European Standard EN388 specifies the requirements for protective gloves against mechanical risks. The standard is applicable to gloves that are designed to protect against abrasion, blade cut, tear, and puncture hazards. Read on to find out more.

How is EN388 rated?

The EN388 standard requires gloves to be tested and rated on a scale of A to F for each of the hazards mentioned above, with F being the highest level of protection. The standard also requires safety gloves to be tested for impact resistance, and gloves that meet this requirement are assigned an additional letter P.

The EN388 standard is used by manufacturers of protective gloves to ensure that their products meet the minimum requirements for mechanical protection. It is also used by safety professionals to select appropriate gloves for specific applications.

It’s important to note that while the EN388 standard provides a useful guide for selecting gloves, it does not cover all possible hazards and does not account for other factors such as chemical resistance or thermal protection, which is why our safety specialists are always on hand to help you choose the right kind of PPE.

EN388 abrasion resistance test

Under the EN388 abrasion resistance test, samples of the safety glove material are subjected to circular sweeps with a fixed head covered with a highly abrasive material. This determines how many cycles it takes to rub through the material. To achieve the maximum rating of Cut D, the material must withstand an average of 8,000 cycles.

EN388 blade resistance test

A glove’s blade resistance is tested by moving a circular rotating blade, under pressure from a standard weight, over the surface of samples of the material being tested. A maximum score of  is given for an average of 20 cycles.

EN388 puncture resistance test

A puncture cut is the result of a sudden impact from a pointed object, which may be a sharp but light object, such as a needle, or a sharp and heavy object, such as the jagged edge of a metal sheet. The material must be able to withstand a force of 150 Newtons to achieve the maximum score of Cut C.

EN388 tearing resistance test

The fourth and final EN388 test measures the glove material’s resistance to tearing. It achieves this by clamping samples of the material in the jaws of a strength testing machine and moving them apart to see how much force is needed to tear the material. This gives you another indication of the overall strength of the glove, as even the lowest tear resistance score of Cut A still means that it requires an average force of 10 Newtons to pull it apart.

As more and more businesses roll out Cut C safety gloves as standard, we can send you a sample of our latest Cut C glove, giving you the ability to try before you buy.

Request your sample today

You’re in safe hands when you choose SafetyCare. To request a free sample of our Huskee Cut D safety glove, give our team of safety specialists a call on 01 8499 100 or email sales@safetycare.ie.