September 2019

Workwear
SPONSORED BY
& Protective Wear
DON’T RISK IT: DRESS APPROPRIATELY
By Peter Dummigan, MD of the Hultafors Group UK, owners of Snickers Workwear.
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work
Regulations 1992 stipulate that: ‘Every
employer shall ensure that suitable
personal protective equipment is provided to his
employees who may be exposed to a risk to their
health or safety while at work, except where and
to the extent that such risk has been adequately
controlled by other means which are equally or
more effective.’
What does this mean for Workwear?
Workwear as a form of PPE generally includes
safety glasses, face shields, hard hats, safety
shoes, insulating (rubber) gloves, plus clothing
more commonly known as Protective Wear.
As working clothes go, there’s a big difference
between conventional Workwear and specialist
Protective Wear. Over the years, workwear has
evolved to make your working day more
comfortable and efficient, with built-in
functionality for tools and fixings, as well as
protection against cold, rain and the effects of
warm weather.
Protective Wear, which can have one or more CE
(European Conformity) marks, is significantly
more specialist and has been developed to
protect the wearer from serious risks such as
heat, flames, mechanical hazards, electric arcs,
hazardous chemicals – and even the weather!
Protective Wear has to be certified against
Regulation (EU) 2016/425, which determines the
fundamental safety and protection requirements
with which clothing has to comply.
The product certification process for this
regulation includes the independent testing and
accreditation of a product’s functionality and
performance. This is carried out against a predetermined
set of standards and technical
specifications that are designed to ensure a
user’s safety and security.
It’s a complex process that requires a
considerable investment in time, resources and
money on the part of the product developer who,
on successful completion, is required to affix the
CE mark to the product as a visible indication of
conformity with the fundamental accreditation
requirements.
The types of testing vary from one certification to
another. For protective wear, the higher the
protection category, the more complex the testing
process, which for protective wear, primarily
focuses on garment fabrics.
For instance, Snickers Workwear’s new,
ergonomically designed ProtecWork clothing
manufactured for welding and allied processes is
tested to measure the ability of the garment to
protect against ignition from various heat
sources, such as open flames, molten iron splash
and contact heat. The ProtecWork clothing that
safeguards against the thermal hazards of an
electric arc is tested and certified to eliminate
second-degree burns in the event of an electric
arc flash.
Risk environments and CE protection
categories
In order to meet the protective requirements of a
specific risk area, protective wear is divided into
three categories – the higher the category
number, the higher the level of protection.
Category I covers exposure to minimal risks, and
for this category there are CE standards such as
EN 343 (rain protection) and EN 14058 (cold
protection).
Category II includes exposure to medium risks, for
instance EN 20471 for high visibility clothing.
Category III covers exposure to serious risks,
which include major hazards such as electric
arcs and molten metal splashes or liquid
chemicals.
CE protection for selected categories for
ProtecWork Protective Wear
EN 14404 - Knee protection.
This standard stipulates the size, force
distribution, penetration resistance and user
testing of kneepads. “We use Type 2 knee
protectors for our products” explained Peter
Dumigan. “The knee protection is integrated with
the trousers, which means that wherever you go,
your knees are always protected. The knee
protectors and the trousers are co-certified,
ensuring safe and secure protection.”
EN 342 - Protective clothing against cold
EN 342 specifies the requirements and
performance of clothing designed to protect
against cooling of the body in cold environments.
Wearing several layers is a great way of
increasing insulation and enhancing protection
against the cold. A layered outfit also makes it
easy to adjust to rapid temperature changes.
Remember that sweating should be avoided
during continuous cold exposure, since moisture
absorption will progressively reduce insulation.
EN 343 - Protective clothing against rain
Rain doesn’t only make you wet, but also cold,
hampering your work performance. EN 343
specifies the performance and requirements of
clothing protecting against rain and vapour. The
standard defines the water penetration resistance
of the garment’s fabric and seams and water
vapour resistance.
EN ISO 20471 - High visibility clothing
EN ISO 20471 specifies requirements for clothing
capable of signalling the user’s presence visually.
Performance requirements are included for colour
and retro reflection as well as for minimum areas
and for the disposition of fluorescent and
reflective materials.
88 TC SEPTEMBER 2019