Jaguar Land Rover is taking the safety of its workers to the next level as the company has designed a set of innovative 3D printed safety gloves. The employees who are required to fit the clips or fasteners into the chassis during the assembly will be provided with this new workplace clothing. These safety gloves will play an important role in reducing the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders which has commonly been witnessed in more than 30% of workplace injuries.
Musculoskeletal disorders are responsible for affecting a total of 10% of the global population which may also rise up to 40% in some industries. The JLR safety gloves have a 3D printed lattice-style structure which helps in reducing muscle fatigue and are also comfortable and flexible to wear for an 8-hour shift. The glove has been designed using the 3D computer-aided design or CAD software by the team using different densities and also using different materials for testing.
The Additive Manufacturing Strategic Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, Chris Noble said in an interview – “The health and wellbeing of our workforce remains our priority across all factories and facilities. Technologies like the 3D-printed glove allow us to use the world-leading expertise and equipment we have in-house to protect the hands of our makers, developing equipment that will make Jaguar Land Rover a great place to work, now and in the future.”
After fetching the feedback on this glove from the users, the brand is also working on the second-generation prototype. It comprises of a foam pad which has been made using impact additive D30 that absorbs impacts when placed under pressure hence making it suitable for employees that fit parts. Although it’s not the first time that such type of steps has been taken but it will be interesting to witness what will come in the future from the additive manufacturing experts of the company.
