Work Gloves & You

Work gloves as the name suggest are worn by professionals who usually work in hazardous environments. It includes engineers, electricians, firemen, and even police & defense personnel. As we work with our hands they are most prone to injury. The right kind of gloves are necessary to protect hands and prevent accidents. Hence work gloves form an integral part of PPE (personal protective equipment). It’s the duty of the employers to ascertain the type of dangers involved in the work environment and thus provide ample protective gear to their employees. Apart from the obvious choice of leather, fabric or plastic coated fabric, nomex gloves form the most popular and efficient type of gloves used.

While leather & fabric gloves are good enough for protection against cuts, bruises or frostbites, nomex gloves go a step ahead and protect the hands from extremely high temperatures. The material is such that it can withstand temperatures as high as 200 degree Celsius. The higher heat & flame resistance capacity makes it the most preferred material for use in PPE for firefighters and even race-car drivers. Mostly woven nomex fibers are used while building fire-fighter gloves, helmets and other gears.

Firefighter gloves that are made mostly of nomex are durable & suit the purpose effectively. The ability of the material nomex, to cool down rapidly after the heat source has been removed further prevents burns. Also the gloves are so designed that they can handle harsh physical impact and avoid cuts from sharp material like broken glass. These gloves give maximum flexibility to the hands so that the firefighters encounter no difficulty while carrying out rescue operations.

There are also special cut-resistant gloves that have extra padding of leather in their inner lining to prevent accidental cuts and bruises. It makes handling of sharp weapons, artillery or any equipment easy and safe. Apart from firefighters, mostly army men or the police personnel use cut-resistant gloves when dealing with a mob or during war. Such category of gloves is called tactical gloves that allow larger freedom of movement by providing extra flexibility than regular gloves. Such gloves are mostly used in combat gear so that a person has full use of his fingers when attacking or defending himself. These gloves are so designed that they can serve multiple purposes. Tactical gloves help in protecting the hands from physical injury, extreme cold and also provide a better grip.

For defense and police officers its highly important that they should be able to focus on their job instead of worrying about their own safety. It holds true for other professionals as well, like fire-fighters who have to work on the rescue operations and can’t afford to get hurt themselves. So choosing the right kind of gloves is essential to prevent accidents. Using customized leather or nomex gloves to suit a particular work environment is crucial. Employers should take care that the workers are adequately protected and also check on a a regular basis that all PPE gears are functioning properly.