European regulations/standards

A comprehensive guide to regulations/standards to make an informed choice of the right level of protection for you.

Operating Instructions

The Community Regulation (EU) 2016/425 regulates the CE marking of all personal protective equipment (PPE). The declaration of conformity is that document made by the manufacturer within which he declares that the product complies with the health and safety requirements of the Regulation. The presence of the CE marking is mandatory on all clothing considered PPE and marketed in countries belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) and the countries of the EFTA area.

Community Regulation (EU) 2016/425 identifies and classifies the three risk categories of PPE:

I Category	All PPE that protects against minimal risks (Declaration of conformity: self-certification issued directly by the manufacturer)
II Category	All PPE that protects against intermediate risks (Certificate of certification issued by a Notified Body)
III Category	All PPE that protects against high risks that may cause very serious or irreversible consequences (Certification certificate issued by a Notified Body and annual production inspection)

The general requirements for PPE are regulated by UNI EN ISO 13688, this standard specifies the following general performance requirements:

1	Innoquity	4	Aging
2	Comfort-Design	5	CE Markings
3	Size Designation	6	Information provided by the manufacturer (information note)

REGULATIONS/STANDARDS WITH SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

UNI EN ISO 20471 - HIGH VISIBILITY CLOTHING

The standard specifies requirements for high-visibility garments that visually signal the presence of the user under both daytime and nighttime artificial lighting conditions. Visibility is provided by the combination of a fluorescent base fabric during daytime and a reflective fabric during darkness, which allows garments to be classified into 3 safety ratings.


	CLASS 3	CLASS 2	CLASS 1
BACKGROUND MATERIAL (fluorescent)	0,80	0,50	0,14
RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL	0,20	0,13	0,10

Class 3: represents the highest level of safety rating and is suitable for those working at airports or intermodal ports, highway maintenance or roads with multiple lanes in each direction of travel. It must have a minimum of 0.80 sq. m. of fluorescent background material and 0.20 sq. m. of retroreflective band, which corresponds to 5 meters of a 4 cm high band.

Class 2: represents the intermediate level of safety rating and is suitable for those working on municipal and state road maintenance, warehouse workers, and drivers. It must have a minimum of 0.50 sq. m. of fluorescent background material and 0.13 sq. m. of retroreflective band, which corresponds to 3.25 meters of a 4 cm high band.

Class 1: represents the minimum level of safety rating and is suitable for those who maintain private roads, or in situations of limited risk. It must have a minimum of 0.14 sq. m. of fluorescent background material and 0.10 sq. m. of retroreflective band, which corresponds to 2.50 meters of a 4 cm high band.

UNI EN 17353 - CLOTHING WITH INCREASED VISIBILITY FOR MEDIUM RISK SITUATIONS.

This standard specifies requirements for clothing worn in medium-risk situations that require increased visibility but where risk assessment does not make the use of PPE certified to EN ISO 20471 mandatory. This regulation/standard specifies 3 product types:

	TYPE A: Clothing that provides protection in daylight conditions
	TYPE AB: Garments that provide protection in daylight, nighttime and twilight conditions
	TYPE B: Garments that provide protection in night light conditions

UNI EN 343 - PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AGAINST RAIN.

The standard specifies the requirements applied to the materials and seams of garments for protection against atmospheric factors such as rain, snow, fog and moisture from the ground. The garments are designed and constructed using waterproof and breathable materials paying special attention to the sealing of all seams to ensure a high level of comfort.

	Resistance to water penetration (WP)		Water vapor resistance (Ret)
CLASS 1	Wp ≥ 8,000 Pa	CLASS 1	Ret > 40
CLASS 2	Wp ≥ 8,000 Pa	CLASS 2	25 < Ret ≤ 40
CLASS 3	Wp ≥ 13,000 Pa	CLASS 3	15 < Ret ≤ 25
CLASS 4	Wp ≥ 20,000 Pa	CLASS 4	Ret ≤ 15

UNI EN 14058 - PROTECTIVE CLOTHING FOR COLD ENVIRONMENTS.

