SAFETY GLOVES SAFE PAIR OF HANDS
Franz Lorenschitz, marketing manager at TraffiGlove, takes a look at why counterfeit goods are causing such a big problem and the impact this can have on an individual’s health and safety.
The manufacture, importation, transport and availability of counterfeit goods remain at a high level in the UK. It is estimated to cost the economy at least £1.3 billion per year in lost profits and taxes. Worryingly, almost every manufacturer is affected and faces daily challenges, at a growing cost, in a bid to protect its brand and its reputation.
Where health and safety is concerned, this is certainly one area on which special attention should be paid to the legitimacy of the products being considered.
Personal protective equipment (PPE), which is designed to protect the user from the potential dangers faced when undertaking tasks at work, should always be sourced from a reliable manufacturer that is not only able to test its products, but also prove the results claimed.
Unfortunately, safety gloves can fall foul of the counterfeit market. At first sight, they might appear to be a very good replica of the product they claim to be. However, in most cases closer inspection will expose the product as a fake.
Poor quality materials, loose threads and inconsistent logo printing are some common giveaways that a product is not what it claims to be. In many cases, gloves may also be available at a ‘bargain’ price – as with any special offer, if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) reports that fake and illegal products being manufactured and sold in the PPE industry is an increasingly common problem. Many products manufactured using substandard materials have entered the marketplace, from gloves to high visibility vests.
The main issue with counterfeit or substandard PPE is that it will not perform as it should do. Safety gloves that are sold as protection against mechanical risks must be tested in
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line with the European Standard EN 388: 2003 requirements. While a counterfeit glove may look ‘just like the original’, it will not offer the same protection and will not have been tested to these standards.
“POOR QUALITY MATERIALS, LOOSE THREADS AND INCONSISTENT LOGO PRINTING ARE SOME COMMON GIVEAWAYS THAT A PRODUCT IS NOT WHAT IT CLAIMS TO BE.
One of the key things to look out for when choosing safety gloves is the presence of the EN 388 icon, displaying four numbers that indicate the performance level achieved after undergoing thorough testing.
The EN 388: 2003 standard requires gloves to be scored on a scale of 1 to 5 for blade cut resistance and 1 to 4 for abrasion resistance, tear resistance and puncture resistance. The test results will vary according to the fibres, materials, stitching and coating used to make a particular glove.
The first number given relates to abrasion resistance, which is measured by the number of test cycles it takes for a piece of standardised glass paper, moving over the test sample in an approved ‘wear and abrasion’ machine, to break through the fabric of the glove.
If the glove is made up of several unbonded layers, the test is performed on each separate layer and the classification given is based on the sum of the number of cycles.
At 100 cycles, the test specimen is checked to see if there is breakthrough. If there is, the glove is granted performance level 1
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