| Project Nr.: | 5.1.2 |
| Title: | CEN Workshop Agreement (CW 26) on Test Methodology for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for use in Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA). |
| Description: | Existing test methodologies for PPE are reflecting the threat military personnel and police are facing, which is different from the threat encountered by deminers active in HMA. This project will, following the procedure of a CEN Workshop: define the threat for personnel in HMA and establish reliable replicable simulated threats,define specifications for determining the mechanical suitability of finished PPE used in HMA,define a test methodology for PPE in HMA,establish specifications for recording the results of tests in a uniform manner, and determine ergonomic criteria and constraints required by the HMA end-user. |
| Aim: | The aim of the workshop agreement is:to give the HMA users of PPE a way of testing PPE in order to establish if it fulfils the requirement for the specific working situation,increase the possibilities for PPE manufacturers to meet the user requirements and hence develop more suitable PPE, reducing accidents and increasing the effectiveness of HMA,to be included in the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). |
| Request: | Users in HMA, UNMAS, European Commission. |
| Category: | Personal Protection |
| Type: | Methodology |
| Equipment: | N/A |
| Development: | N/A |
| Time Frame: | 2006-04-01 to 2007-12-31 |
| Place: | CEN Management Centre - Brussels, GICHD |
| Lead Nation: | Sweden, GICHD |
| Partners: | Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC), UNMAS, CEN, PPE Manufacturers (Med-Eng Systems Inc., Oriental Demining Technology Service, KODE Design AS, ROFI Industry AS, SATRA Technology Centre), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT, PPE Users (INTERSOS, Danish Demining Group - DDG, Norwegian People Aid - NPA, Swiss Foundation for Mine Action - FSD), Daping Hospital of the Third Military Medical University. |
| Point of contact: | |
| E-mail: | Not available
| Status: | Archived |
| Comments: | The responsibility for the workshop was equally carried by the Swedish Standardisation Institute (SIS) and the GICHD. The chair was a co-chaired of two specialists in HMA issues: Kaj Horberg, SIS, responsible for administration and organisation; Tim Lardner, GICHD, responsible for technical coordination.The first CEN Workshop meeting was held at the GICHD on the 5th and 6th of September 2006, where the basis for the CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) was designed. There were approximately 25 participants, representing manufacturers, end-users and test institutions. The second meeting of the WS was held from the 5th to the 6th of December 2006 during which a second draft of the CWA was further developed. The third and last technical meeting took place at the CEN Management Centre from the 13th to the 14th of March 2007, during which a final draft CWA was agreed upon. Following a period of public consultation, during which the draft document approved by the CEN Workshop was available at the CEN website for public comments, the final CWA was compiled and submitted to CEN at the beginning of September 2007. A description of the CEN Workshop 26 process and status can also be found on the CEN website. |
| Results/Conclusions: | A study on deminer position supporting the development of the CEN Workshop Agreement on Test and Evaluation of Protective Equipment was executed by SWEDEC in 2006. The aim of the study was to determine the distance and the angle to describe the position of the deminer in the CEN Workshop Agreement. The analysis used video footage of deminers at work in different locations and from different organisations. A summary of the study is available at the ITEP website.The CEN Workshop Agreeement was published by CEN at the end of December 2007 as CWA Humanitarian mine action (HMA) - Personal protective equipment (PPE) - Test and Evaluation (CWA 15756:2007) but was later withdrawn because of problems with the guidelines for the simulant mine explosive content. Trials are currently been carried out to address the problem (ITEP Project 5.1.3 ). A validated and possibly amended CWA 15757 will be published as soon as possible. | |