The document summarizes the development of KONG gloves to prevent hand injuries in industrial settings. A committee of safety managers identified consistent hand injuries and set a goal to develop solutions. They pursued a two-part solution involving education and training along with developing personal protective gloves. After testing multiple prototypes with workers, a final glove design was approved that improved grip, durability, and protection. Over 800,000 pairs of the KONG gloves have now been shipped around the world, helping to prevent injuries.

1. Using Human Factors to Stop
Hand Injuries
The “Birth” of KONG!
Mark Wiktorski
Director of Business Development
ORR Safety Corporation

2. The Problem/Issue
• Getting started
o Steering Committee met in July 2007 which consisted
of a collaborative, cross functional group of safety
managers and operations managers from:

3. The Problem/Issue
• Committee’s Analysis
o Identified a consistent trend in
hand injuries
 More specifically:
– Hairline fractures
– Bruising blows
(back of the hand and fingers)
– Pinched fingers
o Set target goal to develop
solutions to reduce or eliminate
these hand injuries

4. Costs of Workplace Injuries
• Direct Costs
o Workers compensation costs/claim
o Medical costs
o Medical transportation
o Rehabilitation costs
o Property damage
o Damage of equipment

5. Costs of Workplace Injuries
o Attorney fees
• Indirect Costs o Litigation (an average of > $100,000 per
claim)
o Lost/decreased productivity
o Damages to equipment, machinery,
o Time to go to medical
materials and facility
appointments
o Higher Worker’s Comp premiums
o Production down time
o Reputation loss
o Administrative costs
o Degraded client loyalty and support or
o Additional overtime pay required
loss of contract
o Time to replacement hire
o Managerial costs due to the accident
o Interviewing and training new including inspections, investigations,
employee meetings and administration
o Delays in shipments and filling o Loss of employee time associated with
orders assisting with the accident, administering
o Loss of products or services first aid, and witness interviews
o Unwarranted negative media o Loss of employee morale
attention o Slowed work pace due to other
o Potential OSHA penalties employees fear of injury

6. Costs of Workplace Injuries
• Each accident or injury is unique- impossible to estimate
an exact cost associated with each type of accident or
injury
• Indirect costs are typically 5x the direct costs
• The cost of one typical injury is far more expensive than
upgrading an existing safety program or the salary of a
safety professional
• Costs are important, but are not the most important driver
for implementing a safety initiative- worker safety and
having someone return home to their loved ones is!

7. The Solution
• There needed to be a two part solution
o Part 1- change in “behavior”
 Education
 Training
o Part 2- Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) designed
specifically to address the needs of the industry
 One size fits all canvas black dot gloves- didn’t offer protection
needed for injuries being recorded
 People would not wear

8. The Solution- Part 1
• The “behavioral” changes
o Educating the workforce on hand safety with emphasis on
hand placement
o Continue to use the JSA (Job Safety Analysis) process to
manage risk
o Wellworks/Drilling focus groups created (contractor and
operator steering committees)
o Pinch Point Hunt
o Showed workforce graphic images
of types of injuries
o Behavior Observation

9. The Solution- Part 2
• Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
o Approached ORR Safety Corporation to market,
inventory and distribute gloves
 Nations largest privately held distributor of industrial safety
products (PPE, industrial hygiene and fire related products and
services) based in Louisville, KY
o ORR Safety partnered with Ironclad Performance Wear
 Designer and manufacturer of mechanics style gloves based in
Los Angeles, CA

10. The Solution- Part 2
• Developed specifications and requirements
o Hi-Visibility
o Cost effective
o Breathable
o Washable
o Wet/dry Grip
o Snug/contoured fit
o Reinforced thumb crotch
o Rolled finger
o Range of sizes

11. The Solution- Part 2
• Evaluate existing glove style features
o Committee members were given (16) pairs of various
glove designs by Ironclad
o These gloves were taken to Oil & Gas Industry safety
meetings and input was solicited from a cross section
field personnel, safety professionals and managers
o Key features were identified and discussed with Orr
Safety and Ironclad R&D

12. The Solution- Part 2
• First Prototype
o “Concept Glove” developed based on Steering
Committee’s input
o ORR and Ironclad collaborated to develop 1st
Prototype of the “Concept Glove”
o (200) pairs of 1st Prototype manufactured
o Prototype was evenly distributed to the
Committee members for field tests
o Gloves were field tested and evaluated in a
number of different job types, functions and
environments

13. The Solution- Part 2
• First Prototype Results Review
o January 24, 2008 Committee Meeting - results of field tests were
reviewed and analyzed

14. The Solution- Part 2
• First Prototype Data
o 201 total testers surveyed
o Date range of tests Rating: 1 – 5
 November 7, 2007 to January 18, 2008 ( 1=Low, 5=Best)

15. The Solution- Part 2
• Field test recommendations
Steering
Commi,ee
Recommenda1ons
ORR
and
Ironclad’s
Recommenda1ons
Improve
grip-­‐
slippery
when
comes
in
Replace
black
synthe4c
fabric
layered
palm
contact
with
oil
&
adhere
impregnated
PVC
dots
to
the
palm
Improve
durability-­‐
significant
wear
a=er
Extend
glove
life
span
under
extreme
a
few
days
condi4ons
to
exceed
14
days
Increase
back
of
hand
protec1on
Increased
the
impact
absorbing
Thermoplas4c
Rubber
on
the
back
of
the
hand
Eliminate
Velcro
strapped
wrist-­‐
poten4al
Redesign
of
the
Glove
Cuff-­‐
Replace
the
snag
hazard
Velcro
wrist
band
with
a
solid
2½
inch
Neoprene
Cuff
with
elas4c
expansion
band

16. Original

17. The Solution- Part 2
• Second Prototype Data
o Targeted areas for improvement:
 Grip Rating: 1 – 5
 Durability ( 1=Low, 5=Best)
o Improved performance in (5) categories
Grip Improvement Durability Improvement
16.7% 18.5%

18. The Solution- Part 2
• Steering Committees Decision
o (12) months of planning and development
o (3) “prototype” gloves were created
o Prototypes were tested for 80,000 hours without a
single hand injury
o (2) separate field tests were conducted
o Final design received a 4.32 overall rating
o June 2008 – Steering Committee approves final glove
design
o ORR started shipping KONG in October 2008

19. Lab Testing Results
• ORR hires University
of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee
Ergonomics
Department
• Performed (7) month
independent study
4.25X
10.73x
5x
Improvement

20. Four versions currently being offered:

21. Performance (Participant #1)

22. Performance (Participant #2)

23. Where we are today?
• Glove Guideline for the Oil and Gas industry has been
developed and implemented
• Over 825,000 pairs of KONG gloves shipped
• Recognition:
o Selected for Offshore Leadership Award 2010
o Occupational Health & Safety:
2010 New Product of the Year Award
• Gloves are currently being shipped all over the world
• Philosophy is quickly spreading to all other industries
that experience the same type of injuries

24. Did impact resistant gloves help?

25. The Job
300lbs.
Skid
Anchor

26. The Injury

27. The Glove!

28. Summary
• Keys to the success of this project
o Collaboration
 Cross functional groups- Operations and Safety
 Manufacturers and distributors of safety products
 Applying input from users in the field…..listening
 Group was open about challenges each company faced with
regards to injuries
 Sharing of safety data on hand injuries
o Two step process- “Behavioral” change in conjunction
with a highly engineered glove
o Impact resistant gloves supported and implemented
by major Oil and Gas companies

29. Questions?