Our hands are among the most evolved extremities of our bodies. There are 27 bones in each hand, 27 joints, 34 muscles, and over 100 tendons. Recently, a rise in work-related hand injuries has been reported. Some injuries to our hands can be career-ending, even in transportation. To protect our hands when working around trucks, gloves are an essential component of PPE every trucker should have on hand. Michael Cederkvist, Managing Director, Soft touch AB, shared his insights on how gloves protect truckers’ hands.

Cuts are the most common injuries to hands. There are many ways injuries can occur around trucks and gloves can prevent harm. Hinges, lashes and other heavy moving parts around trucks can cause crush injuries. When transporting chemicals, working with gloves can prevent injuries to hands when skin can get exposed to chemicals. When handling batteries, gloves should be worn; wooden splinters may penetrate skin when handling wooden pallets. “Each situation may require a specific glove, designed to be used fit for the purpose,” Cederkvist said.

As a hallmark of a good glove, it should be as thin as possible. According to Cederkvist, one should not even notice that one is wearing one. “It is when you take off a glove to perform a task you cannot do when wearing a glove when you are at risk. For instance, when you need to write something and the glove is hindering your writing,” he explained. A perfect glove would be one that the wearer can use while operating a smart phone.

A revolution in glove-making happened when, some 30 years ago, knitted gloves were innovated. This allowed for gloves to become thinner while also being mass produced in higher quantities. Knitted gloves also allow for cut resistant materials to be used. Cut-resistant fibres are made from steel strands interwoven with aramid fibres (Kevlar is a famous aramid fibre for example). Such gloves would offer wearing-comfort while providing high levels of protection.

Gloves should be fit for purpose. While a basic cotton glove may be better than not wearing any, a specific glove will ensure efficiency as well as protection. Welders, for instance, require gloves that won’t catch fire. “You need to make sure that the glove is not adding risk. Some materials are not suited for specific applications. Just imagine if you were to use a cotton glove and move sheet metal: you could easily inflict drastic cuts even when wearing a glove, if it is a  wrong one.” Within the product range offered by Soft Touch, Cederkvist would be confident that there are gloves to fit all needs within the transportation sector.

“You should wash and clean your gloves on a regular basis. Leather will require a little bit of grease.” This will prolong the lifetime of gloves. In the tropics, the lifetime of gloves is somewhat truncated, however, Cederkvist pointed out that the investment in a quality glove pays out manyfold: injuries prevented mean lower insurance costs, less downtime of workers due to injuries and better grip making the job easier. Quality gloves are identifiable by the certifications that they have to carry. Cederkvist pointed out that modern gloves will have to go through rigorous certification processes. He expressed that gloves are often underappreciated. A lot of things need to come together, like using the right materials, a good fit and wearing comfort all contribute to the wearer using it as much as possible.

Gloves are also creative canvasses. Soft Touch offers customisation, branding gloves with company logos, names and colours. The immediate effect is that the gloves carry an advertising message when in use by the wearer. At the same time, it is a theft-prevention. Any glove that is stolen would indicate who it was stolen from.

Passionate about the topic of gloves, Cederkvist acknowledged that there is only a fraction of information that can be shared in an article like this, highlighting that he shares more on his “Glove talk with Michael” on LinkedIn. “I hope that I can motivate more people to get involved in this topic as injuries to hands can oftentimes be avoided.”