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What's in a Glove?

Achieving better hand p rotection through new glove manufacturing technologies.

May 1, 2008Laura Walter

Its an age-old challenge for the glove manufacturing industry: making gloves that fully protectworkers from potential hazards while not interfering with the work itself. Today, manufacturers areracing to create thinner, lighter, stronger and sleeker gloves that still stand up to on-the-job threats,from cuts and chemicals to vibration and slippery surfaces.

To do this, manufacturers must take advantage of the latest technological advances in the industry.They develop new materials, create layer combinations, experiment with coatings, develop newtesting techniques you name it, and the industry is trying to improve it. Occupational Hazardsspoke to glove manufacturers to learn what they are doing to make sure workers and their tendigits are protected.

Putting an End to VibrationWhen workers use jackhammers, sanders, grinders or other vibrating tools, they risk developinghand-arm vibration syndrome, a painful and disabling condition that causes pain, numbness andtingling in the hands or arms. Workers need a glove that can protect them from vibration withoutbeing so thick it impedes their work.

Ergodyne found a solution with its patented polymer Nu2O2, which is used in the companys line ofANSI-compliant anti-vibration gloves. The glove consists of neoprene and two layers of urethane,one of which is impregnated with oxygen bubbles. Ergodyne President and CEO Tom Votel likens itto a three-layer cake.

The result is a glove that does not fit like a catchers mitt, he explains. It is thicker, but you aretalking about workers who are exposed to really, really extreme vibration. These are guys using jackhammers, chippers, grinders or sanders all day long, so their exposure is significant. This provides areally nice protective solution for that worker, but is also reasonably dexterous.

Of course, to avoid cumbersome gloves, you could always opt for air. The Air Glove line fromImpacto contains a bladder of air inside the glove to attenuate and absorb vibration. Individual airchambers ensure that even if one section is punctured, the rest of the glove maintains its anti-vibration qualities.

Instead of using thick gel or a thick foam pad, which can make gloves very bulky or heavy, we havea self-contained bladder of air within the glove, says Eric Lehtinen, Impacto executive vicepresident. Its a network of individual air pockets that fit over the palm, fingers and thumb of thehand, which creates a barrier of air between your hand and the tool.

Lehtinen says using thick gel or foam can make the glove heavy and hot, which can have a negativeimpact on worker safety. One of the biggest complaints I get from workers who have to wear anti-vibration gloves is that theyre very bulky and theyre thick, he says. The advantage that the airglove has is that because its air, its a very light-feeling glove and doesnt have a lot of weight to it,but still protects against the vibration.

Cut Protection

In the cut protection arena, manufacturers have a lot to work with, including cut-resistant materialsand yarn, yarn-wrapping techniques and more. But for many manufacturers, it appears Kevlarremains the synthetic fiber of choice for cut protection.

Within the North American market, Kevlar still represents the lions share of cut-resistance, saysLarry Garner, chief marketing officer for MCR safety. He adds that the industry is creating a wealth

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of progression of different types of fabrics, including much more cut- and abrasion-resistantproperties to develop even better gloves.

Dave Gelpke, regional manager at HexArmor, a manufacturer of high-level puncture- and cut-resistant gloves, says steel companies, oil companies and plywood facilities turn to his company forsolutions in high-risk environments. One oil company, for example, used HexAmor gloves to protectworkers who handle wire ropes.

Their workers are no longer getting poked in the hand by what they call wickers, which are strandsof wire that break through and have traditionally poked through any other glove that they had,Gelpke explains.

In HexArmors new Level Six 9000 series, small guard plates made from a mineral-reinforcedpolymer are applied to a cut-resistant shell constructed of proprietary fabric. This creates a glovethat combines cut resistance and dexterity.

What were coming up with is the highest level of dexterity, comfort, cut resistance and punctureresistance all in one glove, Gelpke says.

Chemical Resistance

One must take into consideration that the chemicals gloves are being subjected to are to a degreevery broad ranging, says Michael Zedalis, Ph.D., senior vice president of technology at AnsellHealthcare. The world of chemicals is really quite complex. But all the principle raw materialmanufacturers are making advances in raw materials and combinations thereof to improve chemicalresistance.

Ansell approaches chemical resistance improvements in part by developing better chemicalpermeation testing, particularly in dynamic permeation. This refers to how a glove performs after ithas been worn when it becomes stretched or creased after workers use it to handle and grip parts.

Any time you add energy to a glove, you impact the chemical permeation resistance of that glove.

Thats just an inherent material issue, Zedalis says. By better mimicking the work environment anddetermining exactly what condition the gloves are in while workers are using them, manufacturerscan ensure that the gloves will offer protection under realistic work circumstances.

Zedalis also points out that as materials become more sophisticated, manufacturers have moreoptions. For example, Ansells Sol-Vex brand of gloves has been on the market for more than 30years. During that time, the glove has improved due to developments in the products base materialof nitrile-butadiene rubber. Creating softer, more pliable nitrile results in gloves that are morecomfortable to wear.

