What is EN 388?
You might have noticed that this product adheres to EN standard EN 388. EN standards ensure that the product you are buying meets the safety standards of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the highest standards organisation recognised by and working on behalf of the European Union. To pass any EN standard, a PPE product must undergo some of the most rigorous safety tests around.
There are many EN standards that our gloves adhere to. However, the EN standard that we’re concerned about here is EN 388. EN 388 stands for Mechanical Resistance, and informs you of your gloves' resistance to abrasion, cuts, tears and punctures.
How Do I Read the EN 388 Score?
Simply speaking, the higher the score that this product achieves, the better the product will be at resisting that hazard. Products will score between Level 0 and Level 4 for abrasion, tears and punctures, and if they weren’t tested for that hazard you will see N/A written instead of a number.
Cuts are a little different and, with the EN 388 standard rewritten in 2016, it means that gloves will either be tested to cut resistance or ISO cut resistance (sometimes called TDM cut resistance). Gloves tested to cut resistance will score between Level 0 and Level 5, and gloves tested to ISO cut resistance will achieve a score between Level A and Level F with the higher letter offering better cut protection.
Where Can I Find Out More?
This is just a brief overview of EN standard EN 388 so you know where you are standing. For further information, you can see the Introductory EN 388 Blog in our Knowledge Centre.