Most workshops have no idea how many gloves they actually use. They know roughly what they spend, and they know they run out at annoying moments. Working out the real number takes about two minutes, and it usually changes what you buy — whether that is grip x by the carton or something lighter for part of the work.
Here is the arithmetic, and what to do with the answer.
The calculation
Three numbers:
Staff × jobs per day × pairs per job = pairs per day.
Then multiply by days open. That is it.
The number people get wrong is pairs per job, because they estimate it rather than counting it. If you want a real figure, count for one week. Put a box on the bench, note the start count, note the end count, divide by the jobs that went through. The number is almost always higher than the guess.
A worked example
Say a three-bay workshop: 3 techs, 5 jobs each per day, and honestly counted, 2 pairs per job because gloves come off for the phone and the parts counter and do not go back on.
- 3 × 5 × 2 = 30 pairs a day
- = 60 gloves a day
- × 5 days = 300 gloves a week
- × 48 weeks = 14,400 gloves a year
At 50 gloves to a box for heavy duty, that is 288 boxes a year. That is a number worth negotiating on, and it is a number most workshops have never put in front of a supplier.
“Been panel beating for 15 years, these gloves lasts the longest…”
The number that actually matters: cost per job
Once you know pairs per job, you can compare gloves properly, and it usually reverses the answer people expect.
| Cheaper light-duty glove | Heavy-duty glove | |
|---|---|---|
| Pairs to finish the job | 3 | 1 |
| Gloves used | 6 | 2 |
| Which costs more per job? | Work it out with your own box prices — it is often the cheaper box | |
I have deliberately not filled in dollar figures there, because your prices and your pairs-per-job are the only ones that matter. Run it with your real numbers.
This is the same argument as nitrile against latex and vinyl, and it cuts both ways: if a task genuinely takes one pair of a cheap glove, buy the cheap glove. The saving comes from matching the glove to the task, not from always buying the toughest thing on the shelf.
Where the waste usually is
When I look at a workshop's usage, the excess is almost always one of four things:
- Wrong size. Tearing during donning. Free gloves straight in the bin. Fix with a proper size check.
- Wrong duty level. A light glove on heavy work means three pairs instead of one.
- Box in the wrong place. If the box is at the other end of the shop, people work without gloves or keep damaged ones on. Put a box in every bay.
- One glove for everything. Running heavy duty for interior work wastes money; running light duty on the dirty end wastes gloves.
Most workshops end up with two boxes: heavy duty for the dirty end and light duty for clean handling. That combination is nearly always cheaper than forcing one glove to cover both.
Buying by the carton
Once you know your annual number, buying by the carton rather than the box is the obvious move. It reduces the ordering admin, it stops the mid-week run-out, and it is where volume pricing starts to apply.
Two practical notes on cartons. Store them somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight — there is more on that in storing gloves so they last. And order to your actual size spread rather than a single size, or you will end up with a carton of XL and a crew that needs L.
Talk to us about trade pricing
If your annual number is in the thousands, that is a trade conversation rather than a website order. We hold stock in Melbourne, so supply does not depend on a container arriving.
“I am the head mechanic here in Hallam Hi Tech, weved used many gloves but these have stuck with us for last 2 years…”
Bring your numbers — staff, pairs per day, size spread — and we can work out what your year actually looks like. Get in touch with the team and we will price it properly.
Count for a week before you change anything
Everything above depends on one number you probably do not have yet: pairs per job, counted rather than guessed.
Here is the cheapest possible version of that exercise. Put one box in one bay on Monday morning. Write the starting count on the box in marker. On Friday afternoon, count what is left and write down how many jobs went through that bay. Divide.
Two things usually come out of it. The first is that the number is higher than anyone guessed, often by half again. The second is that the reasons are visible once you are watching for them — someone taking gloves off to answer a phone, someone binning a torn one at the start of a job, someone using a heavy-duty glove to carry a clean part across the workshop.
None of those are discipline problems worth a meeting. They are ordering problems. Once you know the number, you order the right glove in the right size in the right quantity, and most of the waste disappears without anyone changing how they work.
Frequently asked questions
How many gloves does the average workshop use per year?
There is no useful average, because it depends entirely on staff numbers and how often gloves come off. Count for one week using the formula above — your own number is the only one worth acting on.
How many gloves are in a box?
Heavy-duty gloves come 50 to a box because a heavier glove takes more room. Lighter examination gloves come 100 to a box. Compare cost per job rather than per box.
Is it cheaper to buy gloves in bulk?
Per glove, yes, and it also removes the cost of running out mid-job. The thing to get right is ordering the correct size spread, not just the correct quantity.
How do I cut glove costs without cutting quality?
Fix sizing first, then match duty level to task, then buy volume. In that order. Sizing alone often takes a surprising amount out of the number.
Do you supply trade accounts?
Yes. Contact us with your usage numbers and size spread and we will quote it.