Voltage Rated Gloves

Hello Everyone

I distribute insulated gloves for a few vendors and the question has come up about date stamping.
As I understand it when the voltage rated gloves are put into circulation they should be tested every 6 months in most states.
One of my vendors will do an electrical acceptance test and then date stamp the gloves at the time of sale. My other vendors do not do the test and do not date stamp the gloves.
I have asked them if the gloves were tested at the factory and how then do you know when the gloves are put into circulation. They do not seem to know the answer and assume they are tested at the factory level. Now these are very reputable vendors but there seems to be some unknowns here.

If the gloves are tested as they should be who is responsible for keeping track of when the gloves are put into circulation and how would it be provable if and when the gloves failed and a person was electrocuted?

That concerns me they don't know the answers to that, many of thier clients look to them as the experts for the products they are representing.

Here is the OSHA rules, they need to be tested annually or no more than 6 months after being issued. Which ever is less. So someone buys a pair of gloves, puts them in a locker in a storeroom, they need to be tested annually.

Once issued, they need to be tested every 6 months.

If they buy them in March but they were tested at the factory on 1/4/09 (Date stamped) , put them in stores, issue them on 12/9/09, they need to be tested by 1/4/10.

If they buy them in March but they were tested at the factory on 1/4/09 (Date stamped) , put them in stores, issue them on 3/11/09, they need to be tested by 9/11/09.

The employer is responsible for that.

What I have seen from many vendors is the option of tested or not tested gloves, extra charge for the tested ones of course. I do not think they are tested at the factory, they are only batch tested, but you may want to check. Should be easy right, only 1 company in North America making electrical gloves these days aftert the recent aquisition.

Good info Zog! With 20 people, and 20 different issue dates, it can become a nightmare to keep up with. When several employees are issued gloves, a method like I like, and encourage, is the use of 2 different colors of gloves with fixed issue dates. For instance, on January 1st, each person receives Yellow Class 00 gloves and on June 30th, they turn in those gloves for testing and are issued Red gloves. Real easy to spot from a distance... don't have to go up and try to find an issue/test date. Just my thoughts.

That is the exact method I have been teaching my clients for 15 years.

Thanks Zog

I agree. That is exactly why I am trying to get the correct answers.

So once a year but 6 months once put into use. That makes sense.

It still is hard to determine when that actual pair of gloves was put into use.

What is this about an aquisition? I know Salisbury is the big name but I am not sure where my other vendors get their gloves.

Terry

Documentation

how would it be provable if and when the gloves failed and a person was electrocuted?-In response the test reports should be retained on file.

I have received "tested" gloves wrapped and sealed in plastic with a finger tip blown off-not very reassuring!

When I would get new gloves I would always roll up the cuffs to pressurize the hand and finger sections. Found one with the webbing between two fingers trashed once with that little test.

Haven't tried it with the low voltage gloves with the short cuffs though.

Don't know if people still do it or not, but I sure would.

We do the rotation of every 6 months no matter when they were issued. Each June and December every electrician turns in his gloves for a new pair that were tested from the last period. We keep a list of who got the 'new' gloves. We then send the old gloves out for testing and have them ready for the next issue. If someone needs to replce gloves between periods, then we issue some spares. But everyone turns their gloves in the next June or December.

Just a note on date stamping - some vendors do not stamp the gloves at manufacture. It's on the box but not the gloves. So if you go look at the gloves in the field after issue, you won't see a date. This can be a problem inspecting contractor equipment.

Finally, my testing vendor cuts any gloves that don't pass test making them unusable and circles the failure point on the glove. This makes a great show-and-tell item for a safety meeting.

TxEngr

It is an OSHA requirement that they are properly inspected before each use

1910.137 (b) "In-service care and use."

(b)(1) Electrical protective equipment shall be maintained in a safe, reliable condition.

(b)(2) The following specific requirements apply to insulating blankets, covers, line hose,
gloves, and sleeves made of rubber:

(b)(2)(i) Maximum use voltages shall conform to those listed in Table I-5.

(b)(2)(ii) Insulating equipment shall be inspected for damage before each day's use and
immediately following any incident that can reasonably be suspected of having
caused damage. Insulating gloves shall be given an air test, along with the
inspection.
(b)(2)(iii) Insulating equipment with any of the following defects may not be used:

(b)(2)(iii)(A) A hole, tear, puncture, or cut;

(b)(2)(iii)(B) Ozone cutting or ozone checking (the cutting action produced by ozone on rubber
under mechanical stress into a series of interlacing cracks);

(b)(2)(iii)(C) An embedded foreign object;

(b)(2)(iii)(D) Any of the following texture changes: swelling, softening, hardening, or becoming
sticky or inelastic.

(b)(2)(iii)(E) Any other defect that damages the insulating properties.

(b)(2)(iv) Insulating equipment found to have other defects that might affect its insulating
properties shall be removed from service and returned for testing under
paragraphs (b)(2)(viii) and (b)(2)(ix) of this section.

(b)(2)(v) Insulating equipment shall be cleaned as needed to remove foreign substances.

(b)(2)(vi) Insulating equipment shall be stored in such a location and in such a manner as to
protect it from light, temperature extremes, excessive humidity, ozone, and other
injurious substances and conditions.


For the air test it is best to use a glove inflator because rolling them up does not check the cuff where for failures occur, the cuff is not protected by the leather outers.

Visually inspect each glove by gently stretching the rubber, working around the glove. Check for foreign material, cuts, scrapes, scratches, snags, holes, or discoloration. Very few failures will be found from an air test alone.

Most people don't know what ozone damage looks like, and it is the most common failure of gloves, it looks like dry rot when you pull on the rubber, you would only see this by doing the inspection properly.

This is from the glove standard ASTM D120

12. Guarantee
12.1 The manufacturer or supplier shall replace, without
charge to the purchaser, unused gloves which, at any time
within a period of nine (9) months from date of initial delivery
of shipment to the purchaser or his designee, fail to pass the
tests in this specification. This guarantee will be binding on the
manufacturer or supplier only if the gloves have been properly
stored and have not been subjected to more than an original
acceptance test and one retest.

12.2 Any acceptance test made by the purchaser, or the
purchaser’s designee, shall be performed within the first two
(2) months of the guarantee period unless otherwise specified.

NOTE 3—Proper storage means that gloves are stored right side out, not
distorted and not stored directly above or in proximity to steam pipes,
radiators, or other sources of artificial heat, or exposed to direct sunlight
or other sources of ozone. It is desirable that the ambient storage
temperature shall not exceed 35°C (95°F).

Unfortunately we did not have an inflator, as I expect most don't, and had to improvise. Did not know it at the time, but have suspected since that it just exactly that.....ozone damage.

Thanks

Zog could you please explain what you meant about this aquisition?

Terry

Salisbury bought out White rubber, that about does it for rubber gloves made in North America and I don;t recommend the junk made in China. So, Salisbury is your only real option.

Thanks Zog

Yes I knew that but I thought there was something else I was missing.

Thank you

I have had a similar experience. The problem is that a large percentage of the 0 and 00 gloves come from off shore without any type of testing or substaniation.

I dealt with one supplier (factory reseller) that strictly bought the gloves and then resold them without testing. Another vendor buys the same (off shore) glove and does the dielectric test at his plant in the states. That package comes with the test date and batch number.

As far as cost to test, the lowest number I have seen is $8.00. The norm seems more like $10-$12. When you compare that with a purchase cost of $40.00, testing does put the conscientious vendor at a competitive disadvantage.

In ending, do not accept any gloves without some form of test substantiation.