Cut Resistant Gloves
Cuts and punctures to the hands remain one of the most common and easily preventable injuries in the recycled paperboard industry. Here are a few facts regarding hand injuries.
- Glove Rating Scales
- The US adopted ASTM/ANSI/ISEA and the European (CE) rating.
- Most often the CE rating is higher than the US rating, meaning CE-rated gloves do not provide the same level of protection as a comparably rated ASTM/ANSI/ISEA glove. As a result, vendors often will pitch the advantages of their glove based on the higher CE rating scale.
- The higher the number (1-5) the higher the cut resistance. Also keep in mind that that gloves are cut resistant — not cut proof.
- Recommended Cut Levels
- Some companies recommend an ASTM/ANSI/ISEA level 4 or above glove anytime a sharp (i.e., knife, die blade, slitter blade, or other sharp tool or material).
- There is considerably higher level protection afforded between a cut ASTM/ANSI/ISEA3 and 4 while dexterity is generally not diminished.
- Different Cut Ratings
- Beware that some gloves have different cut level ratings on the palm side and the back side of the glove. Be sure to ask your sales rep. for a specification sheet on the gloves you consider purchasing.
Wearing the right type of glove is critical.
Review your company’s policies and understand the expectations regarding when, where and what type of gloves are to be used.
Dupont has issued an information sheet about Kevlar which you can see here.
Hexarmor has a good chart explaining the similarities and differences between the US and European standards which you can see here.
LATEST NEWS
RPTA Announces 2021 Scholarship Recipients
Click here for details.
2021 Summer Webinar
On July 21, 2021, the RPTA Operating Board hosted a webinar on Brown Fiber Re-Pulping and Reject Handling Best Practices.
Presented by Steven Johnson, Applications Engineer, Kadant Black Clawson, and moderated by Dave Pearson, General Manager, Westrock.
The Webinar recording and a pdf file of the slides are available at this member-only site.
Industry Profile Study
Sampling is complete. Samples were coded for anonymity and sent to contract labs for testing. Included are 204 samples, off 62 machines at 47 mills. The 2021 Profile Study report will be published in September.
Members can access the Profile Study reports from prior years by clicking here.
RPTA Certification of Member Mills
RPTA continues the certification program first implemented in 2018 for RPTA member mills. RPTA uses a rigorous auditing process conducted by NSF to assure members and brand owners that products produced by certified mills are suited for direct food contact packaging applications. For more information, click here.
For a complete list of certified mills, click here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2021 Fall Roundtable
Water Reuse in Recycle Mills - Challenges & Solutions
If the COVID-19 situation allows, our annual Roundtable is planned for October 6 & 7. The free Seminar will be held on October 6th at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center.
We will tour Greif’s Sweetwater mill in Austell, Georgia, on the 7th.
The Roundtable registration is exclusive and free for RPTA member companies.
For all the details, including seminar and hotel reservation links, click here.
Early registration is encouraged for planning purposes.
The RPTA Operating Board may have to convert the in-person event to a hybrid live/virtual event or a full virtual event. We will communicate any change to registrants soon after a decision to change is made.
2022 Winter Webinar
The Operating Board is tentatively planning a webinar on Building a Training Program from Within for sometime in January. Details TBD.
2022 P-T Seminar
RPTA’s annual Production-Technical Seminar will be held in Charlotte, NC on May 2nd and 3rd, co-located with TAPPICon 2022.