{"id":7886,"date":"2021-06-28T15:45:21","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T13:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wondergrip.com\/?p=7886"},"modified":"2021-11-25T15:25:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T14:25:06","slug":"the-different-standards-for-protective-gloves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wondergrip.com\/en\/insights\/the-different-standards-for-protective-gloves\/","title":{"rendered":"The different standards for protective gloves"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
In the early 1990s, standards were created to assess the compliance of protective gloves with the requirements of legislation<\/strong>. Each standard corresponds to a risk and is identified by a unique reference code. It allows users to purchase the gloves that will protect them against the right risk or risks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t EN<\/strong> represents European standards<\/strong> which provide businesses and individuals with a common basis, allowing to compare the products the ones with the others. They increase the visibility and understanding of the products among manufacturers inside and outside the European territory. A standard is a technical specification defining requirements for products, production processes, services, or test-methods.<\/p> In order to be recognized as a European standard, the technical standard has to be ratified by one of the three recognized European Standardization Organizations<\/strong> (ESOS) which are the European Committee for Standardization CEN, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization CENELEC and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI. The EN standards are designed and created through a transparent, open, and consensual process.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t First of all, EN 420<\/strong> was put in place to centralize all the general requirements<\/strong>: the design of the gloves, the harmlessness of the materials, the cleaning management methods, the requirement for comfort and size, and glove marking methods as well as the instructions for drafting the user manual. It is currently under revision and will now be called EN ISO 21420. The EN 420 standard basically proves that the gloves will not be a harm<\/strong> to the user and that they are comfortable to wear.<\/p> A glove that meets this standard alone is therefore not a personal protective equipment (PPE), as it does not protect against any particular risk.<\/p> To be effective against one or more risks, this standard must be combined with the other ones.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The EN 388 standard<\/strong> is the European protective gloves standard against mechanical hazards<\/strong>. The most recent version of it is the EN 388:2016+A1:2018 and it has been published in December 2018.<\/p> Accredited products are marked with the EN 388:2016 pictogram. Below this icon will be 4 numbers and 1 or 2 letters, which indicate the test performance of the gloves against each hazard:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t This standard tests, firstly, abrasion resistance<\/strong> (on a scale of 1 to 4):\u00a0 the material is subjected to abrasion by sandpaper under a determined amount of pressure.<\/p> Then, blade cut resistance<\/strong> (on a scale of 1 to 5) is also tested: this involves a rotating circular blade moving horizontally through the sample material.<\/p> After that, the tear resistance<\/strong> (on a scale of 1 to 4) is tested: this involves finding the force required to tear the glove material apart, as well as the puncture resistance (on a scale of 1 to 4), which result is based on the amount of force required to puncture the material with a tip.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t All our protective gloves<\/strong> at Wonder Grip\u00ae have an EN 388 score: for instance, the WG-640+ Dexcut<\/a><\/strong> has a EN388:2016 score of 4342C. It therefore offers an excellent cut protection while combining it with an outstanding flexibility, dexterity and grip.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t The EN 407<\/strong> standard is the European protective standard regarding resistance to the thermal hazards<\/strong> which are heat, flames, and fire.<\/p> Accredited products are marked with the EN 407 pictogram. Below this icon will be 6 numbers which indicate the test performance of the gloves against each hazard:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Firstly, this standard tests, on a scale of 1 to 4, the resisted duration to flame persistence<\/strong>: this is based on the length of time the material continues to burn and glow after the source of ignition is removed.<\/p> Then, the resistance to contact heat<\/strong> is tested: it is based on the temperature range (100-500\u00b0C) at which the user will feel pain for at least 15 seconds.<\/p> Furthermore, the resistance to convective heat<\/strong> is tested: this test is based on the length of time the glove is able to delay the transfer of heat from a flame.<\/p> Then, the resistance to radiant heat<\/strong> is tested: this is measured with the length of time the glove is able to delay the transfer of heat when exposed to a radiant heat source.<\/p> After that, the resistance to small projections of molten metal<\/strong> is tested: this is measured with the number of molten metal drops that are required to heat the glove to a given level, from under 5 drops to under 35 drops.<\/p> Finally, the resistance to large splashes of molten metal<\/strong> is tested, and this test determines the weight of molten metal that is required to cause smoothing or pin holing across a simulated skin placed directly behind the glove sample, from 30g to 200g.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t At Wonder Grip\u00ae, some of our protective gloves<\/strong> have been tested against contact heat<\/strong>, such as the WG-633 Dexcut\u00ae<\/strong>,<\/a>which has an EN 407 score of X2XXX, combined with a double protection against cut and cold.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTable of contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
What are EN Standards?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
What do different EN Standards mean?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
EN 420: The general standard<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
EN 388: The standard against mechanical hazards<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\tEN 407: The standard against thermal hazards<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t