Highways to high rises, rebar is almost always used as a reinforcement component within these everyday structures. As durable as rebar is, the creation of this resource comes at a cost. Those who process this unwieldy material are constantly exposed to smash and puncture hazards making the job a hot spot for hand/arm injuries.
The problem
Equipped only with generic cotton knit gloves, workers at a large metal manufacturing company facilitating rebar production were experiencing severe smash and laceration injuries while working the shear line.
While handling heavy 60-foot poles, workers noticed how rapidly their current gloves were failing them on the high-traffic areas of the palm – sometimes going through four pairs of gloves per day!
Working with these rugged materials, combined with the lack of cut resistance and back-of-hand impact protection in their gloves, endangered the team on a daily basis. Multiple cut and laceration injuries were reported on the floor during many of the production stages, including lowering the bars on the conveyor belts and adjusting dense chains during maintenance.
Additional injury to the forearm was common as well, yet no arm protection was being provided before the trial except Kevlar sleeves.
The excessive replacement of the previous glove option and continuous injuries led the safety manager of this company to search for more substantial protection, and that’s when they came to HexArmor.®
The solution
A HexArmor® Solution Specialist reviewed initial concerns and studied the field workflow where injuries were occurring to determine that high-cut gloves with back-of-hand impact protection and cut-resistant arm guards would help to protect workers best and mitigate injury.
Through weeks of trials, HexArmor® and the team found a solution with the Rig Lizard® 2025X – a high-flex designed glove made with SuperFabric® brand material, level A6 cut protection, and level 2 impact protection.
Once the workers saw how SuperFabric® could protect them, the team immediately implemented the AG10009S SuperFabric® arm guards which significantly increased the wearers’ overall coverage while working with the rough metal edges.
The result
Injuries were virtually eliminated after these new safety options were implemented. The company also experienced a reduction in PPE waste – employees went from using 60-80 generic pairs of gloves each per month to 20 with HexArmor®.
Long-term cost savings skyrocketed as the Rig Lizard® 2025X and AG10009S safety arm guard lasted roughly 8x longer than their previous option, requiring lower PPE purchasing in unit quantity and frequency.
Based on SKU consolidation, injury elimination, and PPE longevity, the company is saving over $1 million per year.
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