Due to the difficult nature of mining work, hand protection is critical – but difficult to perfect because of the varied applications each worker performs. However, with the right team in place and a commitment to safety, anything is possible. See how this mining complex ended up with a .26 AIFR after using HexArmor® – compared to the mining industry average of 2.09 in the U.S. and globally was 3.41 (2018).
The issue & solution
Mining workers were experiencing dangerous lacerations and smash injuries on the job. The location’s safety lead reached out to HexArmor® in 2016 through our website seeking a solution. A HexArmor® solution specialist was able to set up an initial trial for this location with several HexArmor® gloves, which found that the Rig Lizard® Thin Lizzie™ 2090X was able to solve several hand injury issues, as well as provide superior longevity of use.
In fact, this trial process found that the gloves were lasting 5x longer than previous gloves and contributed to zero injuries. Because of this, the trial process was expanded to other locations, where new solutions were needed that included a dexterous glove to work with machinery and maintenance work, as well as other tasks that require finer dexterity.
To help with these, two additional glove solutions were found with the Helix® 2066 and Helix® 2088. After implementation, there was an extensive reduction in hand injuries. “The glove program is doing well. We had 3 medical aids last year and they were all hand injuries, but only one of the employees were wearing gloves at the time,” says the General Foreman.
Success was able to be achieved because top-level management was proactive in taking the proper steps to address a serious safety issue within their organization. They followed the trial process step-by-step in order to best match the glove to the application, which contributed to the success.
The result
To showcase the result, the mining company referred to the AIRF (All Injury Frequency Rate), which is the number of ‘all’ injuries per 1,000,000 hours worked. Companies use this to help indicate health and safety performance. The mining complex ended up having a .26 AIFR in 2019 – for reference, the mining industry average is 2.09 in the U.S. and globally was 3.41 in 2018.
“Overall, we had a great year in safety and finished off with a .26 AIFR! That kind of number is unheard of in the mining industry,” the General Foreman continues.
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