GUIDE TO GLOVE SELECTION CUT PROTECTION

TO THE EN388:2016+A1:2018 STANDARDS

The most appropriate way to select gloves is to use a 3-step process. To identify the Task, the Hazard and the Risk of Injury.

• Task - What are you doing? How much dexterity is needed? Where are you working?

• Hazard - Identify what could cause injury and what is the level of control that you have?

• Risk - What is the likelihood of injury whilst performing the task?

Task Assess the type of work that is being done and decide how much dexterity/flexibility is needed. Review the conditions of the working environment. Type of work:

• Light duty: low wear and a relatively clean environment. High gauge material can be considered with PU coating

• Medium duty: variety of working conditions but still low wear. Consider a latex foam or nitrile based coating

• Heavy duty: high wear, tough working conditions, dirty environment. Nitrile and PVC coatings are often best suited to these conditions

Required dexterity - Gloves Material:

• Low: handling large bulky items - Leather Gloves, PVC. 7-10-gauge fabric

• Medium: handling smaller items that can be held in one hand - Polyester, Aramid. 13-gauge fabric

 • High: handling very small items that can be held in the fingertips - Nylon, H

If chemicals make up part of the hazard, then this should take priority over the cut resistance as it is the principal hazard. Chemical protection can be complex so if you are unsure what protection to use please speak to your Portwest Area Sales Manager (ASM). Heat and Cold Hazards should be assessed separately. Often a heat or cold hazard is the principal hazard. The need to protect against these types of hazards will limit the range gloves that you will have to choose from.

 

Once you have carried out a risk assessment for the tasks you are performing you can use the Hazard x Risk calculation to help select the appropriate levels of cut resistance. Multiplying the Risk by the Hazard will provide a performance level (value) from which to base the required cut resistance. The value used for the new test method is Newton’s, following this method will give an appropriate Newton value.

Apply the performance level to the EN388:2016+A1:2018 levels below to find a suitable level of cut protection.

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