FprEN 14404-4

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 14404-4:2019
01-maj-2019

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Personal protective equipment - Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Part

4: Requirements for the combination of interoperable knee pads and garments (type 2)

Persönliche Schutzausrüstung - Knieschutz für Arbeiten in kniender Haltung - Teil 4:

Anforderungen für die Kombination von interoperablen Kniepolstern und Bekleidung (Typ

Équipements de protection individuelle - Protection des genoux pour le travail à genoux -

Partie 4 : Exigences relatives à la combinaison de genouillères interopérables et de

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee

If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations

which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other

language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,

Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,

Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without

© 2019 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 14404-4:2019 E

European foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1 Scope .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2 Normative references .................................................................................................................................... 5

3 Terms and definitions ................................................................................................................................... 5

4 Performance levels ......................................................................................................................................... 6

5 Requirements ................................................................................................................................................... 6

5.1 Interoperable padding .................................................................................................................................. 6

5.2 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 6

5.2.1 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 6

5.2.2 General requirements for knee protectors ........................................................................................... 7

5.2.3 Products for testing ........................................................................................................................................ 7

5.2.4 Orientation of the interoperable padding .............................................................................................. 8

5.2.5 Specific requirements for the interoperable padding ....................................................................... 8

5.2.6 Ergonomic requirements .......................................................................................................................... 10

5.3 Garments ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

5.3.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 10

5.3.2 General requirements for garment to use with interoperable knee pads .............................. 11

5.3.3 Products for testing ..................................................................................................................................... 11

5.3.4 Specific requirements for the garments to use with interoperable knee pads ..................... 11

5.3.5 Ergonomic requirements .......................................................................................................................... 12

6 Marking ............................................................................................................................................................ 12

6.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 12

6.2 Specific ............................................................................................................................................................. 12

6.2.1 Interoperable knee pad ............................................................................................................................. 12

6.2.2 Garment ........................................................................................................................................................... 13

7 Information to be supplied by the manufacturer ............................................................................. 14

7.1 Interoperable knee pad ............................................................................................................................. 14

7.2 Garment ........................................................................................................................................................... 15

Annex A (informative) Information on the problems of using knee protectors for work in

the kneeling position .................................................................................................................................. 17

Annex B (informative) Information for Type 2 knee protector for arrangement of the knee

protection pocket ......................................................................................................................................... 18

Annex C (informative) Assessment of the combination of interoperable protectors and

garment with interoperable pockets .................................................................................................... 19

Annex ZA (informative) Relationship between this European Standard and the essential

Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment aimed to be covered.............. 21

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 22

This document (prEN 14404-4:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 162

“Protective clothing including hand and arm protection and life jackets”, the secretariat of which is held

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the

European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

For relationship with EU Directive(s), see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this

This standard “Personal protective equipment - Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position” is

— Part 4: Requirements for the combination of interoperable knee pads and garments (type 2)

Kneeling is a frequently occurring working position, but one which is problematic from an occupational

health viewpoint. Without knee protectors, workers may suffer immediate injuries from hard surfaces

and small stones and similar objects lying on the surfaces. However, no knee protector can ensure that

workers will not suffer medical complications if they are required to kneel for long periods.

It is important that knee protectors do not compromise venous drainage in the leg while kneeling or

standing up. Therefore, it is important that it is easy for workers to change position and to stand up to

re-establish a normal blood circulation at frequent intervals while wearing knee protectors.

Work in a kneeling position involves the risk of chronic diseases such as prepatellar bursitis and

cartilage injuries caused by continuous pressure on the knees. Knee protection is therefore

recommended for all work in the kneeling position. The protection should distribute forces evenly and

prevent small hard objects on the ground causing injuries. Many workers have pre-existing damage to

their knees, particularly to their cartilages from sports injuries and from previous work. These injuries

will be made worse by further kneeling. Wearing knee protectors cannot correct existing damage, but

Work in a kneeling position may expose the skin of the shins, knees and thighs to toxic and corrosive

materials normally kept off the body while walking and standing by waterproof or water-resistant

footwear. Knee protectors and trousers for use with such wet materials and particularly wet cement,

should take this into account and provide adequate protection, as should footwear.

This document describes test methods, specifies requirements for knee protectors and defines

performance levels. Requirements for the marking of knee protectors and the information to be

supplied by the manufacturer are given. Where protection against additional hazards is claimed,

This document does not apply to knee protectors that are medical devices or are intended for sports

This document specifies the requirements for interoperable knee pads to use in garments (type 2) and

for garments to use with interoperable knee pads for use by work in kneeling position.

In addition to the combination test according to part 3 of this series, for which the garments and the

associated padding are to be provided for testing, it is generally possible to combine padding

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content

constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For

undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

prEN 14404-1:2019, Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Test methods

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

Note 1 to entry: The pads consist of foam plastic or other materials that are positioned in knee pockets of the

piece of foam plastic or other materials able to be exchanged with another piece of the same dimensions

part of the knee protector that fixes it in the position required for protecting the knee. The pads are

positioned in the knee pockets of the garments according to part 4b of this standard

surface of the knee protector that is intended to provide the user with protection of patellar and

Note 1 to entry: According to EN ISO 13688, this refers to protective clothing where garments, including body

protectors, includes or replaces personal garments and is intended as protection against one or more hazards.

Trousers with knee pockets (here for interoperable padding) are thus regarded as PPE.

interoperable padding inserted into a knee pocket, which shall be designed depending on the size of the

The performance level is only given by the interoperable padding, as described in 5.4.2 of

4 performance levels are defined. The tests for the performance levels are described in 4 of

— level 0: knee protectors suitable for use on flat floor surfaces and providing no protection against

— level 1: knee protectors suitable for use on flat floor surfaces and providing protection against

— level 1U: knee protectors suitable for use on even or uneven surfaces providing protection against

— level 2: knee protectors suitable for use on flat or non-flat floor surfaces in severe conditions and

Summary of the requirements given in Clause 5.2 – 7 for the interoperable knee pads and the tests

Table 1 — Summary of requirements for the interoperable knee pads and the tests applicable

Interoperable pads shall be safe to use and fit for their intended application defined by the

They shall be designed and manufactured to provide protection when used according to the

There shall not be hard or sharp edges, seams, buckles or other items on the inner surfaces (especially

within the zone of protection) of the products that could harm the user during normal use.

Interoperable pads shall meet the innocuousness requirements of EN ISO 13688. Construction

materials and incorporated substances shall not harm those being in or coming into contact with them.

The manufacturer shall submit complete and ready-to-use 8 pairs of interoperable padding for testing.

The marking below (Figure 1) shall be used on the side facing the knee and pointing upwards.

When a differentiation is necessary to indicate the side of the body (left/ right) the additional marking

(Figure 2 and Figure 3) shall be used respectively for the left knee and for the right knee.

Figure 2 — Pictogram ISO 7000 – 1861 +1140 + 0251 Marking of left knee side at which the knee

Figure 3 — Pictogram ISO 7000 – 1861 +1140 + 0251 Marking of right knee side at which the

Dimensions of the interoperable padding coincide with the dimension of the zone of protection.

The dimension of the zone of protection of the interoperable padding shall be as follows: