by John Varaljay

How do companies strike a balance between meeting safety requirements and controlling costs?

In view of the high number of occupational hand injuries each year and the associated high costs to business, you would think protective glove programs would be a priority. Yet often the cost control environment says to safety directors, "Simply comply," assuming that buying the minimum needed to meet requirements will be cheaper. 

But does mere compliance really optimize workers’ safety or cost control?

Numbers don’t lie
Hand protection is necessary — and required by OSHA standards — to reduce the risk and high cost of occupational injuries. Regardless of these requirements, look at the numbers: Occupational injuries to the upper extremities, including the arms, wrists, hands and fingers, typically account for about 25 percent of all reported injuries. These hand and arm injuries cost an average of $3,000 per incident, costing American industry billions of dollars annually. 

For example, in 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 1,700,000 lost-workday occupational injuries, with almost 400,000 of those being injuries to fingers, hands and wrists. That year, the total cost was $1.19 billion.

Obviously, many of these injuries are preventable through proper use of protective gloves. But statistics show that merely issuing gloves fails to reduce the incidence of injuries. The solution rests, literally, in the workers’ hands. They need to wear their protective gloves every time they perform a job with cut, abrasion and burn risks, and, to meet this end, you need to provide the gloves that best fit the job and the wearer. 

In other words, when you provide the right glove — that means the best protection and performance at the best price — your yield is better compliance.

Balancing safety and savings
A plant’s safety director and purchasing director should work as a team with a glove professional to determine the best allocation of limited safety resources while keeping a lid on workplace accidents. 

You might say, "We already wear protective gloves." But, for instance, are workers wearing a too-expensive glove that protects them from hazards they never encounter? Choosing the "right" glove for a particular job is easier with the help of a professional glove specialist because their extensive knowledge of hand protection allows them to effectively match glove to task. 

Achieving a balance between injury prevention and cost savings is attained by following three steps. 

1) Examine the hazards.
To begin, the glove professional evaluates the hazards of the workplace by performing a complete job safety analysis. Determining the proper heat- or cut-resistant gloves — those meeting OSHA requirements or plant safety standards — also requires input from workers regarding comfort and dexterity. 

If operators are regarded as the experts in their tasks and have a say in the selection, they are more apt to wear the gloves they are issued. 

2) Compare the options.
After determining the particular hazards and possible solutions, the team evaluates all glove options for suitability, wear life and cost effectiveness. This is where safety professionals and purchasing specialists with seemingly opposing objectives actually complement one another to achieve a well-balanced glove safety program. 

If the tendency is to buy the least expensive glove for each application — for compliance — the facility glove analysis can redirect mere compliance to better protection with added value. And, to the surprise of many, an analysis generally reveals that less money, not more, needs to be spent on hand protection. For instance, perhaps too many styles are used where, in fact, fewer would suffice. 

The survey also brings to everyone’s attention the reality that better quality gloves last longer because of extended wear life and better washability, resulting in long-term cost savings.

3) Implement and regularly review the program.
Once the glove program decided upon by the team is in place, it reflects measurable results in a lowered injury rate and a better-looking bottom line. Regularly reviewing the program with the glove professional ensures it keeps producing the desired results. 

The glove professional’s role as auditor can expand to that of educator and advisor as new developments in hand protection technology come on the scene. Training programs conducted or supplied by the glove pro are valuable for increasing worker compliance.

But keep in mind that no single glove manufacturer necessarily has a product that is best for every need. A responsible manufacturer recommends the best glove for the application, even if it must recommend a competitor’s product.

OK, what’s the answer to the ‘best glove’ question?
The "best glove" is, of course, the one that gets worn. But by choosing them based on a thorough facility analysis by a glove professional, companies find the best gloves offer real cost savings to a company, in both injury reduction and more efficient purchasing. Safety directors, purchasing specialists and workers who are educated about proper hand protection can together achieve that balance.

John Varaljay is vice president and general manager for Wells Lamont Industry Group, a manufacturer of hand protection products. For more info, visit www.wellslamontindustry.com.

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