scope:

This document specifies the requirements for the design, cut resistance, ergonomic characteristics, innocuousness, fixings, construction materials, marking and instructions for use, for chain mail gloves and armguards providing protection against powered knives. Appropriate test methods are also specified. Powered knives are used when it is advantageous, to reduce the muscular effort required by the worker, or to increase their rate of working. They are commonly used in clothing factories, in slaughterhouses and in meat cutting plants. Band knives, reciprocating straight knives, rotating circular cutters and other designs are used. Electricity or compressed air normally powers them. The tool driving the blade may be partly supported by the work pieces or by the workbench, or may be held in one hand. The edges of the blades may be quite smooth, coarsely honed, finely serrated or scalloped. They need to be distinguished from cutting blades with saw-tooth edges with teeth above 1 mm in height, which generally are unsafe to use with chain mail gloves, and armguards. Powered knives enable workers to cut rapidly through very resistant materials. Their hands are always in the vicinity of the blade in order to present the work piece to the blade, and it is not possible to guard the whole cutting edge. Thus there is significant potential for serious hand injuries during cutting operations. Most accidents occur during cutting but they are also recorded during blade changing, blade cleaning, guard adjustment, and moving the tool. At the present time it is not known that any practical glove material other than metal chain mail provides significant protection against powered knives. Even chain mail is rapidly cut through and injuries will only be avoided by strict adherence to safe working practices. Armguards made from sheet metal or rigid plastic material also provide some protection. Users of chain mail gloves note that the vibration and noise caused by contact of their glove with a powered knife blade often enables them to react in time to prevent an injury.