Posted By Chris Packham I would be very concerned at a 100% glove policy. You could be heading for real problems. Where protection against chemical hazards is concerned a 100% glove policy could well put you in contravention of the COSHH regulations, as well as increasing the risk of skin problems. 1. COSHH stipulates that prevention of exposure shall, so far as possible, be achieved by measures other than the use of PPE and that PPE shall only be used in conjunction with these other measures. So merely putting workers into gloves and hoping that these will provide adequate control will not necessarily achieve compliance. 2. The way gloves work as protection against chemicals is highly complex. My own tests of gloves under actual working conditions indicates that many gloves are not protecting although both worker and employer are unaware of this. You cannot take the manufacturers' indicated permeation breakthrough time as a guide to what will be achieved in practice as many other factors can affect this. 3. Wearing occlusive gloves can cause skin damage that may well result in irritant contact dermatitis. This has been recognised in Germany. There, if gloves have to be worn for more than a total of 2 hours in any 8 hour shift, this qualifies as a significant risk and special precautions have to be taken. 4. Protection against physical hazards is a different matter and different considerations will apply. 5. It get really complicated where you have both physical and chemical hazards. Here, often, double gloving is the only answer. This raises questions of compliance, management supervision, cost etc. These are just a few thoughts. If you need more contact me direct.

Posted By Raymond Rapp Tend to agree with Chris, a 100% policy for gloves does have its problems. There are clearly some tasks where gloves are not needed, indeed, some tasks are difficult if not impossible wearing conventional type gloves. There are a number of different types of gloves e.g. kevlar gloves, which offer very good protection and dexterity. Unfortunately they are also expensive. The ideal solution is to provide operatives with a choice of gloves for different tasks. Once again, this can prove to be expensive. Regards Ray

Posted By Robert K Lewis The policy itself is relatively straight forward to define but it must stress that appropriate gloves for the task must be used. There also has to be a real management commitment to (a) purchasing only properly fitting gloves, making a range of sizes available b) selecting a range of gloves for the tasks to be encountered c) ensuring replacements are readily available d) training the workforce in the selection and use of the appropriate glove e) supervise and monitor the implementation rigorously I know many sites have adopted this policy but they end up with a uniform type and single size issue - a recipe for total disaster. On the COSHH issue you need to make the training clear on this and ensure that the risk assessments show gloves to be the belt in addition to the braces. It sounds complicated but with a degree of judicious selection you will find that a number of tasks will give the same glove requirement. Don't forget that in spite of the issues there are some good non-latex disposables around. I also often point out to people how many vehicle maintenance fitters/technicians wear gloves to do their job. I also find that a slight compromise for some trades with respect to fingerless gloves can still aloow the 100% to be continued. Email me if you want a discussion on this in a bit more detail. Bob