Gloves are oil and gas workers’ emergency failsafe and the last line of defence for their hands and fingers – their most important and valuable tools, which they rely on to earn a living and manage daily life.
Hand injuries are among the most difficult safety issues to mitigate, particularly within the complex and high-risk environments of oil and gas, such as offshore rigs, oil refineries, or LNG facilities.
Oil and gas workers, particularly well service contractors working offshore, are exposed to a greater risk of severe upper extremity injuries that can result in hospitalisation or amputation.
Different approaches and out-of-the-box thinking can help safety managers take a broader perspective on hand safety requirements, enabling them to identify and design out less obvious risks while developing and implementing more effective human factor prevention.
Serious hand injuries can potentially be life-changing, but are often easily preventable or at least mitigated through appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazard controls.
About a quarter of global workplace injuries are related to hands and fingers, but heavy industries, especially the oil and gas sector, have a much higher rate of injury, accounting for about 43 per cent of all drilling rig incidents reported to the International Association of Drilling Contractors.
Estimates from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) put hand injuries between 20 and 30 per “of its recorded incidents worldwide, while the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration has suggested 70 per cent of hand injuries could be prevented with proper gloves.
The primary root causes of the IOGP incidents were inattention or lack of focus, inadequate risk assessment, cutting corners and rushing, lifting or applying force incorrectly, and using the incorrect tool for the job.
Highlighting the extent of the issue, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined data from 32 jurisdictions in the United States between January 2015 and July 2022, to determine trends around severe injuries in the oil and gas sector.
A total of 2,101 severe oil and gas extraction-related injuries were reported during the period, with well service contract workers’ injuries accounting for the highest number of amputations (417) and hospitalisations (1,194), which represented 20 per cent and 57 per cent of the total, respectively.
Moreover, 895 (43 per cent) of all severe injuries reported involved upper extremities, 771 (86.1 per cent) of which involved the hands.Machinery was the leading cause of injury among oil and gas contractors and operators (21.9 per cent), followed by structures and surfaces (8.3 per cent).”
“Along with cuts and lacerations, crush injuries are the most common type of injury and occur when body parts get caught in, on or between objects, which are referred to as ‘pinch points’.
These types of crush injuries can be particularly severe if they involve heavy objects or if the worker is unable to free their hand promptly.Another type of hand injury commonly reported is an impact injury, which can cause fractures, dislocations, and deep tissue damage – severe accidents involving heavy machinery can potentially even result in amputation.
Impact injuries can also be caused by repetitive tasks, such as hammering, a known source of carpal tunnel syndrome.Injuries specific to the oil and gas sector include chemical corrosion and burns (from sulphuric acid, nitric acid, toluene, etc.), exposure to hazardous or radioactive substances, high-temperature burns from hot steam or high-temperature liquids, and biological hazards such as harmful microorganisms.
Protective gloves can have different purposes and applications, such as impact-resistant or brightly-coloured gloves (with the colour changing regularly) to increase employee awareness of hand safety while working.
Common work gloves (made of leather, canvas, or fabric) can protect the wearer from dirt, splinters, abrasions, cuts, and heat, but cannot fully protect against liquids and strong chemicals.
These require gloves made of other materials such as neoprene, nitrile, vinyl, and rubber. However, these are often only rated to protect against certain chemicals, and many available types are intended for single-use only.
Along with chemical resistance, other specialist types of gloves can provide mechanical protection, heat and flame protection, and anti-vibration. Innovations enable workers to use smart devices and electronic components to provide better protection, and collate personal and PPE usage data from the wearer.
Enhanced materials are increasingly being used for protective clothing, such as soft and flexible shock-absorbing material that allows for unhindered movement, or gloves with enhanced textiles that change colour after coming into contact with hazardous substances.
Research has shown that colour-based warnings dramatically alleviate the potential danger from PPE dysfunction or failure.Smart gloves can also contain near-field communication chips that work like swipe cards for access and calling up information on specific hazardous substances.
Smart fabrics, also known as e-textiles, have digital components such as sensors, batteries, and lights embedded, incorporated through different methods like 3D multi-layer printing and conductive fibres.
Sensors can also detect UV radiation, monitor heart rate variability, and measure breathing volume, among other vitality indicators, providing a full picture of a worker’s health status.”
