Chainsaw Protection products
posted by Ramunas Misevicius on February, 26, 2016 in Chainsaw ProtectionKnow your European Chainsaw Protection standards:
All our Chainsaw Protection products are certified and marked to CE standards. The CE mark indicates the compliance with the fundamental health and safety requirements from the European Directive 89/686.
The pictograms on the labels in our protective clothing show the protective requirements, compliant to the European standards:The more onerous the standard, the greater your protection.
Testing is carried out after 5 washes at 60°C and line dried 5 times.
To buy Chainsaw Protective clothing and equipment please click here.
EN381 Protecting against Hand-held Chainsaws
The European standard EN 381 is for protective clothing for chainsaw users. Each sub part of the norm deals with a specific part of the body:
EN 381-5 : Norm for chainsaw leg protectionEN 381-7 : Norm for chainsaw protective glovesEN 381-9 : Norm for chainsaw protective gaitersEN 381-11: Norm for chainsaw protection on the upper part of the body
The norm also has 4 classes: each corresponds to the chain speed at which the tests have been done:
Class 0 : 16 m/s
Class 1 : 20 m/s
Class 2 : 24 m/s
Class 3 : 28 m/s
NB Not all classes are authorized in each part of the norm.
INCREMENTAL CLASSIFICATION OF PROTECTIVE / WORKING CLOTHING, BY CATEGORY
| Category I | Declaration of conformity | Working clothing to protect against superficial cuts caused by machines, rainwear. |
| Category II | EC- type test(*) + declaration of conformity |
Protective clothing and gloves to protect against cuts, safety glasses, helmets and face shields, fluorescent clothing, safety boots. |
| Category III | EC- type test(*) + declaration of conformity + ISO control of production by notified body or sampling and testing by notified body |
Protective wear, glasses, helmets against heat over (100°C); against cold (-50°C); against electric shock. Protects against falls from great heights. |
EC-TYPE TEST: CE MARK
The CE mark shows compliance with the basic health and safety requirements of the European Directive 89/686.
381-5: LEG PROTECTORS – PROTECTION AGAINST HAND-HELD CHAINSAWS
This part specifies the requirements for leg protection wear. It specifies 3 types/designs of leg protection wear, according to the level of protection:
TYPE A (Front Protection)
Types A and B chainsaw protective clothing are mainly intended to be worn by professional lumber jacks trained for forestry work.
Type A (front protection) covers each leg partly (180°) and 5 cm to the interior part of the right leg and 5 cm the exterior part of the left leg.
Protection must begin no more than 5 cm from the bottom of the leg and end at least 20 cm above the crotch.
TYPE B (Front & interior protection)
Type B is identical to type A but it has an extra 5 cm of protection to the interior part of the left leg.
TYPE C (Occasional/inexperienced users, greatest Protection)
The Type C chainsaw protective clothing is intended to be used by people who normally don’t work with chainsaws or only do so in exceptional situations.
Type C covers each leg all-round (full 360°) protection. The protection starts at max. 5 cm from the bottom of the leg and ends at min. 20 cm above the front of the crotch; likewise at the back: it must start no more than max. 5 cm from the bottom of the leg and ends min. 50 cm under the back side of the crotch.
381-11: PROTECTIVE UPPER PART OF THE BODY: PROTECTION AGAINST HAND-HELD CHAINSAWS
These 2 images above depict the design of a chainsaw protective jacket – compliant with standard EN 381-11.
There is just 1 design /type of protection allowed for chainsaw jackets in order to conform to the standard.
The EN381-11 standard defines a minimum surface of protective inlay on the shoulders, arms and chest, on both front and back of the jacket. On the front/upper part of the sleeves the protective inlay must cover a minimum of 80% of the total surface. The non-protected surface from the end of the sleeves must not exceed 70 mm (7cm).
STANDARD, Plus BELLY PROTECTION
These 2 images above show the design of a chainsaw protective jacket according to standard EN 381-11 plus additional full front protection.
Increasingly, chainsaw jackets are used when working on servicing high platforms ie in works requiring only occasional use of the chainsaw or in exceptional and dangerous working circumstances. So, some jackets have additional belly protection on top of the standard (arm & shoulder) protection – in order to provide even more safety. Ie protection is as a normal chainsaw jacket ….. but there is added protection of the abdomen.
381-7: PROTECTIVE GLOVES – PROTECTING AGAINST HAND-HELD CHAINSAWS
This part details the requirements for chainsaw protective gloves.
It describes 2 designs:
DESIGN A
Standard EN 381-7 design A for gloves describes the protective area on the back of the hand.
This protective surface must be no less than 110 mm wide and 120 mm deepat the highest point (without the fingers).
DESIGN B
Standard EN 381-7 design B for gloves describes the protection on the back of the hand and 4 fingers. The protective surface must be no less than 110 mm wide and minimum 190 mm high from the base to the highest point.
381-9: PROTECTIVE GAITERS – PROTECTION AGAINST HAND-HELD CHAINSAWS
These are to be worn over safety boots certified EN ISO 20345.
Because safety boots have a steel toe cap there may be a gap in the chainsaw protective covering surface but it mustn’t exceed more than 14 mm from the front end of the boot.
EN ISO 17249: CHAINSAW PROTECTIVE BOOTS – PROTECTION AGAINST HAND-HELD CHAINSAWS
A chainsaw boot is foremost a safety boot in the first place.
A boot complying to EN ISO 17249 automatically complies to EN ISO 20345. Therefore a chainsaw boot doesn’t need to be labelled EN ISO 20345.
EN ISO 17249 has 4 classes that correspond to the chain speed at which the tests have been done:
Class 0 : 16 m/s
Class 1 : 20 m/s
Class 2 : 24 m/s
Class 3 : 28 m/s
Relevant EN Standards for Chainsaw Protection:
EN 510 – PROTECTION AGAINST MOVING PARTS
This is the standard for protective clothing for use where there is a serious risk of entanglement with moving parts.
EN ISO 20471 AND EN 471: PROFESSIONAL HIGH VISIBILITY CLOTHING
X: SURFACE area OF FLUORESCENT AND RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL (3 LEVELS)
| CLASS 1 | CLASS 2 | CLASS 3 | |
| Fluorescent background material | 0,14 | 0,50 | 0,80 |
| Retro-reflective material | 0,10 | 0,13 | 0,20 |
| Or combined performance material | 0,20 | – | – |
Y: QUALITY OF THE RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL (2 LEVELS) (ONLY FOR EN471)
There are 2 performance/quality classes for retro-reflective material.
(There are also combined performance materials – ie simultaneously fluorescent and retro-reflective).
EN 388 – PROTECTIng AGAINST MECHANICAL HAZARDS
EN 388 standard applies to all gloves that provide protection against physical and mechanical hazards due to Abrasion, Cuts,Tearing & Puncture.
Credits: Our thanks to the nice people at SIP Chainsaw Protection – who supplied the graphics and info.
To buy Chainsaw Protective clothing and equipment please click here.
Comments
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