Ever wondered what those letters and numbers mean on your safety gloves? Or need to work out what glove to select for your team?
If you're uncertain we don't blame you, there is now 3 different types of cut ratings still in the market.
Firstly, what numbers and letters relate to CUT?
EN388 standard measures gloves on ABRASION, CUT (OLD), TEAR, PUNCTURE, CUT (ISO 13997) and IMPACT.
As you can see below the second number and the first letter is CUT. Where there is an X, it means it hasn't been tested.
EN388:2003
This standard has now been superseded by EN388:2016 ISO 13997 but there is still a lot of products out there that have not been tested to the new standard.
Cut 3 and Cut 5 are the most common gloves out there and are perfect or Medium & High risk respectively.
If your SWMS has not been updated or client is requesting a Cut 3 or 5, below is a handy conversion table. As you can see they dont directly relate. This is because the way testing was conducted allowed sub par products into the market.
EN388:2016 ISO 13997
EN 388 was revised in 2016 to improve the accuracy and precision of testing for safety gloves, and to help workers make informed decisions about which gloves to choose.
The result of this standard has seen a better awareness around non conforming and low quality products that have consequently been weeded out of the market.
The rating has changed from 1-5 to A-F where F is the highest.
Writing your SWMS and trying to work out what level of protection you need?
The below table will help to equate the levels to everyday activities.
ANSI-105-2016
Some Australian distributors have started to supply gloves with the ANSI standards which are the American equivalent of the more prevalent EN (European) standards for Australia.
This standard focuses on providing clear and separate testing classifications for various types of resistance, ensuring that gloves meet specific safety and performance criteria for different industrial and occupational hazards.
Need help to choose the right glove? Where here to help.