Citation

Jiaming NI, Ping XIAO, Boyi LI. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10803548.2022.2157122

PMID

36522854

Abstract

This study analyzes the structural characteristics of firefighting gloves from the perspective of style design, to investigate the impact of the fit of four types of selected firefighting gloves on firefighters' manual operation efficiency. Seventeen male college students participated in the ergonomic trial to compare manual work done with bare hands and while wearing gloves. The results showed that the participants' hand dexterity decreased after wearing firefighting gloves, but there were significant differences between different styles of gloves. As glove thickness increased, the time to complete manual work increased continuously. But the change in the participant's length did not affect the tactile perception of gloves. The construction of fingers had an inverse significant effect on dexterity and grip performance. To enhance manual performance, it is recommended that hand length, finger length, and finger girth be considered when designing firefighting gloves based on the motion characteristics of firefighting operations.

Language: en

Keywords

firefighting gloves; fit; hand dimensions; hand function evaluation; manual performance