EN 388 Protective Gloves Against Mechanical Risks

EN 388 is the European standard used to evaluate mechanical risks for hand protection, and to be legally sold in Europe, a glove has to be certified to this standard. Gloves with an EN 388 rating must be third-party tested and are rated on a score of 1-4 for abrasion, cut, tear and puncture resistance and on a scale of 1-5 for cut resistance.

It is well accepted that the majority of hand injuries are caused by cuts and abrasions, with the most serious being cuts. As a result, the latest edition of this standard incorporates the Coup Test and the ISO 13997 standard which uses a TDM-100 machine for a more accurate measure of cut resistance. Gloves certified to the new standards will display 2 extra components to the markings as shown in the diagram.