These rubber goods must be periodically tested to ensure the products maintain their integrity when exposed to a full range of voltages. Regardless of the heavy fines, serious injuries and deaths that occur from electrical incidents, compliance continues to remain an issue. What's even more shocking is that many workers are not using rubber insulating equipment because they simply don't know they need it.

The reality is that EVERY SINGLE FACILITY HAS A NEED FOR ELECTRICAL SAFETY - whether the company is a larger facility with building engineers overseeing distribution, or a smaller facility with maintenance staff working around floor or wall sockets. There are quite a large number of possible end users. As such, awareness is paramount. Not only about the requirements for use, but also about the requirements for in-service use, inspection and testing of electrical protective equipment. Let the Voltgard^® electrical safety experts show you how we can keep you safe and compliant!

Click here to request your FREE Voltgard^® brochure today to learn more about the greater need for electrical safety in the industrial workplace, the standards for compliance, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and answers about the in-service testing process for rubber insulating products and how Voltgard^® is uniquely qualified to deliver on ALL of your safety needs. Whether it's our Voltgard^® Test Lab Dielectric Testing and Inspection Services, Original Rubber Goods Change-Out Program^®, Emergency Storm Response, Support and Recovery Services, Fiberglass Tool Restoration Services or our vast product selection spanning a full range of PPE as well as environmental safety, facility safety, first aid, public safety and electrical safety, Voltgard^® is dedicated to serving industries where worker safety and protection from electrical current are critically important. The Voltgard^® division of Saf-T-Gard International, Inc. has been bringing our electrical utility, electrical contractor, telecom, municipality and industrial facility customers home safely for more than 35 years, and we can do the same for you!

The most powerful hearing protection products don't just protect, and the new Moldex^® Soothers^™ 6680 Disposable Earplugs deliver a high NRR 33dB rating while pampering workers' ears with moisturizing hydration for all-day comfort and compliance!

Do your employees complain about dry ear canals from wearing regular foam earplugs? Click below to request a FREE sample of the new Soothers^™ Earplugs from Saf-T-Gard today, and receive a special offer on your first order too!

6680 additional features and benefits include the following:

• First and only earplug to moisturize and hydrate ear canals while delivering all-day comfort and protection
• NRR 33dB - the highest, independently-tested rating suitable for most noisy environments
• Extra-soft, extra-light, low-pressure foam material further enhances comfort
• Tapered shape allows for easy insertion and removal and even fits very small ear canals
• Smooth outer surface is non-irritating
• 100% PVC-free for a greener alternative
• Proudly made in the U.S.A.
• Sold by the box of 200 pairs

Click here to request your FREE sample today, click here to view them online, or call customer service at 1-800-548-GARD (4273) today for more information or to place an order.

Save as much as 68% on Saf-T-Gard^® Reflect-A-Gard^® RG-2005 Class 2 Hi-Viz Breakaway Safety Vests now through March 31, 2020.

Saf-T-Gard can help keep you seen and safe on the job in the
Reflect-A-Gard^® RG-2005 Class 2 Hi-Viz Breakaway Safety Vests with features and benefits that include the following:

• Fluorescent lime polyester mesh fabric offers high visibility and breathable comfort
• Two (2) horizontal and two (2) vertical 2” reflective stripes deliver ANSI/ISEA-107 Class 2 Level 2 compliance
• The vest is designed to separate harmlessly from the body in the event that it gets caught
• The five (5) breakaway points include two (2) on the shoulders, two (2) on the sides and one (1) in the center
• One (1) inner pocket at left chest for convenient storage and transportation of work materials
• Hook-and-loop closure provides easy on/off and comfortable, secure fitting
• Available in sizes Large-5XL
• Sold individually or 50 each/case by size
• $3.25/each or $112.50/case of 50 each by size ($50 minimum order)
• Save 14% more per vest when you order by the case

Click here to shop the RG-2005 Vests online, or call customer service at 1-800-548-GARD (4273) today for more information or to place an order.

When you procure gloves for your workers, you can save time and headaches by referencing industry best practices to make sure you’re getting the right kind of impact protection. The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) produced a helpful FREE resource you’ll want to download: ISEA White Paper - Selecting the Best Impact-Resistant Hand Protection.

Hand Injuries Are a Big, Costly — and Preventable — Problem

• More than 42% of nonfatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in 2017 involving days away from work in private industry involved hands 
• A hand injury can cost from $540 to $26,000, according to the National Safety Council - Think about lost productivity, workers comp and liability insurance costs
• The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reports that 70.9% of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with personal protective equipment, specifically safety gloves

Your Glove Choices Matter

It makes a difference, because 70% of workers don’t wear hand protection. And of those who do, 30% don’t wear the right kind of glove for the task. But if you make the right procurement choices and make hand safety a top priority, you can drive those numbers down among your own workers.

How the White Paper Will Help You

• Gives you information and references that will save money
• Explains the ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 industry standard
• Includes a link to the downloadable #SafeHands Awareness Campaign hand-protection infographic
• Explains the three performance levels of hand-impact gloves
• Links to a helpful list of PPE providers participating in ISEA’s Hand Protection Group

#SafeHands Awareness Is Vital

ISEA’s hand protection awareness and education campaign, launched in 2019 in collaboration with the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) and the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association (VPPPA), helps workers and employers grasp the importance of #SafeHands. Visit SafeHandsAtWork.org for details.

