Site work is rarely one hazard at a time. Rebar, formwork, blockwork, power tools and weather all act on the same pair of hands, so glove selection has to follow the trade rather than the site.
Cut tie wire, band ends, sheet metal offcuts and the edges of profiled decking do most of the damage. Blockwork and concrete are abrasive rather than sharp and will wear an unrated palm through in days. Steel fixers and roof sheeters need a rated liner, general labour needs abrasion durability above all.
Panels, shutters, scaffold tube and precast sections trap fingers against fixed steel and against each other. The back of the hand is exposed every time a load is guided into place, so thermoplastic rubber over the knuckles and finger bones is the difference between a bruise and a fracture.
Exposed starter bars, nails in stripped shutter timber and swarf from drilling all puncture rather than slice. Puncture is a separate position in the EN 388 code from cut, and a high cut letter does not imply a high puncture number, so read both.
Early starts, highveld winter mornings and exposed high level work cost grip and dexterity before they cost comfort. An EN 511 rated glove with a waterproof membrane keeps hands usable through a concrete pour rather than forcing repeated breaks.
Split the specification by trade instead of issuing one glove to the whole site.
Fit deserves as much attention as the rating. A glove that is loose in the fingers will be taken off for detailed work, and the injury then happens bare handed.
TDM level C to E covers cut tie wire, band ends and bar edges without making the glove too stiff for tying. Where the work involves handling sheet metal edges directly, move up to level E or F on the palm.
Often not. General site handling is dominated by abrasion and impact rather than laceration. A glove with abrasion level 4 and a hard wearing coating usually outlasts and outperforms a lightly built high cut glove on that work.
Where loads are landed, guided or stripped by hand, yes. Crush and pinch injuries take longer to heal than most lacerations. Reserve impact gloves for the trades that handle heavy sections rather than issuing them site wide.
Send the tasks, sizes and quantities you need and we will come back with a written quotation. Contact Knight Safety Gear.