Summary

The present information document is designed for anyone who has to select protective gloves against mechanical hazards for occupational use. However, its recommendations are also valid for personal and recreational activities. Its objective is to provide the information needed to help individuals and organizations identify gloves that will protect them from mechanical hazards. The document can be used in conjunction with the selection tool available on the IRSST web site at www.irsst.qc.ca/gloves.  When hands are exposed to hazards, they must be protected. To help prevent injuries, it is crucial to select the gloves that will provide appropriate protection against the potential hazards, and to use and clean them properly.

More specifically, this document provides general information on hands, laws and regulations dealing with hand protection, and on types of gloves, including the methods and materials used to manufacture them. It proposes steps for risk assessment and for the protective glove selection process that may be used in combination with the web tool for selecting gloves. It also provides a list of risks and other considerations relevant to the selection of protective gloves, including a few situation scenarios. Lastly, it describes standard methods to measure glove resistance to mechanical hazards, as well as the glove performance levels used in the Web glove-selection tool, and suggests some avenues that could be explored in determining the levels required for each type of task.