Three commercially available gloves which are commonly used
in industrial assembly tasks, as well as a bare hand condition, were
tested in the study. The gloves were made of nylon, cotton, and
nitrile-coated cotton (referred to in this study as nitrile gloves).
According to the manufacturer’s information, nitrile-coated cotton
gloves (which are made from cotton with nitrile coating material)
provide a non-slip grip textured surface and are suitable for
assembling parts and components as well as general maintenance
activities where pliers and other hand tools are in use. These nitrile
gloves were also included in this study to give a range of glove
“exposure” from the thin to the thick in the experimental design.
The characteristics of the gloves used in the study are shown in
Table 1. Each of the glove types was provided in three different sizes
(small, medium and large) and participants selected whichever
glove size they felt was the best fit.