BS EN IEC 60895:2020

What is BS EN IEC 60895 about ? 

BS EN IEC 60895 discusses about the live working of conductive clothing.  

BS EN IEC 60895 is applicable to conductive clothing, worn during live working on AC and DC electrical installations, to provide electrical continuity between all parts of the clothing and a reduction of electric field inside the clothing. 

BS EN IEC 60895 is applicable to conductive clothing assembled from a conductive garment and from conductive component parts (gloves, hoods) in electrical systems with nominal voltage up to 1000kV AC and up to +800 kV DC. 

Note: BS EN IEC 60895 does not indicate values of protection from the effects of the electric arc, because any value indicated would not guarantee the necessary protection from the effects of electric arcs, or the operator would need to wear very heavy and rigid conductive clothing, which would not allow the execution of the work in safety. 

Who is BS EN IEC 60895 for ? 

BS EN IEC 60895 on conductive clothing is useful for: 

• Manufacturers of conductive clothing 
• Retailers and suppliers of conductive clothing 
• Companies dealing with electrical work 
• Suppliers and distributors of conductive clothing 

Why should you use BS EN IEC 60895 ? 

Conductive clothing is a clothing made of natural or synthetic material (s) with integral interwoven conductive fibers or layers used to provide electrical continuity between all parts of the clothing and a reduction of the electric field inside the clothing. 

BS EN IEC 60895 provides specifications for protective conductive clothing currently being used without incident in live work by qualified electrical workers throughout the world. The adequacy of this clothing is established by its screening efficiency and the electrical resistance of material and component parts of the conductive clothing as specified in BS EN IEC 60895. 

Electric arcs produced by high-voltage installations have very significant thermal and electrical effects, which are hardly attenuated by protective clothing worn by operators. 

BS EN IEC 60895 provides guidance on other components parts other than the clothing which are: conductive footwear, conductive glove, conductive material, conductive overshoe sock, conductive head cover, conductive element, and conductive face screen. These all allow you to work safely in the electrical area prone to various hazards. 

The product covered by BS EN IEC 60895 may have an impact on the environment during some or all stages of its life cycle. All parties intervening in its design, manufacture, packaging, distribution, use, maintenance, repair, reuse, recovery and disposal can take account of environmental considerations by adhering to BS EN IEC 60895. 

What’s changed since the last update ? 

BS EN IEC 60895:2020 supersedes BS EN 60895:2003, which is withdrawn. It includes: 

• Increase of the use up to 1 000 kV AC and ±800 kV DC, introduction of mechanical requirements and new tests for fabrics and update of the cleaning test procedures. 
• Introduction of two classes of conductive clothing with different electrical requirements and revision of the electrical requirements of conductive clothing definition of specific resistance values for each component part of the conductive clothing and introduction of conductive helmet and conductive scarf as component parts of conductive clothing 
• Revision of the efficiency test of the conductive clothing to improve the feasibility and repeatability and preparation of the elements of classification of defects, and general application of IEC 61318:2007 

• The normative Annex B for the classification of tests has been replaced by normative Annex C for the general type tests procedure, the normative Annex D for the classification of defects and the informative Annex E providing the justification for the classification of defects 
• The normative Annex C on sampling procedure has been deleted (not applicable according to IEC 61318:2007) and modification of the recommended frequency of the periodic tests