Howtochoosetherightgloveforthejob

Makesureyourewearingglovestoprotectyourhandswhenthereisapotentialforhandinjury;sounds simpleenough,right?Thetruth,however,isthattheresawholelotmoretoitthanthatandthata goodnumberofinjuriesoccurbecausethewrongglovewasselected. Sohowareyousupposedtomakesurethatyouhavethecorrectglove? Thisarticleisgoingtotrytoanswerthatquestionandprovideastepbystepproceduretoselectingthe correctgloveforeachsituationorapplication Thestepsareasfollows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Identifywhyagloveisnecessary Identifythehazard Selecttheappropriatematerialforthathazard Sizetheglovecorrectly Assesotherfactors

Letswalkthrougheachoftheseinturn

1. Identifyingwhyagloveisnecessary
Therearetworeasonswhyaglovemightbenecessary. a. ToprotectthehandsagainsttheproductInthiscategorywehavechemicalresistant gloves,leathergloves,antivibrationgloves,etcThebasicnatureofthisassessment saysthattheproductthatwearehandlinghasthepotentialtocauseinjurythatwe needtheglovetoprotectusagainst. b. ToprotecttheproductagainstthehandsManyproductswouldbecontaminatedby oilsandparticlesthatareonthehands(thinkcircuitboardshere).Protectingthe productagainsttheuseristhereasonwhyagloveisneededinthisapplication.

2. Identifyingthehazard
Hazardsfallintooneofthefollowingcategories a. Abrasions,scrapesandcutsWhatwemeanbythisisthatthenatureofthesurface wearetryingtoprotectourselvesagainstwilldeterminewhichglovematerialwillwork best.Roughsurfaces,sharpedgesandpuncturepotentialsneedtobeprotected against. b. ChemicalsVariouschemicalshaveadversepropertieswhenitcomestocontactwith skin.Thenatureofthechemicalwilldeterminethenatureofthepolymerwewillhave 1 NationalSafety,Inc.6910S.196thSt.Kent,WA980328002137092 www.nationalsafetyinc.com|

tousetoprotectthehands.MSDSsheetsandchemicalresistantchartsfromthe individualmanufacturerwillbeusedtodeterminewhichglovewillofferthebest protection. c. Viruses,Bacteria,bloodbornepathogensandbodyfluidsLatexand/orNitrilegloves aremostoftenusedtoprotectagainstthishazard. 1 d. TemperatureWhetherextremeheatorextremecold e. PowerElectricalcurrant

3. Selectingtheappropriatematerialforthehazard
Thetypeofmaterialthatyouselectfortheglovesyouwillbewearingwill,ofcourse,varywith thetaskthatyouaredoing.If,forexample,youaredealingwithoilbasedsubstances,youwill wanttomakesurethatyoudonotuselatexglovesasoilwithdegradelatex(Toseethis happen,simplyinflatealatexgloveandsprayitwithWD40andwatchthegloveexplode),Nitrile gloveswouldbeabetterchoice. Thelistofthedifferentmaterialsavailableisalonglistindeedandincludescotton,leather, vinyl,nitrile,latex,PVC,Neoprene,Butyl,Viton,Hypalon,Kevlar,Dyneema,Spectra,Polyvinyl Alcohol(PVA)andmore. Inaddition,therearecombinationssuchasleatherpalmgloveswithcottonbackingthatallow youtogetthebenefitsoftheleatherwhereneededbutwiththebreathabilityofcottononthe backofthehand.Thiscategoryincludesalargeselectionofdippedglovesaswell. Othergloves,suchasHexarmorglovesuseahardsubstancewithabackingonittocoversmall areastothewholeofthegloveinordertomaketheglovecutresistantandeven,whenseveral alternatinglayersareused,needlestickresistance. Youwillneedtodoalittleresearchtomakesurethatyouhavetherightmaterial.For chemicals,youcangetachemicalresistancechartoronlinetoolforevaluatingwhichmaterial holdsupbestforthespecificchemicalthatyouaredealingwith.Youshouldalsobeabletoget helpfromyoursafetyandglovedistributor(We,forexample,atNationalSafety,Inc.help customersselecttheappropriategloveinconjunctionwiththedifferentmanufacturers. www.nationalsafetyinc.com)

1 Note:Sometimestheglovethatisusedtoprotectcanbecomethehazarditself.Thisisseenmost notablyinthecaseoflatexallergies.Latexallergiescandevelopovertimeandcauseseriousadverse effects.Insuchcases,switchingtoNitrileorsomeotherpolymercansolvetheproblem.

