This is about testing of rubber goods such as blankets and gloves. Particularly for gloves, Table I-5 concerns test intervals. For Rubber Insulating gloves it states....Before first issue and every 6 months thereafter; (Footnote 1 here) upon indication that insulating value is suspect; and after use without protectors.

Footnote 1 states...If the insulating equipment has been electrically tested but not issued for service, the insulating equipment may not be placed into service unless it has been electrically tested within the previous 12 months.

So I think this can be interpreted in several ways:

1. If the gloves have a test date within 6 months, then it is okay but what if the gloves have been sitting in a sealed bag in the box and at 11 months from the test date, they are removed and put into service. They are past the 6 month mark from the stamped test date but put into service prior to the 12 month window.

I could not find a OSHA Letter of Interpretation on this so opinions/thoughts?

Barry, the way I understand that code is if you have the documentation showing when those gloves were put into service, you can use them for 6 months from that date. As long as you put them into service before the 12 month deadline after testing and they were in a sealed bag. I have been told that by inspectors at our facilities in the past when that came up. Our technicians had the records showing when the gloves came back from testing and had dated the test record of when it was put into service.
Thanks!

Also:
1910.137(c)(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 causing damage. Insulating gloves shall be given an air test, along with the inspection.

Gloves on the shelf are subject to annual testing. If you consider some kind of "grace period" then it should be equal to 150% of that interval or 6 months. So if you test gloves on the shelf/in the bag/box every 12 months and issue at any time during that period then adding another 6 months from that point while in service gives you 18 months maximum between testing intervals. Otherwise you'd have to test gloves every 6 months whether on the sehfl or issued, and you can't "add dates", and you basically can't issue a glove in the last 6 months of the "shelf testing" interval because of the obvious "expired" issue.