Click here to download your FREE copy of the Selecting the Best Impact-Resistant Hand Protection ISEA White Paper today!

The DuPont^™ ProShield^® 10 PB-127 Coveralls make it easier than ever to provide your workers with a comfortable, quality coverall for those dirty work assignments while enabling you to cut costs for your disposable garments.

Constructed from a spunbond meltblown spunbond (SMS) fabric, the DuPont^™ ProShield^® 10 PB-127 Coveralls are made to the high-quality standards you have come to expect from DuPont^™ and protect workers from dirt, grime and non-hazardous dry particles while keeping them comfortable for hours on end.

PB-127 additional features and benefits include the following:

• Soft, breathable and lightweight, DuPont^™ ProShield^® 10 Coveralls feature a proprietary DuPont^™ comfort fit design that is specially engineered for enhanced worker range of motion and durability in use
• Made from spunbond meltblown spunbond (SMS) polypropylene fabric to optimize comfort, softness and breathability
• Additional safety and wearability features include a zipper front closure with storm flap, serged seams, attached respirator fit hood and elastic wrists and ankles
• Ideal for use in general industrial maintenance and janitorial/cleaning applications
• Available in sizes Medium-7XL in white or blue colors
• Sold by the package of 25 coveralls

Saf-T-Gard carries a comprehensive line of DuPont^™ Protective Garments in several different fabrics, including coveralls, pants, shirts, aprons, sleeves, lab coats and hazmat suits. Click here to shop them online, or call customer service at 1-800-548-GARD (4273) today for more information or to place an order.

In an instant, a flash fire can cause serious harm to people and catastrophic damage to property. There is no time to react. To get through it safely, all the controls and protection have to be in place well before the fire occurs.

What Is a Flash Fire?

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines flash fire as “A type of short-duration fire that spreads by means of a flame front rapidly through a diffuse fuel, such as dust, gas, or the vapors of an ignitable liquid, without the production of damaging pressure.” (That last detail distinguishes a flash fire from an explosion, which has other injury-causing characteristics due to pressure.) 

Preventing Flash Fires

Flash fire protection strategy is focused on heat energy, and accounts for the fact that a flash fire incident will run its course in milliseconds. Jumping out of the way of a fireball is just for the movies! You need a lot more planning in real life.

Fire requires three basic components: oxygen, fuel, and an ignition source. Together, they're known as the "Fire Triangle." When the oxygen source is ordinary air, there is a known stoichiometric ratio of flammable substances and air that will burn. If the mixture is too lean (not enough fuel) or too rich (too much fuel), you won’t get ignition. The principal means of preventing flash fire burns is to prevent workers from entering atmospheres where the air-fuel ratio is in the flammable range.

Employers can use air monitoring procedures to make sure the lower explosive limit (LEL) (the lowest concentration of fuel vapor in air that will burn) is not approached. Generally, 10% of the LEL is considered an alarm condition and workers will vacate or simply not enter that area until it can be ventilated or inerted.

PPE Protection for Flash Fires

Even with engineering and administrative controls in place, some risk of flash fire might remain. In this case, PPE provides a last line of defense. It can't prevent fires from happening, but it can reduce the severity of the injuries caused by them.

NFPA Code 2112 lays out the criteria for testing and certifying garments as suitable for flash fire protection. It uses a number of associated standard testing methods to come up with a basic pass/fail grade for the clothing. Garments that pass can bear a tag that reads “This clothing item meets the requirements of NFPA 2112-2018. NFPA 2113 requires upper and lower body coverage."

Here's What PPE Has to Go through to Earn That Label

ASTM’s F2700 testing method evaluates textile performance against the kind of heat transfer you would see in a flash fire. All fabrics used in flame-resistant apparel need to have a minimum “Heat Transfer Performance” (HTP) rating of over 6.0 cal/cm² and a “contact” HTP rating of not less than 3.0 cal/cm². Heat transfer performance is determined by exposing the material to a 2 cal/second flame, while a sensor on the other side records how much heat passes through the materials. The test is terminated when enough heat has passed through to cause a second-degree burn.

Flame resistance is tested using the ASTM vertical flame test as specified in the standard D6413. This is a common approach for most fire-resistant garments. Basically, it involves applying a flame to the material, then recording the afterflame time (the time a material continues to burn following a flame exposure) and the char length (the burnt area where the flame was applied). The test assesses how much of the material is consumed by the flame, but also looks out for failure criteria like dripping.

All garments also have to be subjected to the so-called manikin test (ASTM F1930) in order to assess the full garment, including seams, clasps, hardware, and layered areas. The manikin contains instruments that help estimate the severity of the body burns a worker would suffer following a 3 second, 2 cal/cm² simulated engulfment flash fire. The predicted total body burn of second-degree or worse burns (excluding hands and feet) must not exceed 50%. The test is quite technical, involving an intimidating half-page heat flux calculation, as well as specification all the way down to what kind of underwear the manikin has to be wearing.

Make Sure Your Protective Clothing Is Up to Snuff

Every effort must be made to avoid a flash fire incident, you'll need to rely on protective clothing and other PPE to reduce the severity of the burn. PPE is the last line of defense and a lot of scientific rigor and diligent standardization goes into making sure that it's an effective one.

If your workers could be exposed to flash fires, make sure they're equipped with protective gear that meets the exacting standards of the NFPA Code 2112.