What level of protection do your hands need?

Hands are vulnerable, choosing the right glove for the job is a decision that has to be made carefully. Get the right glove and your workers will have peace of mind and their hands will be protected from the hazards they encounter. However, the wrong choice can put workers at risk of hand injuries. People are naturally less cautious if they think they are wearing protective gear, so if it is the wrong protective gear, they become more exposed to risk. The good news is that all of Bastion’s Industrial gloves are EN388:2016 compliant, with clear markings that identify the hazards they are designed for.

What is the EN388:2016 standard?

This is the European safety standard for gloves that is used to evaluate mechanical risks for hand protection. The European Union established a series of tests that all gloves must be measured against. This provides a benchmark for all gloves so that safety managers can easily identify which gloves are suited to each task. Gloves with an EN 388:2016 rating are third party tested, and rated for abrasion, cut, tear, and puncture resistance.

Each glove has 5 ratings

Each glove must pass five tests and be given a rating for each one. The tests are for:-

1. Abrasion Resistance
2. Circular Blade Cut Resistance
3. Tear Resistance
4. Puncture Resistance
5. Straight Blade Cut Resistance (EN ISO 13997)

On each glove you can find a pictogram that indicates it has passed the EN388:2016 standard and numbers that indicate how well they performed against each test. This is the best way to find the right glove for a specific job.

How to read the numbers and letters

Cut resistance is rated 1-5, while all other physical performance factors (abrasion, tear, and puncture resistance) are rated 1-4. The higher the number indicates a better performance.

In the TDM cut resistance test, the glove is assigned a letter from A to F, where F indicates the highest level of protection.

Cut resistance testing – What’s the difference between the TDM and Coupe method?

Cut resistance (Coupe Test)

The coupe test uses a rotating circular blade moving horizontally to-and-fro across a fabric sample, with a fixed force of 5 Newtons applied from above. When the blade has broken through the material, the test is complete and the result is shown as an index value. A number between 1 – 5 is nominated to show the protection level. The number 5 indicates the highest level of cut protection.

If the material blunts the blade during the coupe test then the cut test from EN ISO 13997 (TDM test) is performed. This is done so that the protection performance value of the glove is as accurate as possible. During the coupe test, if blunting happens, the results of the TDM cut test will be the default marking shown on the glove, and the coupe test value will be marked as X.

TDM Test method

The TDM method test determines the resistance of the safety gloves by applying great force to the fabric in a single movement, instead of using continuous circular movements which are performed in the coupe test.

Products that perform well under the coupe test may not perform as well under the TDM test. While the coupe test offers a good representation for cuts caused by sharp, lightweight items, the TDM test gives a more accurate specification in terms of cut resistance during work which includes different impact-based hazards.

Identifying the risk

Your choice of glove will depend on the work environment and the type of hazards your workers will encounter. Abrasion resistance may be more important for workers in construction but if you are working with glass or blades you may wish to get a glove with a higher puncture resistance or cut resistance. Identifying the greatest hazard you will face in your applied line of work will help you find the best glove for the job.

Talk to an expert

If that sounds like way too much to take in, at Bastion Pacific, we have a specialist team who have a wealth of industry and product knowledge. They will be more than happy to provide product guidance, technical advice and solutions to help you choose the right gloves.

Get in touch with our Bastion Team here.

Browse the full range of Bastion Industrial Gloves here.

Date Added: Wednesday, 17th November 2021