thermoplastic rubber)
and stitched or glued onto the product, this component of PPE is vital in terms of function, but has a number of drawbacks.
The thickness of the TPR needed to give sufficient protection can make gloves inflexible and tiring to wear, while the level of dexterity required by a worker to complete many manual tasks can be compromised. The lack of ventilation caused by the large surfaces of solid TPR bumpers in such gloves also means they retain heat and sweat, making them uncomfortable over long periods of use.
As a result, some workers simply discard their hand protection rather than persevering with equipment that is uncomfortable and unsuited to the task. However, doing this leaves workers at greater risk of serious injury to one of the most vulnerable parts of the body.
Personnel in the offshore oil and gas, construction, mining, manufacturing, warehousing and transport industries, as well as consumers doing DIY, are particularly susceptible to hand impact injuries.
In 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 43 percent of non-fatal occupational injuries to upper extremities requiring days away from work affected the hands.1 The Association of Drilling Contractors’ 2018 summary of occupational incidents found that more than 41 percent of total industry recordable incidents by body part involved fingers, hands and wrists.2
Applying Cross-Sector Learning
A particular issue in developing products intended for use in demanding environments such as these is that glue or adhesive can fail, while stitching can come apart. Stitched products also require a flange, further obstructing dexterity and breathability and making them less comfortable.
Impact protection specialist D3O
has conducted extensive R&D to explore how its materials could be more easily integrated into garments and combined with fabrics and substrates compared to the previously used methods. In 2019, the company launched D3O Ghost, a CE level 1-certified, “fit and forget” limb protector for motorsport and mountain bike riders. This product was manufactured using Impact Print, a new process for imprinting materials directly onto fabrics and substrates.
The process enabled the company’s materials to be printed directly onto a fabric with greater detail and complexity, and with the protective material attached to the substrate via a durable mechanical bond capable of withstanding the toughest conditions.
This combination of factors proved significant. The new technology made anoptimalcombinationofbreathability
possible through the open geometries that support impact performance while also allowing airflow. The latter, which is defined by the substrate on which the protection is printed, includes the following:
■ Enhanced flexibility (also determined by the substrate)
■ Low profile due to materials used
■ Enhanced coverage from the ability to print anywhere (compared to the limitations imposed by adhesives or stitching)
■ A superior level of performance.
Having successfully commercialised Impact Print for the motorsport and mountain bike markets, D3O explored which others could benefit from this new technology.
In March 2019, the ANSI/ISEA 138 - 2019 American National Standard for Performance and Classification for Impact ResistantGloveswaspublished.3Thehand
40 Occupational Health & Safety | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
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