b'Safety CommitteeHAND PROTECTIONHOW TO CREATE A THUMBS UP ATTITUDE ON THE ROOFTOPBy Mary Padron of RadiansI ts a universal truth that most everyoneMore than half of nail gun wants a roof over their head to protect them from the elements. But who is protecting the roofer from the many risks associatedinjuries happen to the hands with residential and commercial roofing?Roofing is the fourth most dangerous job inand fingersthe U.S. to the tendons, joints, nerves, and bones.According to 2017 data from the Bureau of Labor StatisticsCommon Roofing Complaints about Work Gloves(BLS), roofing with its trip and fall fatalities is reported as the fourth most dangerous job in the United States. TheRoofers will frequently be seen in hard hats and high visibility fatality rate for the roofing profession is 45.2 deaths pervests, but hand protection is often a missing component 100,000 full-time workers. Commercial fishermen andin their daily workwear. Although roofers need gloves, they related fishing workers now have the highest fatality ratedont necessarily want to wear them. A few common (99.8) followed by logging workers (84.3), who previouslyobjections found in online forums include:had the number one spot.Gloves are too bulky. When I wear them, I cant hold the In addition to trips and falls, roofers face a variety of perilsshingles correctly to nail them down in the right place. associated with power tools, ladders, noise, electricity, hazardous chemicals, and extreme temperatures. AndMy hands get too sweaty when I wear gloves, so I feel many other dangers lurk on the rooftop, especially whenuncomfortable.it comes to hand protection.Id rather spend my money on fishing bait and beer than The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA)buy cheap gloves that wear out before the day is over.reports that the most common causes of hand injuries are blunt trauma followed by cut and laceration injuriesHand Protection Features and Glove Types that Get a from a sharp object, which account for one-third of handThumbs Upinjuries in the industrial workforce. Wearing work gloves is critical to protect hands from Unfortunately, the roofing industry is fraught with sharplacerations, abrasion, impact injuries, hazardous chemicals, objects, including circular saw blades, utility knives andand burns from volatile tars.Below are five hand protection blades, and hand saws.And then there is the nail gun.features and three glove types that will help improve According to OSHA, More than half of nail gun injuriescompliance on the rooftop.happen to the hands and fingers, and can cause damage 18 www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer'