Posted By Fred Pratley I am certain you are all well aware of the hazards of entanglement and machinery. As such we already have a ban in place on loose metal bracelets etc at work. However, I noted a few of these coloured wrist bands being worn that are intended to reflect personal statements - e.g. Against Racism etc. Even though the ones I saw are made of a soft rubber material and will probably break easily, one was so loose as to be part way down the hand and given that there are no controls on the material used to make them, it looks like I will be the "bad guy" and have these banned. Any thoughts? Thanks Fred

Posted By garyh Presumably you have also banned cuffs (unless very tight). And of course ties worn around necks (no? thought not). I sense an outbreak of "bonkers conkers" here unless you are careful. I would be amazed if one of those wistbands really was a significant hazard. How does it compare with wearing a watch, for instance? I once worked on site where a Director wanted to ban ear rings (in case they caught or tangled on something). I agreed to on the basis of risk assessment and mentioned ties as an entaglement hazard........when he realised that this would affect Managers and not just "the lads" he suddenly lost interest! Quelle surprise!

Posted By Fred Pratley Yes, ties, watches, loose cuffs etc are all sensibly controlled. Yes, we have covered ID badges worn around necks by use of breakable links. But do these rubber wrist bands break if pulled? And which would break first, Fingers or the band?? Can't see them being of any use in a conker fight!! Fred

Posted By Mark Talbot You ask which would break first. I no longer have access to a Denison [tension testing machine] to prove it, but I would expect you will get an amazing range of strengths from the different materials. Just a couple of points difference on their 'hardness' scale produces significantly different strength profiles. To go the other way though, what is it that is rotating so close to their wrists as to be a risk? Maybe instead of banning wrist bands, the hiearchy of protection should be considered? Enclose / guard the areas of equipment that are rotating. If you are talking about a toolroom situation, maybe only a local ban [i.e. lathes, drilling machines, etc.,] will be needed - thus limiting the 'killjoy' accusations.

Posted By Jon Bradburn Darn Mark - you beat me to it Jon

Posted By Amy L Seriously do we have nothing better to do than assess the breaking point of wrist bands Surely if you have a good policy that states the what jewellery is acceptable then you've covered it off We have a very plain policy a wedding ring only and have had no problems with the bands And if anyone did approach the department then the answer would still be 'not allowed to be worn in production areas' I and other members of my team wear them and it is part of daily routines to remove any 'offending items' before entering the factory

Posted By Gareth Bryan Fred I would eject any one found wearing them !!! Gareth

Posted By Jim Walker Amy, Going off thread somewhat. In a previous life, against my bettter judgement I tried to be "sensitive" about the wearing of wedding rings. Something I now bittery regret. We had a welder whose rig came into contact with an arc and fried his finger (the ring concentrated the heat). I have the pictures ready for when anyone says I'm going over the top about any body adornments. Also I understand that rings figure large in de-gloving accidents.