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4. Sizingtheglovecorrectly
Itisalsoimportanttomakesurethatyouawearingtherightsizeglove.Somegloveslikethe SeamlessStringKnitGlove(viewtheglovehere)willstretchtofitmosthandsbutmanyother glovesaresizedspecificallyfortheindividualuser. Makingsurethatyouvegotthecorrectsizeissimplyamatterofgrabbingatapemeasure(a flexibleone,liketailorsuse)andmeasuringaroundyourhandacrossthepalm,excludingthe thumbasshownintheillustrationbelow.

Based on that measurement select your size from the table below:

6" ---XS 7" --- Small 8" --- Medium 9" --- Large 10" --- XL 11" --- 2XL

5. Assessingotherfactors
Havingdonealltheabove,youarealmostreadytoselecttheglovethatyouwillneed. Additionalfactorsthatyouneedtoconsiderbeforeyoumakeyourgloveselectionare: 1. Howlongdoyouneedtheglovetobe? Doyousimplyneedtoprotectthehandsthemselvesoristhereaneedtoprotectthe 3 NationalSafety,Inc.6910S.196thSt.Kent,WA980328002137092 www.nationalsafetyinc.com|

wristsandevenpartofthearm?Lengthofgloveisimportanttotheassessmentofthe correctglove.Usethechartbelowtomaketherightselection

2. Doyouneedasafetycuff? Ifyouareworkingaroundmovingpartsandmachinery,forexample,youwillprobably wantasafetycuffonyourglovetoallowtheglovetoslipoffthehandifitshouldget caughtinthemachineryratherthanpullingthehandintoit. 3. Aretherevibrationand/orimpactissuestoconsider? Vibrationandimpactissuesrequirespecialantivibrationglovesinordertohelpfighta conditionknownaswhitefinger(alsoknownasHandArmVibrationSyndromeor HAVS).Itisbeyondthescopeofthisarticletogointothisconditionintoomuchdetail butyoucanfindoutmoreaboutthisconditionatwww.havsrm.com . 4. Whatarethetemperatureissues(coldweather,hotweather,rain,etc)? Leathergloves,forexampleprovideacertainamountofresistanttocoldbutloose muchofthatqualitywhentheygetwet.Insulatedcoldweatherglovesmightbeabetter choiceforrainandsnow. Inhotweather,workerswillpreferglovesthatbreathe,allowingthehandsnottoget toosweaty.

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AppendixAGlossaryofTerms
Leatherterms
BackLeatherLeathermadefromthebackoftheanimal(Seeillustrationbelow) BellyLeatherLeathermadefromthebellyoftheanimal(seeillustrationbelow) BuckskinLeathermadefromthehideofadeerorabuck.ThereisgenuineBuckskinwhichisthe outerhideofthedeerorbuckandSplitbuckskinwhichistheundercutofthedeerorbuckhide. ButtLeatherLeathermadefromtherumporhindendoftheanimal(SeeIllustrationbelow) CowhideLeathermadefromthehideofacow.Theadvantageofthisleatheristhatitiscomfortable, durable,breathableandithasexcellentabrasion. DeerskinLeathermadefromthehideofdeer GoatSkinLeathermadefromthehideofagoat.Strong,durableandsoftleatherwithgreatabrasion. GrainLeatherTheexteriorsurfaceofthehide,wheretheanimalhairwas.Thisleatherisnormally smoothandresistant(Seeillustrationbelow). PigskinLeathermadefromthehideofapig.Thisisaverysoftleatherthatwithstandsmoisturemore thanothertypesofleather.Italsohasextremebreathability ShoulderleatherLeatherfromtheshoulderoftheanimal(seeillustrationbelow) SideLeatherLeatherfromthesideoftheanimal(seeillustrationbelow) SplitLeatherThisleatheristhehidethatisunderneaththegrain,ortop,leather.Intermsofquality, thesidesplitisbest,followedbytheshouldersplitwiththebellysplitbeingthemostinferior(See illustrationbelow).

