EN 388 Glove Level Check (Abrasion, Cut, Tear, Puncture, TDM)

The formula

This is the expression the tool evaluates. Every term is named underneath, with the unit it must be supplied in.

How the result is derived

Step by step, from the values you type to the figure on screen.

1. The 8 inputs are read from the form on every keystroke: Abrasion: Cycles to Holing, Tear Resistance, Puncture Resistance, Circular Blade (Coup) Cut Index, Blade Blunting Factor, Straight Blade (ISO 13997) Cut Force, Mean Transmitted Force and Highest Single Result.
2. Each value is checked against the accepted range in the input table below. A value outside its range stops the calculation rather than producing a misleading figure — the results blank out and a message appears.
3. The validated values are substituted into the expression above, which resolves Straight Blade Cut Level together with every supporting figure in one pass — no value is carried over from a previous entry.
4. The supporting outputs — Place 1: Abrasion Level, Place 2: Circular Blade Cut Level, Place 3: Tear Level, Place 4: Puncture Level, Impact P Earned, Straight Blade Result Is the Reference, Force Short of the Next Cut Letter, Cycles Short of the Next Abrasion Level, Force Short of the Next Puncture Level and Shield Pictogram May Be Used — come from the same pass, so they always describe the same case as the headline figure.
5. Results are rounded for display only. The full-precision value is used throughout the chain, so reading a rounded intermediate figure back into the tool by hand can shift the last digit.

What each input means

Where to read each value on the floor, the unit it must be in, and the range the tool accepts.

What the tool returns

The headline figure and every supporting value it is built from.

Worked example

Substituting

If the lab had reported a blunting factor of 3.6, the C would be the reference cut result and the 2 only indicative. With an impact mean of 6.1 kN and a highest strike of 8.4 kN, the marking would also carry a P.

How to use it

1. Work through the input groups in order — Mechanical Tests, Cut Tests and Impact. The defaults are a realistic case, so you can change one value at a time and watch what moves.
2. There is no calculate button. Every figure recalculates as you type or drag, which is what makes this usable for a what-if sweep rather than a single answer.
3. Read Straight Blade Cut Level in the dark results panel — that is the headline figure, expressed in level.
4. Check the supporting rows underneath (Place 1: Abrasion Level, Place 2: Circular Blade Cut Level, Place 3: Tear Level, Place 4: Puncture Level, Impact P Earned, Straight Blade Result Is the Reference, Force Short of the Next Cut Letter, Cycles Short of the Next Abrasion Level, Force Short of the Next Puncture Level and Shield Pictogram May Be Used) before acting on the headline — they are where an implausible input usually shows itself first.
5. Reset to defaults returns every field to the reference case, which is the quickest way to check whether a surprising result came from the tool or from an input you had changed earlier.

Where this is used

• Process planning — establishing Straight Blade Cut Level before a trial is booked, so machine time and material in Nonwovens & Technical Textiles are committed against a calculated figure rather than an estimate.
• Costing and quotation — Straight Blade Cut Level is an input to the cost sheet, and quoting from a worked number rather than a remembered one is what keeps a margin intact.
• Troubleshooting — when the floor result drifts from plan, entering the measured values (starting with Abrasion: Cycles to Holing) shows how much of the gap in Straight Blade Cut Level each variable explains.
• Teaching and study — the accepted ranges bracket normal Nonwovens & Technical Textiles practice, so moving one variable at a time shows the shape of the relationship rather than a single answer.

Reading the result

Typical bands and what each one is telling you.

Assumptions and limits

• Level thresholds per EN 388:2016+A1:2018 as tabled by SATRA: abrasion 100, 500, 2,000 and 8,000 cycles; circular blade cut index 1.2, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0; tear 10, 25, 50 and 75 N; puncture 20, 60, 100 and 150 N; straight blade (EN ISO 13997) A 2 N, B 5 N, C 10 N, D 15 N, E 22 N and F 30 N. A level is met when the result reaches its threshold. The marking prints the four numbers, then the cut letter, in that order; an X stands for a cut test that was not done, and a 0 is commonly printed for a mechanical test below Level 1. The pictogram is not used unless at least one category reaches Level 1 or Level A. The P for impact needs a mean transmitted force of 7.0 kN or less with no single result above 9.0 kN in the EN 13594:2015 clause 6.9 test. When both cut methods are reported, the instructions must say the circular blade result is only indicative and the straight blade result is the reference. A zero entered here reads as level 0, so check the report for which tests were actually run. **This is a reading aid for test reports, not a certification.**
• Every input is bounded to the range normal practice occupies (Abrasion: Cycles to Holing 0 to 100000 cycles, Tear Resistance 0 to 500 N and Puncture Resistance 0 to 1000 N, and so on for the rest). Those bounds are guard rails against typing errors, not a claim that the formula fails one unit outside them.
• The calculation is deterministic: the same inputs always give the same result. It carries no allowance for machine condition, operator skill, ambient conditions or lot-to-lot material variation unless an input above explicitly represents one.
• Nothing is sent anywhere. The maths runs in your browser, so the numbers you type never leave the page.

Standards and further reading

• EN 388:2016+A1:2018, Protective gloves against mechanical risks: abrasion, circular blade cut, tear, puncture, straight blade cut and impact.
• EN ISO 13997, Protective clothing, determination of resistance to cutting by sharp objects (the straight blade, or TDM, test).
• EN 13594:2015 clause 6.9, the impact test EN 388 uses for the P marking.
• EN ISO 21420, Protective gloves: general requirements, sizing, innocuousness and the information a glove must carry.

Questions people ask