ANSI PROTECTION STANDARDS HELP IMPROVE WORKPLACE HAND SAFETY

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Everyday American workers on construction sights, factories and recycling/sorting lines handle sharp metal, broken glass, razors, discarded hypodermic needles, construction waste and abrasive materials that cause serious hand injuries, sometimes long-term.

No matter what the task, equipping your team with the right personal protection helps them work efficiently and, most importantly, safely. One essential item that is often overlooked is proper work gloves. When selected for the job, gloves protect workers and can also improve productivity.

Industrial work gloves vary widely, but the ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 hand-protection and cut-level safety ratings help you assess how well they resist hazards to the hands and arms.

WORK GLOVE MISCONCEPTIONS

Unfortunately, industrial safety gloves do not protect workers’ hands equally or universally, and work gloves designed for one type of workplace hazard may not sufficiently protect against another even though the gloves may look or fit similar.

Workplace hand injuries are the #1 preventable industrial accident, but each year they are among the most common occupational injuries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 70 percent of workers experiencing hand injuries were not wearing work gloves at the time. Further research into these injuries revealed that several workers removed their work gloves to operate a touchscreen or smart device. The remaining 30 percent of injured workers were not wearing the proper type of work glove for the application.

RECORDABLE INJURIES ARE COSTLY

The cost of one incident that could have been prevented by workers wearing the right industrial work glove often far exceeds the cost of an entire hand protection program.

The National Safety Council offers the following as a guide:

• Direct cost of a laceration: $10,000
• Stitches: $2,000 plus indirect
• Butterfly: $300
• Severed Tendon: > $70,000

NEED HELP SELECTING GLOVES?

With rising insurance costs and litigation, it is essential to match the proper work safety glove to the task. Effective hand protection supports workplace wellness and profitability, but with so many options on the market, how do you determine which gloves provide the right level of protection for your team?

To help safety professionals select the proper hand protection, industry safety standards were established that refer to specific test methods to assign protection levels for work gloves that include cut, flame, heat, impact, puncture, arc flash, vibration, abrasion, cold, and chemicals.

WHAT IS THE AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE?

The American National Standards Institute is a nonprofit entity that establishes safety standards for safety industries. It creates and ensures consistency in PPE performance while helping safety professionals assess and compare PPE, making it easier to select the proper protective gear against various hazards. By defining measurable safety benchmarks, the American National Standards Institute provides a universal platform that best defines protection levels holding manufacturers accountable for their protection claims for specific performance properties related to chemical and industrial applications.

ANSI SAFETY RATED HAND PROTECTION

The +ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 standard (which is the sixth edition of the voluntary industry consensus standard on hand and arm protection classification that was first published in 1999) specifies the classification system and testing requirements for industrial hand protection to assist users in their selection of work gloves for specific industrial workplace hazards such as chemical, thermal and mechanical hazards. The ANSI/ISEA 105 uses ASTM or EN (Europe) testing methods to classify work gloves, mitts, sleeve protectors, open finger gloves or other items that cover the hand or a portion of based on abrasion, cut, puncture, and needle resistance.

Check out the pictogram for a quick summary of the ANSI safety standards for protective gloves against hazards including cuts, impact, punctures, heat and abrasion.

WHAT DOES THAT PENTAGON SAY?

Is your glove safety rated? On the back of the work glove there should be a pentagon pictogram that displays ANSI’s numerical cut, abrasion, and puncture resistance ratings together in a single, standardized label.

Positioning within the pentagon should be as follows:

• Cut Level Rating: Location Top Center
• Abrasion Level Rating: Location Left
• Probe Puncture Level Rating: Location Right

SHOPPING FOR INDUSTRIAL WORK GLOVES?

Work gloves come in various styles and can protect against a wide range of occupational hazards. However, because hand-injury risks vary widely, choosing the right pair of safety gloves can be challenging.

As hand-protection specialists, MDS offers a broad selection of competitively priced industrial work gloves—from mechanic’s gloves to ANSI/ISEA 138 Level 3 impact-resistant styles; from ANSI cut level A9 palm-coated seamless knits to leather drivers; and from arc-rated to heat- and chemical-resistant glove options. MDS also offers biodegradable work gloves.

Many of our work glove styles have multiple safety features designed to protect operators against one or more hazards such as punctures, heat, impacts, wintry conditions, fingertip crushing, lacerations, excessive vibrations, abrasion, arc-flash, and snagging/tearing. Many cut-resistant work gloves are available with high visibility accents, swipe or touchscreen compatibility and available with thermal insulation.

GLOVE BRANDS YOU CAN TRUST

AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR

Available at wholesale prices, MDS Associates is proud to distribute industrial work safety gloves from reputable and renowned glove suppliers such as  Protective Industrial Products (PIP®), Showa®, Guardian®, QRP®, U.S. Mesh®, Portwest®, Superior Glove®, Ansell®, Majestic® Glove, QRP®, Caiman®, Turtleskin®, Boss®, HexArmor® and more.

If you are a safety manager, foreman, production supervisor, or a safety professional shopping for industrial work safety gloves to minimize injuries on the job site or production lines, MDS sells an amazing portfolio of high performing ASTM ANSI/ISEA safety rated hand protection for every task.  All you need to do is tap the link and …

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