Brammer and The Royal Mint win top prize at BSIF Safety Awards 2015

The Royal Mint faced a significant challenge: No fewer than 33 different types of gloves from a wide range of manufacturers were being used regularly on site, with others used on an ad hoc basis, with little control over purchasing and selection. In fact, 34,000 pairs were used in one year alone, with an annual spend in this area of some £70,000.

However, the range of products available did not necessarily mean that the most suitable gloves were being used for each task; gloves were frequently being selected on the basis of familiarity rather than suitability. In year 2013, the knock-on effect of this was a high cost of accidents relating to insufficient or inadequate hand protection. More than half of all accidents at Llantrisant were hand- or finger-related, as a result of not using gloves at all, using the wrong type of glove, or wearing a product of the incorrect size. The cost per accident resulting in a claim was in the region of £10,000 – to say nothing of the legal costs of investigating each one.

Meanwhile the sheer volume of glove types being used meant that a disproportional amount of storage space was being occupied by gloves, tying up valuable capital in often slow-moving stock-keeping units. It was agreed that a project aimed at reducing the number of glove types used while ensuring best practice in selection and usage was needed to drastically cut workplace accidents and the resulting downtime while minimising spend on gloves. The aim was to always select the right glove for the job, based on fitness for purpose, comfort and compliance with regulations.

The Royal Mint management team tasked Brammer, a long-standing partner in the area of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products, to come up with a solution.

Brammer joined forces with Ansell to undertake the Ansell Guardian Program to review all areas of glove usage at the Llantrisant facility. Every process across the four main production units was scientifically analysed, with Ansell Guardian assessing which glove product from its range would be most suitable. Chemical analysis was undertaken to confirm the selection was correct, with the chosen glove extensively trialled in the working area. Feedback from users was gleaned before a final selection was made.

The findings revealed that no less than 85% of site requirements could be catered for by holding just six types of glove in stock, while there was now a robust and measurable methodology of product selection in place.

Furthermore, in many applications, the new gloves delivered enhanced performance and longevity – in the hot end section of the MRB (milling, rolling and blanking) process, for example, the new Ansell Workguard 43-216 product lasted four times as long as the products previously being used, with similar stories through the Royal Mint’s operations.

Gloves were now also distributed through Brammer’s Invend service, an industrial vending system that removes the need for significant upfront capital investment in vending equipment by customers. Brammer supplies the machines free of charge and tracks usage automatically, replenishing products as needed, with the Royal Mint only paying for the items as they are used. The machines in each area – four banks of two – each contained only the gloves required in that area and with each member of staff having to enter a code before an items is distributed. It is easy to see which gloves have been taken, when and by whom. This ensures around the clock traceability, while identifying any areas of excessive use or incorrect product selection, with additional staff training provided if needed.

Having suffered 37 accidents related to hands and fingers in the previous four years, the first full year of the programme saw this figure reduced to zero – a staggering achievement.

On winning the award, Russell Gardiner, Brammer Insite manager at The Royal Mint, commented: "This award win is particularly gratifying for Brammer as it brings together several of our added-value services. As a safety specialist, our thorough audits in partnership with expert PPE manufacturers such as Ansell help reveal real opportunities for safety improvements and cost reductions, while the products are delivered to individual users through our industrial vending solution, Invend. This has given The Royal Mint complete visibility over which products are being used, in which quantities and by whom, ensuring that all employees are using the correct PPE and providing full traceability."