Considerations for Choosing the Right Safety Gloves

Work Hazards

The hazards that hands may suffer in the workplace vary depending on the industry and nature of the job, but can generally be summarized into the following categories:

Mechanical damage: When using mechanical equipment or tools, the hands are prone to mechanical injuries such as squeezing, cutting, and impact, such as finger pinching or hand squeezing.

Chemical hazards: In working environments that come into contact with chemicals, hands may be corroded and irritated by chemicals, leading to skin inflammation, burns, and other problems.

Heat hazard: When working in high or low temperature environments, hands are susceptible to heat burns or frostbite.

Vibration hazard: Long term use of vibration tools or mechanical equipment may cause hand vibration damage, such as arm tremor syndrome.

Irritating substances: Prolonged exposure to irritating substances such as paint, solvents, etc. may cause skin allergies, eczema, and other problems in the hands.

Electrostatic hazards: In certain working environments, static electricity may cause discomfort or damage to the hands.

Repetitive labor: Prolonged repetitive movements may cause damage to hand muscles and joints, such as wrist pain caused by prolonged sitting and working.

Squeeze hazard: When working in narrow spaces, the hands may be squeezed, causing damage.

Gloves Function

Anti cutting gloves: mainly used to prevent cuts and punctures caused by cutting edges, sharp objects, etc. These types of gloves are usually made of cutting resistant materials, such as polyethylene, polyester, metal fibers, etc.

Protective gloves: designed to resist various harmful substances such as chemicals, oils, solvents, etc. The materials include rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nitrile rubber, etc., and the specific selection depends on the chemical substances in the working environment.

Insulated gloves: mainly used for electrical work, can prevent current from passing through the hands, and protect workers from electric shock hazards. These types of gloves are usually made of rubber or insulating materials.

Heat resistant gloves: suitable for high temperature environments and can prevent burns to the hands caused by heat sources. Materials may include heat-resistant fibers, leather, etc.

Shock resistant gloves: used to reduce the impact of vibrations on the hands and reduce damage to the joints and muscles of the hands caused by vibrations. Usually includes shock-absorbing pads or materials.

Wear resistant gloves: suitable for working environments that require wear resistance, protecting hands from friction and wear. Materials may include leather, polyethylene, etc.

Fabric gloves: usually used for general protection, such as light loading and unloading work, cleaning work, etc. The materials can be cotton, nylon, polyester, etc.

Cold resistant gloves: designed specifically for low temperature environments to keep hands warm. Usually, materials with good insulation performance are used, such as wool, fluff, waterproof materials, etc.

Comfort 

Comfort is one of the important considerations in the design of work gloves, as if the gloves are not comfortable, workers may be unwilling to wear them or wear them for a short period of time, thereby reducing the protective effect of the gloves. The following are some important features related to the comfort of work gloves:

Appropriate size: Gloves should be of the appropriate size, neither too tight to affect blood circulation and hand flexibility, nor too large to affect work operations and glove stability.

The appropriate fit of gloves is determined by measuring the circumference of the dominant hand around the palm or at the bottom of the metacarpal bone:

Less than 7 inches is particularly small

7.5 inches is very small

8 inches medium

9 inches large

10 inches is particularly large

Extra large for sizes larger than 10.5 inches

Softness: The glove material needs to have sufficient softness to ensure that the hands can move freely without being restricted. Soft gloves are easier to adapt to hand shape and improve wearing comfort.

Breathability: Appropriate breathability helps prevent moisture in the hands and reduces the possibility of sweat accumulation. Gloves with good breathability can reduce discomfort and improve wearing time.

Hygroscopicity: Some gloves have good hygroscopicity, which can absorb sweat and keep hands relatively dry, especially suitable for working environments with high temperatures in summer

Sewing process: The sewing process of gloves should be smooth, without protruding threads or unsuitable sewing positions, to avoid friction and discomfort to the skin of the hands.

Finger flexibility: Gloves should be designed to maintain finger flexibility to ensure that workers can perform meticulous work operations without being obstructed by gloves.

Anti slip design: Some work gloves have anti slip design on the palm or fingertips to provide better grip and help maintain hand stability in wet or sliding environments.

Durability

EN 388 is a standard in the European standard system used to evaluate the mechanical risk resistance of work gloves. This standard mainly focuses on the performance of gloves in cutting, piercing, tearing, and breaking. The EN 388 standard tested these properties and represented the resistance level of gloves in different aspects through numerical levels.

Specifically, the EN 388 standard defines the following four performance parameters:

Cutting resistance (CUT): The symbol is a number indicating the glove’s resistance to cutting. The number range is from 1 to 5, with higher numbers indicating better anti cutting performance.

Puncture resistance: The symbol is a number indicating the resistance of the glove to punctures. The number range is from 1 to 4, with higher numbers indicating better puncture resistance.

Tear resistance (TEAR): The symbol is a number indicating the glove’s resistance to tearing. The number range is from 1 to 4, with higher numbers indicating better tear resistance.

ABRASION: The symbol is a number indicating the resistance of gloves to wear and tear. The number range is from 1 to 4, with higher numbers indicating better wear resistance.