A summary of the most important news in the revised EN388:2016 (EN)
PROTECTIVE GLOVES AGAINST MECHANICAL RISKS EN 388:2016
This pictogram shows that the glove is intended to protect against mechanical risks.
Changes have been made in EN388:2016. However, much remains the same. Testing of resistance to abrasion, tear and puncture are carried out as before but with some clarifications regarding test procedure and test materials. For example it is now mandatory to use a specified sandpaper during abrasion test. Gloves that earlier been tested with less harsh sandpaper can experience lower abrasion result when testing according to EN 388:2016.
The obtained test results corresponds to different levels of protection in the same way as in the 2003 version, which for resistance to abrasion, tear and puncture is 0–4, with 4 being the highest performance level.
The major differences in the new edition compared to the previous is related to cut resistance and impact protection. There are now two methods available for testing the cut resistance and the standard clearly states that there is no correlation between the old and new cut test methods. For details, see the table on the next page.
