Safety professionals have their hands full with a wide range of responsibilities. On any given day, they may be focused on machine guarding, chemical management, forklift operations, training requirements, facility inspections, regulatory compliance and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Take hand protection, for example. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to assess workplace hazards and provide appropriate PPE when necessary. But OSHA doesn’t prescribe which gloves should be used or how a hand protection program should be structured.

While that flexibility allows safety teams to tailor solutions to their operations, it also means they must continually evolve their hand protection program to suit the facility’s changing needs.

What starts as a thoughtful approach to hand protection can become a fragmented collection of solutions: Glove selections made years ago are still used simply because they’ve always been used. Similar tasks require different gloves depending on the department. Employees develop workarounds that have never been formally reevaluated.

Periodic Reviews Are More Than a Compliance Exercise

In addition to providing appropriate hand protection for workplace hazards, manufacturers must periodically review, update and evaluate the effectiveness of their PPE program. Given everything else that a safety manager must do, these periodic reviews are easier said than done. That’s where specialized expertise can be valuable.

“The Sentinel Program by SHOWA qualifies as your OSHA review in the hand protection realm,” says Christie Gay, national account manager with SHOWA.

“Safety managers might be looking at everything—from chemicals to floor markings to forklift safety,” she says. “They’re able to use us as the glove and hand protection experts.”

Read more: Protective, Cut-Resistant, and/or Anti-Static: Discover the New Innovations at SHOWA

Sentinel’s hand protection assessment is designed to help you look at your current glove program, identify potential gaps and document how hand protection aligns with workplace hazards. Depending on your facility’s needs, the assessment can focus on a single process or overview glove usage across the entire operation.

During the assessment, specialists walk the floor, observe work practices and hazards, and speak directly with employees to understand how gloves are being used in real-world applications.

“We’re able to go in, see the visual surroundings and identify things that may be overlooked,” says Bethany Mahnke, national marketing account manager with SHOWA. “The Sentinel Program is a great way to do that without any pressure—there is no cost or obligation.”

Besides supporting PPE program review requirements, the assessment often uncovers opportunities to improve protection, simplify glove selection and reduce unnecessary costs.

Managing Multiple Hazards with the Right Glove

Identifying a hazard and choosing a glove designed to address it might seem straightforward. The reality is that manufacturing environments often present multiple hazards at once.

“Let’s say it’s 180 degrees, but a worker needs to handle oil and still have tactility with their hands,” Gay says. “You’re talking heat, oil and probably some chemicals mixed in. We’re able to step back and evaluate that as one problem instead of three different things.”

Comfort and usability matter as much as protection and productivity. The most protective glove on paper may not be the most effective choice if workers find it uncomfortable, bulky or difficult to work in.

A successful hand protection program can draw on insights from an expert assessment to balance safety, performance, worker acceptance and operational efficiency.

Read more: How SHOWA EBT Gloves Protect Both Workers and Their Environment

The Goal Isn’t More Gloves—It’s Fewer, Better Ones

One common misconception is that improving hand protection means adding more products or increasing protection levels globally.

Sometimes, consolidating products is the best path forward.

“Maybe we see three gloves that are used on the floor that could be combined into two that are a better fit all the way across the board,” Mahnke says. “It levels up your protection and provides a cost savings.”

Gay shares another example: If a worker is double-gloving to achieve chemical resistance and cut protection, “we can make a suggestion of the ChemRest CC700, which is a cut glove and a chemical glove.”

With Sentinel, workers have the chance to try on gloves rather than rely solely on product specifications, including newer technologies available to the market.

“We’re able then to give them samples,” Gay explains. “They’re able to put them on their hands, try them, evaluate them.”

For example, if workers are dealing with wet or oily applications, they might benefit from the new diamond texture in SHOWA’s 8-millimeter 709B or 709HVO. “These gloves are going to give you a lot more dexterity and tactility,” she says.

How Sentinel Turns Assessment Into Continuous Improvement

The most effective hand protection assessments establish a baseline, develop actionable recommendations, implement improvements and measure results. To ensure efficiency while prioritizing worker safety, SHOWA’s Sentinel Program takes a five-phase approach:

Phase 1: Evaluate

Highly trained field experts conduct a comprehensive on-site hazard assessment to identify inefficiencies and turn them into opportunities to reduce risks.

Phase 2: Benchmark

The experts use your current performance metrics as a baseline to help measure Sentinel’s impact over time.

Phase 3: Implement

SHOWA’s team designs and implements a customized safety plan to improve your operation’s cost performance by reducing risk, injuries and subsequent expenses.

Phase 4: Measure

Sentinel’s effectiveness is quantified by comparing new performance data with the baseline and future milestones.

Phase 5: Manage

Experts provide ongoing assistance to ensure you get the most from your investment long term.