Getting The Right Kind of Safety Gloves for the Job
Injuries to the hands and fingers are one of the most common occurrences in the Australian manufacturing, construction, mining and oil and gas industries, and with SO many PPE gloves available on the Australian market (both online and in-store), how do you select the right glove to best protect your customers?
In a nutshell, it will all depend on what task they are undertaking as to which glove will support the best in their role.
When selecting or recommending a glove, many people do not realise that there is no standardised area of protection between different gloves. So, you may be looking at 3 different pairs of gloves all stating that they are AS/NZS 2161.3:2005 Occupational protective gloves Cut 5 resistant. However, all test specimens are taken from the palm of different gloves for classification purposes, which means that the area of the glove providing that specific protection may only be the palm and fingers, not necessarily the finger side walls and back of the hand. The result? Depending on the task, their hands could be left dangerously exposed to injury without you even knowing!
Looking for the right pair of gloves to use at work? See our wide range of working gloves
Types of AS/NZS 2161.3:2005 Gloves
So as a general rule, there are two different types of gloves in our Elliotts AS/NZS 2161.3:2005 range:
- Knitted. Consistently, the whole glove would offer the same level of cut resistance, 360-degree protection (e.g. G-Flex Dynamax)
- Cut and Sew. Generally, these styles of gloves will have palm and finger protection only (e.g. Mec-Flex Oiler Pro)
Check The Glove’s Information Panel
The other area of the glove to “check out” is this information panel displayed on all our gloves.
A tested glove will be given a performance rating of 1 to 4 (lowest to highest) on some or all of the listed categories. The ‘blade cut resistance’ test is an exception as it measures from 1 to 5. Frequently an ‘x’ will replace one or more of the numbers, this means that the corresponding test was not performed.
Knowing how to understand these panels will prove invaluable when selecting not only gloves but all certified equipment as these symbols and systems are Australian Standard.
Remember: our helpful Elliotts support team is always available to assist you and your customers.
Contact Us
If you’d like to learn about our safety products or need some expert advice on which safety gear to get for your needs, feel free to contact us at Elliotts Australia. We would love to assist you! Call us on 07 3265 2944 or send us a message – HERE.
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