FprEN 14404-2

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 14404-2:2019
01-maj-2019

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

Persönliche Schutzausrüstung - Knieschutz für Arbeiten in kniender Haltung - Teil 2:

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

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

Équipements de protection individuelle - Protection Persönliche Schutzausrüstung - Knieschutz für

des genoux pour le travail à genoux - Partie 2 : Arbeiten in kniender Haltung - Teil 2: Anforderungen

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 14404-2:2019 E

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

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

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

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

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

4 Performance levels ......................................................................................................................................... 5

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

5.1 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 6

5.2 General requirements for knee protectors ........................................................................................... 7

5.3 Products for testing ........................................................................................................................................ 7

5.4 Orientation of the knee protector ............................................................................................................. 7

5.4.1 Vertical alignment .......................................................................................................................................... 7

5.4.2 Knee right, left .................................................................................................................................................. 7

5.5 Specific requirements for knee protectors ............................................................................................ 8

5.5.1 Size and dimension ......................................................................................................................................... 8

5.5.2 Penetration resistance .................................................................................................................................. 9

5.5.3 Force distribution ........................................................................................................................................... 9

5.5.4 Peak transmitted force.................................................................................................................................. 9

5.5.5 Restraint .......................................................................................................................................................... 10

5.6 Optional requirement - Water resistance ........................................................................................... 10

5.7 Ergonomic requirements .......................................................................................................................... 10

5.7.1 Restraint and comfort during use on an even surface .................................................................... 10

5.7.2 Restraint and comfort during use on an uneven surface............................................................... 10

6 Marking ............................................................................................................................................................ 10

6.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 10

6.2 Specific ............................................................................................................................................................. 11

7 Information to be supplied by the manufacturer ............................................................................. 12

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

the kneeling position .................................................................................................................................. 13

A.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 13

A.2 Advice to users .............................................................................................................................................. 13

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

Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment aimed to be covered.............. 14

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 15

This document (prEN 14404-2:2019) 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 document “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,

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 wearable knee protectors (type 1) for use by work in

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:

personal protective equipment which protects the knee independent from other garments and worn on

part of the knee protector which keeps it in the position that is required to protect the knee

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

Four 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 Clauses 5.2 to 7 for wearable knee protectors (type 1) and the

Table 1 — Summary of requirements for wearable knee protectors (type 1) and the tests