1. Cut Protective & Chemical Gloves standards evolution
Alistair Inglis
Cut Protective & Chemical Gloves standards evolution
September 2016

2. EN 388 Evolution Needs A need for change
A need for change has been recognized for the EN 388 standard due to some issues of reproducibility specific to the cut and abrasion parts of the standard
The reliability of the test at higher cut levels raised some questions.
Recognition of the ISO TDM test
ISO has been recognised as a more reliable test method than the Coupe test because of the issue of blade dulling with the Coupe test – especially when glass fibre or steel is present within the fibre mix
A test for impact protection has also been added to the standard
Improvement of abrasion test with new abrasive paper

3. What are Differences btw EN 388 (cut test method) & ISO 13997
PARAMETERS
EXISTING EN 388 coupe test method
PROPOSED EN ISO TDM cut test method
Machine used
Coup tester
TDM – 100
Blades shapes
Circular - rotating
Straight blades
Blades use
Remains unchanged throughout the test
Single use only
Blade travel
80 mm
20 mm
Force applied
Constant at 5 N
Increasing
Good for
Low levels of cut protection
All levels of cut protection
Cons
Not good for gloves that have glass or steel within the fibre . There is a strong likelihood that the blade gets blunted after coming in contact with glass or steel and may give scores that are inconsistent to the actual performance of the material- resulting in unusually high scores for such gloves.
Time consuming as a new blade is used after every cut.
Each cut uses a new blade, and the test becomes expensive
Scores defined
Cut index
Newtons
Levels
5 (numbers)
6 Letters (A TO F)
Coup Test Machine
TDM 100 Machine

4. Cut Test EN 388 and ISO 13997 EN 388 Cut test levels2 3 4 5
Cut Index
≥ 1.2
≥ 2.5
≥ 5.0
≥ 10.0
≥ 20.0
ISO Cut test levels
Level A B C D E F
Newton Scores
≥ 2
≥ 5
≥ 10
≥ 15
≥ 22
≥ 30

5. Marking Impact OLD NEW X
If the glove passes Impact protection standard  Possible to claim Impact protection in adding “P” on marking

6. Questions