Learn about personal protective equipment suitable for the automotive industry from professionals.

2. Derek Coughlin / Automotive Specialist
Superior Glove Works Ltd. Canada
With 17 years of experience with major safety players in the industry.
Mr. Coughlin is a sought-after expert in safety product recommendations
in the industry and has helped reduce thousands of injuries in automotive
plants across North America.
Jill A. Conley / Technical Sales
DuPont Protection Technologies
Senior Research Engineer with DuPont and has 17 years of experience in the development of
new products and new applications and currently holds 13 patents. Of those 17 years with
DuPont, Ms. Conley has been in the Kevlar® business for 14 years and has worked in a variety
of market segments including composites, mass transportation, the automotive industry, and
high-performance apparel.
Robert Gheesling / Territory Manager
Superior Glove Works Ltd. USA
Mr. Gheesling has been in the safety field for 40 years. He has worked in all aspects of the
business from Customer Service to V. P. Mr. Gheesling has spent most of the past 20 years
specializing in cut-resistant gloves and sleeves. He has been instrumental in both the design
of new product and upgrading of existing products.

3. Overview of Hand Injuries
ISHN Classifies Hand Injuries into
6 General Categories:
•Lacerations (cuts)
•Fractures and dislocations
•Soft tissue injuries and
amputations
•Infections
•Burns
•High pressure injuries
(grease and paint guns)
Cuts/
Lacerations 42%
Bruises 27%
Broken
Bones 17%
Infections 5%
Others 9%

4. •The hand consists of 27 bones – lots of opportunity
for injuries
•OSHA reports more than 320,000 disabling
hand injuries in 2013 across all industries
•According to the BLS, over 200,000 of those
injuries were in the private sector

5. •The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that
more than 1 million visits to the ER each year are a result
of hand injuries
•According to the BLS, each hand
injury now averages around
$6,000 in cost and results
in 6 days missed from work

6. •Hand injuries are the second leading cause of
work-related injuries (BLS)
•OSHA also reports the following in regards
to glove use:
•70% of injuries to hands were because the worker was not
wearing gloves (this statistic has remained consistent
for years)
•30% of the injuries were because the worker was wearing
the wrong type of gloves
•These injuries are preventable!

7. Common Problems & Complaints
THEN NOW
vs.
Hand protection has changed dramatically over the years.
Hands are great tools and need to be protected.

8. For example in the Automotive industry employees
and Manufactures are faced with multiple issues:
•Cut – Sharp metal pieces
•Heat – Hot metal from a press
•Oil – Machining oil
•Dexterity – Assembly
•Vibration – Grinding
•Pinch – Multiple part assemble
•Puncture – Assembly components

9. Examples of manufacturing concerns:
•Lint free – Electrical
•Silicone free – Paint departments
•Non marking – Glass manufacturing
•Overall manufacturing costs – Keeping cost down

10. As a worker or a professional responsible for health
and safety, you’re faced with multiple hazards.
Find a product that will protect in a situation where you have
multiple hazards.
You may need:
Dexterity
Cut Protection
Good Grip

11. Properties of DuPont™ Kevlar®
•Strong & Lightweight
•Inherently flame resistant (LOI of 29)
•High temperature stability (up to 200°C for long-term use)
•Does not melt – will begin to decompose at 400°C
•Low thermal conductivity & Low thermal shrinkage
•Excellent chemical resistance (except for some strong acids & bases)
•Flexible and easy to process
•Comfortable in apparel applications
•Washable and long-wearing
•Developing more colors for use in glove applications
•UV Discoloration – does NOT affect cut resistance

12. Basic DuPont™ Kevlar® Production
Repetitive molecular backbone
The thermal stability of Kevlar®
is controlled by its bond strength
and rigid chain structure
Almost perfect polymer chain
extension is what gives Kevlar®
its high strengthand stiffness
Rod-like
Dilute
Solution
Higher
Concentration
Spin Orient
Hydrogen-Bonded
Sheet
Fully Extended Chains

13. Properties of DuPont™ Kevlar®
Kevlar® has the highest cut resistance of
any organic fiber.

14. DuPont™ Kevlar® Key Points
•Kevlar® is the most cut-resistant man-made fiber
•Engineered and blended yarns work to increase
the cut resistance of gloves made
with Kevlar®
•Kevlar® fiber is suitable for
dual-threat applications (cut & heat)
•Gloves and sleeves made with
Kevlar® have shown to not lose
their cut resistance after as many
as 10 launderings

15. Coatings
Good grip in oily
applications
Good dry grip and
offers improved dexterity
Good dry/wet grip
applications and high
dexterity
Moderate dry/wet grip,
long wearing and great durability

16. Dupont™ Kevlar® with a foam nitrile palm coat is a
great example of a better glove:
It offers -
•Good cut protection
•Good dexterity
•Laundered multiple times
•Cost effective

17. These are just some of the issues that workers and
companies are faced with when selecting the right
hand protection.

18. Glove Sizing
Please make sure your gloves are the right size.
Wearing the wrong size is not only uncomfortable,
but can cause hand fatigue and can increase the risk
of workplace accidents.
A proper fit is extremely important!

19. Protective Sleeve Design &
Construction
•One area of PPE that has seen the biggest change in the
past 10 years is the area of arm protection
•For the past 50+ years sleeves were either tubular,
one size fits all or lose fitting

20. Today, not only can we offer different materials by
blending or engineering different high tech fibers but
with some of the newer designs we have finally been able
to make sleeves fit better and offer more comfort.

21. Advancements
Manufacturers would insert an elastic
band or rubber band in the upper portion
of a tubular sleeve in an effort to keep
the sleeve up on the arm.
Sleeves would either be too tight or
would leave deep impressions in the
arm or not have enough tension to
stay up.

22. Elastics and rubber bands could not take more
than one or two launderings before they were rendered
non-effective at holding up the sleeve, leaving the
upper half of the arm exposed.
Today a custom fit is everything.
Sleeves can be made in sizes to fit XS to XXL arms
in a variety of lengths.

23. What makes our sleeves stand out from our competitors is our
STAYz-Up™ technology. STAYz-UP™ holds up—comfortably,
gripping onto underlying fabric or skin to ensure sleeves stay in
place, keeping you protected.
Even after a dozen launderings.
Whichever sleeves you choose, make
sure there are sizing options available –
a good fit almost always means better compliance.
STAYz-Up Technology™
STAYz-UP™
DOTTED GRIP BAND

24. Other options to consider
•Silicone free versions for paint areas.
•If lint is an issue in areas where you have to wear sleeves,
these same filament yarns offer a great fix for this issue.
•Some sleeves can even be Cleanroom washed down to
a class 100 Cleanroom

25. Are you a little confused on how to determine
what level of protection you need in
a sleeve?
•General rule start with a sleeve that is half
the protection of the gloves
•Minimum of an ANSI level 2 cut resistance
should be used
•Determine if a flame retardant sleeve is needed
due to direct contact with flames or
consistent sparks
Cut Resistance

26. •If the employees reach a lot or carry sharp items
across their arms look at a sleeve with a thumb
hole to keep the sleeves in place
•When full arm coverage is required you should
consider a longer sleeve when using a thumb hole
Key Takeaways

27. DuPont™ and Kevlar® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.