And with technological advances making gloves with material that is more chemically resistant, ittherefore is possible to adjust the glove. You can make it thinner, and provide the same degree ofchemical resistance, or make it the same thickness and get enhanced performance, Zedalis says.

Crossing Over

Carmen Castro, marketing manager of MAPA Professional, says consumers would love to find thesolution to various hazards in a single product. They want one glove that just does it all, basically,she says. Thats not always possible.

Even if a magic all-hazard glove doesnt exist, MAPA strives to protect workers in more than oneway and help them avoid the hassle and discomfort of double gloving. The companys new Kronit-Proof 395 has an exterior cut-resistant layer with a nitrile chemical-resistant layer in the middle andan inner knit layer for comfort.

Most of the gloves out there have the cut liner in the middle layer, with the polymer on top, shesays. But if you cut the polymer, its no longer liquid resistant.

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MAPAs design, meanwhile, offers workers a cut-resistant glove that continues protecting againstchemicals even if it has been cut. The Kronit-Proof 395 also offers slip resistance and is ideal formetal fabrication workers who must pick up oily, greasy shivers of metal scrap.

The Zorb-It Ultimate glove from Best Glove also serves a dual purpose, offering both cut protectionand slip resistance. Technical Product Specialist Don Groce calls the Zorb-It a hybrid glove thatincludes a cut-resistant Kevlar shell with coating that not only adds to the cut resistance, but also isoil absorptive.

It absorbs oil for better grip and also adds more cut resistance to the Kevlar liner, he explains. Wecall this a hybrid because its both for slip resistance and cut resistance. The glove, Groce says,especially applies to workers who need both cut protection and a secure grip in oily conditions, suchas sheet metal handling workers.

Grip and Slip

The dual protection of the Zorb-It glove demonstrates that in addition to feeling comfortable andbeing protected, workers must be able to grip with confidence. This can be accomplished with

special treads and selecting the material that matches the application.

MAPA, for example, developed a Z pattern that channels liquids away from the glove surface toprovide better grip with nitrile. From a grip standpoint, Castro says MAPA favors polyurethanebecause it has a good grip in slippery applications.

Votel adds that textured PVC has a nice gripping quality as well as some abrasion resistance.Ergodyne also offers silicone gloves with a diamond tread pattern to provide ultimate slip resistance,but Votel points out this type of glove isnt appropriate in all applications.

If you want maximum slip resistance, silicone tends to be a very good material for that purpose, hesays. But in an environment where theres much more abrasion and its rougher, you probably wantto step up to some kind of textured PVC.

Wet versus dry environments also determine which glove material is best. Textured PVC is actuallyreally good in a wetter environment, Votel explains, whereas silicone gets slippery in wetenvironments.

When it comes to grip, glove manufacturers are looking beyond just the outer glove surface. Theinside of a glove affects performance, too. Your hand sweats naturally in a glove, so were lookingat better means at managing perspiration, Zedalis says. Ansell therefore is developing thin,absorptive coatings applied to the inner surface to prevent hands from becoming too slippery insidethe glove.

Free to Move

While protection always is the first concern, the amount of dexterity afforded by a glove can affect aworkers productivity, happiness and safety.

The trends are definitely toward gloves that offer more dexterity, says Groce. Sometimes, theresa trade off between offering dexterity and still having the same good qualities as far as cutresistance, abrasion resistance or chemical resistance. All those are inversely proportionate to thethickness, so the thinner the glove, the more you sacrifice those things.

But that doesnt mean its pointless to ask for both dexterity and protection. Many manufacturers arefinding solutions to this problem. There are ways to engineer in improved dexterity, says Zedalis. Itcomes about by controlling the thickness of the glove and by formulating softer and more pliablegloves themselves.

For example, Ansells patented knitting technology, knitted variable stitch design (KVSD), adjusts theknit tension in the finger, knuckle and creasing points on a glove to make it easier for a wearer tobend his or her fingers and hand. Zedalis also points to other improvements in glove manufacturing,

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such as coating only the palm or fingers instead of the entire glove to improve flexibility anddexterity.

Votel adds that at Ergodyne, they look at the human factor issue of hand protection to provideworkers with high dexterity, high function and specific protection depending on their jobs. This, hesays, can lead to better compliance and effectiveness because the worker is more likely to wear thegloves.

I think the best glove out there is going to provide the maximum protection for that worker but alsoprovide high dexterity, Votel says. A lot of the synthetics that were using are quite flexible and fitreally nice and secure around the hand, so they provide a really secure fit.

Safety Consciousness

I think were becoming more safety sophisticated as a country, considers MCRs Garner. Moreprogressive-thinking employers recognize that if they want to differentiate themselves and keep theiremployees, they need to make certain that they provide the latest, greatest types of equipment.

That means offering the most comfortable, protective gloves possible and for manufacturers totake advantage of every technological development they can get their hands on.