Abstract

Background: Everyday miners use their feet to walk to their jobs, use their minds and eyes to think and see the work they will do and then use their hands to do the work! We protect our feet, heads, and eyes with sophisticated PPE and strict CSA standards to protect their eyes, heads and feet. However, for hands, only guidelines are provided, thinking workers will protect their hands using the same gloves for multiple tasks from welding to operating jack leg/ jumbo drills. Why no job specific glove standards by mining tasks? Other industries have task specific standards but why not in Mining? Is it because it would cause too much Friction to implement?

Within the mining Industry, the #1 Injury Frequency is hand injuries.  Mining Safety Leaders struggle to find processes to reduce hand traumatic injuries.  Combine this frustration with the priority of the growing need to prevent long term exposure injuries from occurring. Few focus on hand protection standards as the solution for both traumatic and long-term exposure injury prevention.

The good news is a select few mining company’s SHE departments are making a difference by implementing hand protection/glove standards for their site, departments, and by trade tasks.  Following the same thinking; as for every job there is the right tool standard for the task, there is the right glove style standard providing the required protection.  The implementation of site hand safety standards versus focusing on a specific issue, changes the focus from a Safer Workplace to a Safe Workplace for hands.

The speaker will outline how hand safety standards are implemented at mine sites for all trades and tasks and reference the challenges and success of implementing.   The importance of employee engagement and education for acceptance and implementation will be stressed, and examples provided.

Target audience: Mining Company’s Operational leadership, Safety, Health & Risk Management Leaders, Joint Health & Safety Committees, Contractors, and Suppliers working on Mine sites.

Diversity: The mining industry is attracting more ethnic groups with different language competencies and the need to communicate the hazards and protection required.  The use of department standards and Task Driven Glove Boards by task will be shared.  A picture tells a thousand words.

Contact: Brian Edwards, Mining Hand Safety Contractor for Superior Glove Works, Brian.Edwards@superiorglove.com 647-525-1060.