Hand Protection
20% of all disabling accidents on the job involve the hands. Hand injuries send more than one million workers to the emergency room a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Of those one million, 70% were not wearing hand protection and the remaining 30% were wearing inadequate, damaged or incorrect hand protection for the job.
Take a moment to look at your right hand. Take a moment to look at your left hand. Now, think about how many times you use each hand a day, an hour, a minute…We are only given one set of hands in a lifetime and it is our responsibility to take care of them
Personal Protection Equipment can shield you against most work-related hand injuries, as long has it’s the correct equipment for the job. The following types of gloves should be worn accordingly.
Metal or mesh gloves should be worn when working with extreme sharp edges to prevent cuts.
Leather gloves should be worn when working with rough surfaces.
Vinyl or neoprene gloves should be worn when working with toxic chemicals.
Rubber gloves should be worn when working around electricity.
Padded cloth gloves should be worn when working with sharp edges, slivers dirt or high vibration.
Heat resistant gloves should be worn when working with heat or flames.
Latex disposable gloves should be worn when working around germs or bacteria.
Lead-lined gloves should be worn when working around radiation sources.
While PPE is not the only way to protect against hand injuries, it is a crucial component in prevention. Repetitive motion injuries occur when you repeat the same hand motion for a long period of time. Take caution if you begin to feel pain, tingling or numbness in your hands.
Lastly, an extremely important reminder in our line of work, never remove machine guards or bypass safety mechanisms.
procedures exist for a reason and should always be observed prior to putting yours hands into a machine.
