Workplace safety begins with providing the right personal protective equipment (P.P.E) to your workforce. Whether it’s safety goggles, safety jackets, safety shoes, or safety gloves, selecting the right safety gloves is paramount.
And when it comes to hand protection, only the right safety gloves will guard your hands and keep them protected against different workplace hazards. No matter how safe your working environment is, your hands will always be exposed, as they are constantly in action and are the first to come in contact with dust, particles, oil & chemicals, hazardous material etc.
Whether you work in a laboratory, construction site, manufacturing facility, or any other industry, to perform any small or big task, you’ll use the most utilized part of the human body: hands. They are constantly in action, continuously moving, and help workers in performing various tasks like pulling, lifting or mixing, handling various tools, materials, and equipment etc. Right safety gloves protect hands from direct chemical exposure or any mechanical risks and are useful in any type of industry or working environment.
In this blog, we will look at essential tips for selecting the right safety gloves for your workforce.
Understanding the Hazards
Equipping your workforce with the right safety gloves is challenging. However, the real challenge is to accurately assess the working environment and the weather conditions. This is the responsibility of the safety team.
Before investing in any personal protective equipment, there is a strong need to inspect the workplace and understand the different hazards present. Hazards can be in any form. From extreme cold to heat waves, from frequent rains to sand storms, uncontrollable fires to electric hazards, presence of sharp objects to hazardous materials and chemicals etc.
Proper safety evaluation will help in buying the right safety gloves for your workforce. Especially the type of hazard present will help in determining the right safety gloves for your workforce. However, right safety gloves must be comfortable with a strong grip, enough to carry tools and perform other tasks. Comfort and strong grip will only be possible, if the right safety gloves match the size and shape of the worker.
Consequently, taking precise measurements of the workers and maintaining a comprehensive inventory of different size and shape safety gloves is as crucial after inspecting the working environment.
Inspecting the workplace and providing the right personal protective equipment is crucial in a place like Dubai, where workplace accidents are common. One worker died and 117 people were injured over an 18-month period, after numerous companies in Dubai failed to adhere to health and safety requirements. Dubai Police’s forensic engineering section, which investigates the causes of industrial accidents, dealt with 145 cases between January 2020 and July this year, including one incident involving two children.
Selecting the Right Type Of Safety Gloves
There are a variety of right safety gloves available in the Dubai market. Different safety gloves have different designs but all are manufactured with one purpose: to keep hands protected from workplace hazards. Following are the different types of safety gloves available:
1. Disposable Gloves
Perfect for short term use and ideal for workplaces like laboratories, medical settings, and food handling etc. These are effective against any contaminants and chemicals, and are designed for single-use purposes. These can’t be reused once disposed. Therefore, after their use, it is critical to dispose of them properly and responsibly.
2. Cut-Resistant Gloves:
There are certain working environments where workers are required to handle sharp objects or glass materials, especially on construction sites or metal industries. In such a scenario, cut-resistant gloves come to the worker’s rescue. These right safety gloves are uniquely designed to protect against cuts and lacerations.
3. Chemical-Resistant Gloves:
Working environments like laboratories, chemical or manufacturing industries or factories have hazardous chemicals and substances in large quantities. Workers coming in contact with these hazardous substances and burning their hands have been a common occurrence. So workers must be provided with chemical resistant gloves which are strong enough to protect hands from any dangerous or hazardous material.
4.Cold & Heat-Resistant Gloves:
These safety goggles are suitable for environments with extremely hot or cold temperatures. Most preferred choice for welders, electricians, or for any outdoor work in hot or cold weather.
Selecting the Right Material
Selecting the right safety gloves with the right material is critical. A top quality safety glove provides top level protection and is highly effective in any work environment. The choice of material should be capable of dealing with any types of hazards and risks present in the workplace. So select the appropriate material right safety gloves from the following.
- Latex Gloves
- Nitrile Gloves
- Vinyl Gloves
- Leather Gloves
- Fabric or cotton gloves
- Rubber, plastic or synthetic gloves
- Kevlar gloves
- Puncture resistant gloves
- Impact resistant and vibration resistant gloves
- Chemical and liquid resistant gloves
- Butyl rubber gloves
- Neoprene gloves
Compliance with Safety Standards
The best way to ensure safety and well-being of your workforce is to comply with the industry specific safety and legal requirements. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has different regulations for different personal protective equipments (P.P.E). According to OSHA, Standard 1910.138(b) deals with the selection of such protective hand gear: “Employers shall base the selection of the appropriate hand protection on an evaluation of the performance characteristics of the hand protection relative to the task to be performed, conditions present, duration of use, and the hazards and potential hazards identified.”
Conclusion
Hand protection is an important part of workplace safety. Hands being the most utilized part of the body, need durable, comfortable and strong right safety gloves to protect them from different workplace hazards. Right safety gloves are useful in any kind of working environment and are effective against heat, cold, water, fire, electric shocks, dangerous and hazardous substances and chemicals, oil, etc Before selecting the right safety gloves for your workforce, employers need to inspect the working environment and understand the hazards present. After proper evaluation of the workplace, employers can choose from the variety of right safety gloves available in the Dubai market. Depending on the type of hazards, select the right safety gloves that will meet the safety and legal requirement like disposable gloves, cut-resistant gloves, chemical-Resistant gloves, cold & heat-resistant gloves, latex gloves, nitrile gloves, vinyl gloves, leather gloves, fabric or cotton gloves, rubber, plastic or synthetic gloves, kevlar gloves, puncture resistant gloves, impact resistant and vibration resistant gloves, chemical and liquid resistant gloves, butyl rubber gloves, neoprene gloves etc.