The standard specifies requirements and test methods for the performance of individual garments for protection against cooling of the body in cold environments down to temperatures of - 5°C. Compared with UNI EN 14058, UNI EN 14058 is less restrictive.

Y	Thermal resistance class
Y	Air permeability class.
Y	Thermal insulation value.
WP	Class of resistance to water penetration.
*	Y and/or WP will become an X if the garment is not tested

Thermal resistance Ret	CLASS 1	Rct m2 - K/W
	CLASS 2	0.06 ≤ Rct < 0.12
	CLASS 3	0.12 ≤ Rct < 0.18
AP air permeability	CLASS 1	0.18 ≤ Rct < 0.25
	CLASS 2	0.25 ≤ Rct
	CLASS 3	0.25 ≤ Rct
Thermal insulation (optional) * It is carried out in case the requirements of Class 4 thermal resistance Ret are met.
Water penetration resistance WP (optional)

WARNINGS

✓	The user should identify, based on the assessment of possible risks, the need to combine the head with other protective equipment for the remaining parts of the body.	✓	The performance of the garment is guaranteed when, chosen in the appropriate size, it is properly worn and fastened.
✓	If the garment is not intact or any defect is visually detected, discontinue use of the garment and replace it with a suitable one.	✓	The Information Note should be kept for the lifetime of the PPE in use.
✓	Modifications of the PPE are not permitted.

Limitations of use-the garment does not protect against:

Any other risk for which the garment has not been certified.

Marking:

The label (measuring 5.5 x 10.8 cm) bearing the CE marking will be affixed to the inside of the garment. The lettering, ideograms, and pictograms are red on a black background and resistant to the indicated maintenance cycles. The font size is greater than 2 mm and the size of the CE marking is greater than 5 mm. The specific size of the garment will be affixed on a separate label.

The following are indicated:

manufacturing mark;
pictogram and size tables, indicating the standard to which the garment conforms;
CE marking and category of the PPE;
address of the manufacturing company.

REACH

In order to safeguard the health of consumers, the European Parliament enacted the "Reach" Regulation (an acronym for "Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals"), which has the following objectives:
- to improve knowledge of the hazards and risks from chemicals so as to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment;
- Promote the development of alternative methods to those requiring the use of vertebrate animals for the hazard assessment of substances;
- maintain and strengthen the competitiveness and innovative capabilities of the EU chemical industry.

U-POWER guarantees compliance with the Reach Regulation of the garments in the collection; they do not contain banned or restricted substances; to give assurance of this, strict controls are carried out on all materials used in production.

EN ISO 13688:2013

Protective clothing - General requirements

This regulation/standard addresses the general requirements for all protective clothing requiring CE marking in Europe and should be considered together with the specific standard for the article in question.

The standard "specifies the general performance requirements for ergonomics, harmlessness, size designation, aging, compatibility and marking of protective clothing and the information to be provided by the manufacturer with the protective clothing."

Ergonomics

Incorporating proper design, sufficient comfort for the wearer (taking into account the safety properties of the garment), dimensional change from repeated cleaning, and methods used such as dry cleaning, washing, etc.

Harmlessness

Here the regulation/standard is to ensure that the clothing does not adversely affect the health of the wearer.

Size designation

An important requirement for the garment is undoubtedly to be marked with the correct size according to the standard body size so that everyone can be assured of wearing it.

Aging

Describes the behavior and change in properties of one or more components of the garment over time to the detriment of the clothing, ensuring that it is durable and retains its fabric.

Compatibility and marking

Ensure that garment markings are in the correct language for the intended market, that they are attached to the garments and visible, and that they are resistant to appropriate cleaning to avoid the risk of fabric deterioration or ruining the garment.

Supporting information

All supporting information will be required in the technical file for each item to be marked. A complete list of requirements can be obtained from a notified body such as the SATRA Technology Center.

For more information: info@u-power.it