One of the top strategies for effectively meeting these factors is the provision of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for diverse workplaces. In this regard, furnishing workers with the right PPE for hand safety is particularly paramount. Human hands are universally rated as some of the most essential tools in the industrial environment. So improper care or inattention tends to give rise to dire outcomes.
According to some studies, hand injuries represent more than a million medical emergencies in America alone. Of these, almost 70% can be attributed to workers failing to wear safety gloves. While the rest are caused by workers wearing wrong or damaged gloves.
These grim estimates without doubt highlight the importance of proper protective gear including safety gloves in the workplace. As the awareness of the fundamental role PPE plays has increased, regulatory agencies like the Department of Labor and the National Safety Council have introduced a number of guidelines that mandate the utilization of PPE like safety gloves in high-risk industrial settings. According to statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), almost 70.9% of all hands and arms injuries in the workplace may be prevented by wearing proper safety gloves for different work environments. To this end, under the OSH Act, OSHA now enforces a set of targeted regulations in the country. It also mandates compliance with PPE standards that were developed by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).
Industries that require hand safety regulations the most – Automotive Industry
PPE is critical for virtually all manufacturing and industrial domains. However, the automotive sector leads when it comes to the numerous hazards which are related to automobile manufacturing processes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in the automotive industry experience higher rates of injuries when compared to all other industries combined.
Some of the most common of these accidents are hand-related injuries. This can include cuts, severe lacerations, burns, and even punctures. Still, as it was earlier noted, hand injuries are numbered among the most preventable mishaps when proper PPE including safety gloves are utilized consistently and suitably.
The automotive production field encompasses many different task areas such as paint shops, machining shops, molding shops, maintenance shops, stamping shops, body shops, and others. All of these necessitate varying kinds of hand protection. Today, several standards exist for testing the protection levels of industrial gloves that protect against cuts, burns, punctures, or even chemical exposure. However, there isn’t yet any standard for measuring the performance of protective gear protecting against back, offhand impact injuries. Fortunately, this will soon change as the ANSI is now at the front lines of setting new standards for this category of industrial hand injuries.
Medical and other sectors
When COVID-19 struck, it triggered the largest global health crisis in recent times. Governments worldwide struggled to prevent the continued spread of this virus, which increased the demand for PPE, including disposable gloves to protect frontline workers from being exposed to the highly infectious disease. Disposable gloves are noted for helping mitigate the risk of infections via direct contact with infected persons or objects thanks to their one-time utilization.
Eureka Oxygen is a foremost provider of a wide range of PPE including diverse gloves for different industrial and medical fields. Our highly knowledgeable staff are always there to help you find the right safety gloves for your unique needs and requirements. Eureka Oxygen also offers the finest welding equipment, welding supplies and industrial equipment and safety gear.