Knowing how to choose the right type of personal protective equipment (PPE) for your workers and employees is vital to improving safety and security. At the same time, they go about their daily tasks. If you run a business that involves a lot of cutting, cutting safety and protecting your employees should be your highest priorities.
Cutting safety starts with the proper training and selecting the correct tools. However, your workers also need additional equipment that helps keep them safe. That’s where cut-resistant gloves (CRG) come into play.
Since there is a wide range of CRG on the market, the best way to choose the right ones for your needs is to break down their uses, benefits, and limitations. Essentially, you can use cut-resistant gloves alongside safety knives to prevent workplace injuries and reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace.
These gloves are designed to protect the wearer’s hands while working with different kinds of sharp tools. If you combine such protective equipment with sound safety practices, you can increase the safety of your workers.
Knife-proof gloves minimize the chance of getting injured.
Contrary to popular belief, knife proof gloves can’t eliminate the risk of getting injured as too many different factors determine the effectiveness of your cut-resistant gloves. Some of the factors include:
- Frequency, direction, amount, and length of the cutting force applied
- The design and shape of the cutting edge
- Blade sharpness and the type of blade
- Cut length
The main purpose of knife-proof gloves is to increase the level of precaution, safety, and protection for workers’ fingers and hands from:
- Lacerations
- Cuts
- Knife injuries
- Cutting accidents
CRG help exercise safety precautions
The biggest reason behind cut accidents and lacerations is workers’ ignorance regarding the importance of taking necessary safety precautions when handling their cutting tools. If they fail to take the steps needed to ensure maximum safety and protection, workplace incidents are just waiting to happen.
That’s why exercising safety precautions is crucial to preventing injuries and incidents. Personal protective equipment protects workers from lacerations and cuts while handling an array of cutting machines, tools, and equipment, as well as sharp-edged items such as ceramics, glass, metals, blades, and knives.
CRG help demonstrate a high standard of safety
Ensuring your workforce has adequate protection equipment and training protects them and displays your efforts and dedication to providing a workplace with the highest safety standard.
CRG is designed to protect your workers, but they are only as good as the safety practices in place. Some industries are more hazardous for workers than others. Because of that, they require higher levels of safety, security, and protection.
Every industry that involves workers using general-purpose knives and handling steel cables, potentially harmful materials, piping, and metal works should exercise protection and safety training to inform their employees of the importance of wearing protective equipment at all times.
On the other hand, knife-proof gloves are necessary because they protect workers from all manner of risks, including high temperatures, abrasion, etc.
CRG are designed to protect
Protective gloves are designed to be cut-resistant. However, they aren’t 100% cut-proof. As their name suggests, cut-resistant gloves provide a certain level of protection and cut-resistance. Because of that, they can be instrumental and beneficial to workers as they significantly decrease the risk of finger or hand injuries.
When combined with other pieces of PPE, they provide an adequate level of protection and safety for your workers. However, exposed knife blades still pose a risk for people, even with their safety and protective equipment on. Hence the importance of proper training and exercising safety precautions.
Cut resistant materials
CRG comes in various types, styles, and materials. They also differ by safety levels. Each safety level is tested and rated based on the latest industry standards, set by the American National Standards Institute’s ASTM F2992 cut test.
If you want to ensure that your workers get the protection that will ensure the highest level of safety, you should choose the right type of cut-resistant gloves according to the task at hand. The highest-rated CRG may not be enough to protect your employees from all the hazards in your workplace due to the materials not fitting the task they handle.
Simple tasks and heavy-duty gloves won’t ensure the right level of dexterity for your workers to do the job right. On the other hand, having light equipment in heavy-duty environments will put your workers’ safety at risk. Therefore, the type of CRG should match the nature of the job and the risk that comes with that job.
Conclusion
Cut-resistant gloves are a vital part of a full range of PPE. While they are cut-resistant, they aren’t cut-proof. That’s why you must ensure that your workers receive the necessary knowledge and training regarding the benefits, uses, and limitations of cut-resistant gloves.
If they know their strengths and weaknesses, your workers will use CRG properly and avoid injuries and accidents.
