ANSI/ISEA 138-2019

Impact Resistant Hand Protection

According to ISEA, standards and guidance have been in place for certain types of hand injuries such as those caused by cuts, punctures and chemical exposure. But there had been no standardized approach to address dorsal or back-of-hand injuries such as bone breakage and fractures, bruising and finger pinching.
To address the gaps in appropriately evaluating performance of a glove’s dorsal protection and to assist employers in making informed product selections, ISEA developed this standard to establish testing, classification and labeling requirements that offer back-of-the-hand impact protection. These are commonly used in the automotive, heavy equipment and construction operation, cargo handling, oil /gas and towing/transportation industries.
Compliant gloves will be evaluated for their capability to dissipate impact forces on the knuckles and fingers and are classified accordingly. The resulting classifications will be used by employers as a reliable means of comparing different products on an equal basis when selecting hand protection relative to the tasks being performed.

Key definitions
The side of your hand that is palming or grasping is called the palmar aspect of your hand. This describes something located in, on or pertaining to the palm of the hand. The opposite side of your hand, the back of your hand, is called the dorsal aspect of the hand.
The dorsal surface of a body is the back — think of it as if you were a fish, and you had a dorsal fin. In the anatomical terms of location, it's anything of or pertaining to the back of any vertebrate. So the back of your hand is the dorsal side of your hand.

Key takeaways
• Impact sites are the location on a glove where testing will take place.
• Performance level is a numerical representation of impact protection offered by a glove. A higher performance level indicates a greater degree of protection (reduced transmitted force).
• Protective bumper(s) is additional material attached to the glove and intended to provide impact protection.
• Impact-resistant hand protection gloves will be tested by an independent ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory to verify performance to the requirements specified in the standard.
• One pair of size 9 or 10 gloves shall be used for testing.
• The palm side of glove shall be removed before testing; gloves shall be opened out flat by cutting along the junction of the palm and back of glove.
Of the 286,150 nonfatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in 2017 involving days away from work in private industry, 121,860 involved hands, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. According to OSHA, 70.9 percent of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with personal protective equipment, specifically safety gloves. Impact-resistant gloves are commonly used in the automotive, heavy equipment and construction operation, cargo handling, oil/gas and towing/transportation industries.
Members of ISEA’s Hand Protection Group include: Ansell, Bob Dale Gloves, Conney Safety Products, DSM Dyneema, DuPont Personal Protection, D3O, Ergodyne, Global Glove, HexArmor, Honeywell Safety Products, Ironwear, Kimberly-Clark Professional, Lakeland Industries, Magid Glove and Safety, Majestic Glove, MCR Safety, National Safety Apparel, OccuNomix International, Protective Industrial Products, Pyramex Safety, Radians, Saf-T-Gard International, Superior Glove, Wells Lamont Industrial, and World Fibers.
Copies of ANSI/ISEA 105-2016 and ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 can be purchased online from ISEA and from ANSI’s licensed resellers.