Mobile phones allow us to make calls, surf the Internet, snap photos and download music, all at the same time. Cars have to be business-like enough for work and rugged enough to carry a mountain bike in the weekends. We check our email or read the paper while watching TV. And, every day, we switch constantly back and forth from one job or task to another. Much more than a trend, multitasking has become today’s way of life. And that’s no different in manufacturing industries.

Multitasking in fast-moving, industrial environments

Whereas on the earlier shop-floors, operators did the same type of work all day, the trend now is more and more to let them do multiple tasks. In addition to pure assembly- line work, for example, production workers get supervisory responsibilities, inspection and quality control functions, or maintenance and/or repair tasks.

Marcel Willems: “In manufacturing environments, multitasking has several advantages. For the operators themselves, a bit of work variety is a challenge that provides potential job enrichment. Plus: less repetitive tasks reduce the need for repetitive, prolonged movements which may lead to work-related disorders, such as tendonitis, CTS and back disorders. For the employer, multitasking enhances workplace flexibility by making it easier to rapidly deploy labour to specific tasks, as and when needed.” The introduction of multitasking practices brings with it a different barrier protective need: PPE with a broad range of protective characteristics.

The critical balance performance and comfort

The evolution of hand protection has come a long way since our founder Eric Ansell and his sons marketed their first rubber household gloves and industrial gloves, back in the 1920s. For decades on end, performance - i.e. adequate protection - was the only criterion that governed hand protection development. Gloves had to protect workers against all kinds of hazards: cuts, abrasion, puncture, chemical products, etc. and/or provide specific characteristics like superior grip.

“Protection is, of course, still the number one issue today. But in the past decade we’ve discovered that comfort also ensures protection,” says Marcel Willems. “After all, the majority of occupational accidents with arm and hand injuries is not only due to wearing the wrong gloves but also by misapplication or the absence of gloves. And if we want workers to embrace hand protection, our gloves must not only meet tough performance criteria but they must also fit well and provide adequate levels of dexterity and comfort.”

Multipurpose gloves

Always at the forefront of innovation, Ansell has been incorporating new technologies and new fabrics to manufacture gloves that combine superior levels of protection with comfort for many years. And we’re determined, of course, to continue down this path and continually upgrade our products. In anticipation of the ever-increasing multitasking trend, however, we’re also working on ‘multipurpose’ gloves to be used when multitasking. “Operators who perform different tasks now have to change items of PPE all the time. We’re totally committed to providing them with gloves that fit all, without compromising protection or comfort levels. And without being too expensive either. Our HyFlex® and AlphaTec™ ranges are well on their way to meeting that demand. Today already, the HyFlex® 11-920 combines Ansell Grip Technology™ with liquid repellency, with the outstanding comfort and dexterity HyFlex® gloves are known for. And there’s plenty of these kind of novel solutions in the pipeline.”