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BellyLeather SideLeather ButtLeather BackLeather SideLeather BellyLeather Shoulder Leather BackLeather Shoulder Leather

TypesofLiners
FleeceABrushedCottonLining FoamAsyntheticfoampaddingliner PileAsyntheticwoolliner PolyesterFiberAhollowfiberinsulation ThinsulateAMicrofiberInsulation

GloveandCuffStyles
BeadedCuffSometimescalledrolledcuff,thiscuffisslightlybeaded,orrolled,toprovidedrip protectionfromliquidsthatmightotherwiserolldownthegloveontothearmorwrist. KnitWristCuffThiscuffisatighterknitaroundthewristtohelpholdthegloveinplace. SafetyCuffWidercuffprovidesincreasedventilationandeasyremoval SupportedGlovesAlinerofsomesortisplacedonthemoldbeforethemoldisdippedintothe material.Thislinermakestheglovemorecomfortableandstronger. 6 NationalSafety,Inc.6910S.196thSt.Kent,WA980328002137092 www.nationalsafetyinc.com|

UnsupportedGlovesMeansthattheglovemoldisdippeddirectlyintothematerialwithnoliner betweenthematerialandthemold.Theadvantageofthisisincreaseddexterity.

Grips,FinishesandTextureterms
EmbossedFinishAgroovedpatternisimbeddedintotheunsupportedglovetoincreasegrip.Also referredtoasaTexturedFinish GritFinishPVCgritisaddedtotheglove.Thistextureisnotasfineasthesandfinish. RoughFinishThelargestgrainsurfacedesignedspecificallyforgloveswhereastronggripisnecessary. SandFinishAsandypolymerisappliedtotheglovetogiveittexture SmoothFinishAsmoothsurfacedoesnotnecessarilymeanaslicksurface.Insomecases,asmooth finishhasexcellentgripformanyofthesurfacesbeinghandled TexturedFinishSeeEmbossedFinish

Patterns
AmbiStyleShortforambidextrousmeaningeitherhandthisstyleissometimesalsoknownasa reversibleglove.Theglovefitseitherhand.Themainadvantagetothisgloveisthattheycandouble thelifeoftheglovebyswitchinghandsafterthepalmshavewornout. CluteCutThisisoneofthepatternsthatisusedonacutnsewglove(materialiscutintopieceand sewntogethertomaketheglove).AClutecutglovehasaseamlesspalmwiththreeseamsbetweenthe fingersallthewaydownthebackoftheglove.Thispatterncanbeuncomfortableinthickerfabricsand leather. FourchettePatternThisistheoptimumpatternforaglovebutdifficulttosewandthereforemost expensive.Ithasnoseamseitherinthepalmoronthebackofthegloveandincludesgussetsbetween thefingers.Thismeansthattherearenoseamsinanyoftheworkareas. GunnStyleThisisanotherpatternthatisusedinacutnsewglove.Inthispatternthereisaseamless backandaseaminthepalmofthegloveacrossthebaseofthetwomiddlefingers.Thisplacesthe gunnseaminanaturalcreaseofthehandsothatitisnotuncomfortable.Itispreferredforaheavy dutyglove. SeamThumbThisstylehasaleatherstrapaddedtotheinsideoftheseamstoaddstrength. StraightThumbDesignedforworkthatisdoneClosedfisted.Theseamsonthegloveareaway fromthegrippingsurface. WingThumbDesignedforworkthatisdoneOpenhanded.Theseamsonthegloveareawayfrom thesurfacewhenthehandisopen. 7 NationalSafety,Inc.6910S.196thSt.Kent,WA980328002137092 www.nationalsafetyinc.com|