EN 388 STANDARDEN 388 is the European standard used to evaluate mechanical risks for hand protection, but more than that,

to be legally sold in Europe, a glove has to be EN 388 certified. Gloves with an EN 388 rating must be third-party tested and can be rated for abrasion, cut, tear and puncture resistance.

-Cut resistance is rated 1-5-The other factors are rated from 1-4

Up until now, cut resistance was measured using the “Coup Test,” which uses a rotating blade under a fixed load. The blade moves back and forth across the surface of the test glove.

The 2016 update to the EN 388 standard will now use the Coup Test and the ISO 13997 standard which uses a TDM-100 machine for a more accurate measure of cut resistance.

CUT TEST UPDATESA common complaint about the Coup Test was that the blade would dull during the

test, especially over highly-engineered yarns that feature steel or glass strands. The Coup Test has been revised to limit the number of passes the blade can

make over the test fabric to 60. Whether cut through has occurred or not. The rest of test will remain the same.

If the Coup Test blade makes 60 passes over the fabric, it is then mandatory to test the glove under the ISO 13997 cut resistance method

to assess the glove’s performance.

For those of you who are familiar with your cut resistance testing methods, this test is similar to the ANSI/ISEA 105-2016 cut test standard.If you aren’t familiar, here’s the rundown:

The goal of this test is to measure the load – applied to a blade – that is required to achieve a cut-through in a known distance on a test fabric.

1. The glove sample is placed on a conductive strip and loaded onto the TDM-100.2. A straight blade is loaded into the machine.3. Weight is added to serve as force.4. The blade moves across the fabric.5. The blade is replaced with a new one to ensure accuracy.6. The sample is cut five times, each with three different loads.7. The distance traveled to cause cut through at various forces is recorded.8. The data is used to determine the load in Newtons required to cut through the sample.

The first thing you need to know about the CE standards is that to sell gloves in Europe, they have to pass the European Standards for Protective Gloves, also called EN 388. The changes we will discuss in this white paper are: -The addition of a second cut testing method for engineered yarns

-Inclusion of impact test standards

-Changes to abrasion testing

-Updates to the glove marking system

Everything you wanted to know about

THE NEW EN 388GLOVE STANDARDS(but were afraid to ask)

WHAT IS THE ISO 13997 TEST METHOD (TDM-100 TEST)?

TDM-100 TEST

The manufacturer decides only to use TDM-100 for

cut resistance.

Glove is tested

Achieves score of A through F Based on Newtons to cut

Glove displays an X in the second position and a letter in fifth position

X D

Score out of ‘4’ will appear in the second position (cut) and

an ‘X’ in the fifth position (indicating TDM-100 test wasn’t used) e.g., 2412X

NO

DOES DULLING OCCUR?(ie. Blade makes 60 passes across fabric)

YESManufacturer MUST use the

TDM-100 test to determine cut resistance. A score of A

through F will appear in the fifth position indicating the

Newtons to cut. A score of ‘5’ may or may not appear in the second position to indicate the glove reached the highest coup test results.

I.e. 4X22E or 4522E

The manufacturer chooses to use EN 388 COUP TEST

COUP TEST

WHEN WILL TDM-100 BE USED VS.

COUP TEST?

Abrasion 1-4

Cut (Coup Test) 1-5

Tear 1-4

Puncture 1-4

4 4 4 2Rating

Abrasion 1-4

Cut (Coup Test) 1-5

Tear 1-4

Puncture 1-4

Cut (TDM-100 Test) A-F

Impact Protection P

Rating 4 4 4 2 C X

NEWTON TO GRAM CONVERSIONWhat’s a Newton you ask? One Newton is equal to 101.97 grams – about the same weight as a bar of soap. There is no correlation between the ISO 13997 and EN 388 standards, so converting the Newtons from the ISO 13997 testing will not provide accurate grams to cut on the EN 388 rating.

CHANGES TO THE MARKINGSTo account for the new additions of the TDM-100 cut test and impact test to the EN 388 standard, the glove marking will now feature two additional components as seen in the “New Marking” diagram to the right.

ABRASION TEST New abrasive test paper will be used. Some abrasion scores may change when aproduct is recertified under the new test conditions.

CUT TESTIf the TDM-100 test is used, a letter between A and F may appear on the marking to represent cut resistance. A letter was chosen to avoid confusion with the Coup Test results.

IMPACT TESTThis test is new to the EN 388:2016 standard and is optional. It should only be included for gloves that claim specific impact resistant properties. The marking will include a ‘P’ to indicate the glove has passed the impact test.

NEW MARKING

OLD MARKING

NEW TEST METHODS

10 newtons =1019 grams to cutLight duty metal handling, metalstamping, HVAC, light duty glasshandling, plastics, material handling

C5 newtons =509 grams to cutB Packaging, warehouse,light duty general purpose

2 newtons =203 grams to cutLight material handling,small parts assemblywithout sharp edges

A

30 newtons =3059 grams to cutHeavy duty metal stamping,metal recycling, foodprocessing, pulp and paper

F22 newtons =2243 grams to cutMetal stamping,sheet metalhandling, glasshandling, automotiveassembly

E15 newtons =1529 grams to cutD Light duty metal handling,appliance manufacturing,bottle and light glass handling,canning, dry walling, electrical,carpet installation, HVAC

WHICH EN 388 LEVEL SHOULD I CHOOSE? For gloves tested using the TDM-100 machine.

Test Method: Abrasion Cut (Coup Test) Tear Puncture Cut (TDM-100) Impact Protection

Exampe No. 1 Level 2 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level D Passed

Example No. 2 Level 2 Test not performed or not applicable

Level 1 not achieved

Level 2 Level E

Example No. 3 Level 2 Level 2 Level 1 not achieved

Level 2 Test not performed

Passed

Test not performed

2 4 3 2 D P

2 2 X 0 E

2 2 0 2 X P

How it should appear on the marking