Thirty percent of workers who wear hand protection don’t wear the right kind of glove for the task, according to the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), which has just released a resource designed to help safety managers select the application-appropriate impact protection gloves for their employees.
Why does hand protection matter so much?
Hand injuries accounted for more than 40% of nonfatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in private industry in 2017 that involved days away from work. National Safety Council data shows that a hand injury can cost from $540 to $26,000 in terms of lost productivity, workers comp and liability insurance costs. OSHA reports that 70.9 percent of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with personal protective equipment, specifically safety gloves.
A new white paper from ISEA, Selecting the Best Impact-Resistant Hand Protection:
- Explains the ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 industry standard
- Outlines the three performance levels of hand-impact gloves
- Provides links to PPE providers participating in ISEA’s Hand Protection Group
The white paper also includes a link to the downloadable #SafeHands Awareness Campaign hand-protection infographic. #SafeHands is a hand protection awareness and education campaign, launched this year by ISEA in collaboration with the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) and the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association (VPPPA). Visit SafeHandsAtWork.org for details.
