FEATURE HANDY TO KNOW Unigloves explains how taking a data-driven approach to workplace hand protection can drive up safety.


Despite advances in technology that have led to greater levels of automation across many industries – workers’ hands remain a vital, complex and irreplaceable tool – unable to be replicated or substituted on the frontline of millions of businesses across the UK.


It might therefore, come as little surprise, that reported injuries to workplace hands run into many thousands every year, impacting both the worker – who suffers the impact of the injury from a physical (and potentially psychological) perspective – and the business through lost working and increased management time, reduced productivity, and increased potential for litigation.


In 2023/24, the HSE reported that of the 23000+ upper limb workplace injuries, almost 15,000 were direct injuries to the hands, wrists, fingers or thumbs, leading to well over 80,000 lost working days.


Despite greater awareness of the importance of ‘safety’ in the workplace, hand injuries have shown little decline since 2000, remaining a significant issue and one of the leading causes of workplace injuries in the UK.


According to hand protection specialist Unigloves, the statistics highlight there is more that businesses across the UK can be doing to get to grips with protecting the hands more effectively.


Although many businesses might require workers to don safety gloves while on the job, the question of how they can be sure the safety gloves provided are the best gloves for the task – from an injury prevention perspective – is not a simple one to answer.


One of the most effective ways to reduce hand injuries in the workplace says Chris Wahlers, MD of Unigloves UK, is through a Hand and Arm Protection Survey (HAAPS) – conducted in collaboration between a business, its workers and dedicated hand protection specialists.


WHAT IS A HAND & ARM PROTECTION SURVEY?


Selecting the right glove can be more complicated than it sounds, and even the most vigilant workplace health and safety officers can have a hard time finding the ideal solution. The only way to ensure your workplace’s industrial and disposable gloves are the best for the task is to perform a survey.


A HAAPS will help your business select the best safety glove solution for different workplace tasks, looking at key factors that include the risks present, the needs of the workers, how they carry out their work, legislative requirements and more.


WHAT WILL A HAAPS TELL ME? HAAPS should be an essential component of any workplace safety programme, helping a business ensure:


• Gloves provided offer adequate protection from the hazards present in the workplace.


10


Be it improved dexterity, cut resistance, durability, chemical protection, comfort, productivity, or cost in use, a HAAPS report will enable a business to bring an increased level of expertise and knowledge to the hand protection selection process.


HOW DO BUSINESSES AND WORKERS BENEFIT FROM A HAAPS?


Increased safety awareness and compliance: By involving your workers in the process by consulting with them about their needs, risks faced, and preferences for gloves, a business can improve productivity, safety awareness, and compliance. Workers’ opinions, preferences, and first-hand experiences will go on to form part of a risk assessment (however, this does not replace the need for an official risk assessment).


Professional risk management advice: By working directly with hand protection specialists on a HAAPS, a


WWW.TOMORROWSHS.COM


• The gloves do not unduly obstruct workers’ hands and impact efficiency.


• The proper fit and feel of gloves are achieved, for maximum comfort and safety.


• Safety considerations such as allergies and sensitivities are considered.


• The relevant safety regulations are being observed.


WHAT HAPPENS IN A HAAPS? Conducted between a hand protection specialist and a business’ management team or health and safety officers, a HAAPS will help you to develop a glove safety policy that can be used alongside your other risk assessments and programs, to ensure your workplace remains as safe and productive as possible.


During the survey, the chosen glove expert will visit your site (or multiple sites, if necessary) and examine the work areas that require hand and arm protection. This expert will gather data on the current work gloves being used, the frequency of use, the hazardous materials that workers may encounter – including physical (eg cut resistance and specifically what level of cut resistance is required), chemical, thermal, electrical, the environment in which they are being used, for example – indoors or outdoors, wet/dry conditions, specific substances or materials being handled – user feedback, and any wider issues allergies, sensitivities, or worker preferences. They’ll then transfer what they’ve learned during the survey onto a HAAPS System, before developing recommendations on the most appropriate hand protection solutions for the workplace.


Once the HAAPS report is complete, a selection of gloves to trial in the workplace will be implemented with monitoring throughout the trial for feedback and results, reassessing the glove recommendations if necessary. This trial will be designed around factors that health and safety officer/s, workers, and management have agreed are important, as well as information determined from the survey.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26