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Archives: Revised Standards for Safety Gloves
Revised Standards for Safety Gloves

The  recognised standards for safety gloves, EN 388 has been revised with the intention of bringing the standards of safety gloves up to date with developments in cut resistant fibres.

EN 388 determines a protective gloves performance against 4 primary hazards:

Blade cuts
Punctures
Tears
Abrasion

The test results of these factors are translated into performance rating of the gloves. These are:

0 – 4 for puncture, tear and abrasion.
0 – 5 for cut resistance.

The standard attempts to reflect the hazards that glove wearers are likely to face in a variety of industries.

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Example of information notice provided with safety gloves

It is important to choose the correct type of safety glove for the application it is intended to be used for. Your risk assessment process should indicate which performance properties are significant for the operation/s undertaken.

A one size fits all approach with regard to the properties of safety gloves is not an acceptable method of choosing the correct PPE. Staff may require a different type of glove for different operations.