The Science Behind
MARK V-8 Fingertip Protectors

MARK V technology is new, and therefore, there isn’t any current competing technologies out in the market, and no standard way
to test and classify its performance. More precisely, there is no current ANSI, CE or ISO applicable standard for it. As such, MARK V products are not presently driven by any of these standards. However, it is important to note that it has nevertheless been subjected to scientific testing for which performance parameters have been established.

By the same token, it is also important to note that the technology has proven itself out on the field, and that it is been currently employed by thousands of workers in different industries –especially in the mining sector.

The mining sector in Chile was the first industry into which MARK V technology was introduced, and the first industry to adopt it. This is no small feat, as Chile is the largest copper producer in the world and a key global player in the production of metallic minerals.

The RESAFE Compression Test ^TM

ANSI-ISEA 138/2019
The New ANSI Impact-Resistant Test for Gloves

As there is no current ANSI, CE or ISO applicable standard for testing and categorizing performance levels for MARK V-8 Fingertip Protectors, RESAFE designed the RESAFE Compression Test ^TM to test for performance.

For the test, standard pairs of leather gloves were equipped with MARK V-8 Fingertip Protectors and submitted to a lab. During the test, each and every finger was subjected to a continuous compression force to the point of breakage. Measurement readings for piece deformations were taken at 50 [daN] and at 100 [daN] (1[daN] is approx. 1 Kg of weight or 2.204 lbs). The results were then expressed in terms of compression force versus the deformation of the inner MARK V-8 Fingertip Protector inner pieces.

The resulting data showed that the MARK V-8 Fingertip Protectors, when submitted to a compression force of 100 [daN] (approx. 220.5 lbs) withstood a maximum average deformation of less than 15%. These performance findings proved to be significant in that the nominal deformations on the MARK V-8 fingertip protectors clearly indicate that they are largely effective at protecting end-users against debilitating crunching fingertip injuries.

The tests were carried out by the Mechanical Technology Laboratory of the Federico Santa Maria University Department of Mechanics in Valparaiso, Chile.

RESAFE is presently working to improve this test and to design other tests by which to measure and categorize other safety features of the MARK V Technology.

The ANSI-ISEA/2019 Impact-Resistant test for gloves is not applicable to the MARK V Technology:

1. The standard tests for something other than what MARK V-8 was specifically designed for. Impact absorbing TPR is designed to reduce transmitted forces. MARK V Technology on the other hand is designed to stop them altogether. The standard tests for impact protection and classification; and not for finger crushing protection and classification.
2. MARK V-8 provides better resistance to impact at the fingertips than standard TPR. However, the way in which the test is conducted will not allow for proper measurement of performance. And even if it did, its performance levels would not be reported on the gloves or the corresponding certifications, as official test results are always the lowest obtained values (and not the highest) from testing the gloves at several points. In this case, the lowest performance levels are of the standard TPR and not of MARK V-8.

MARK V-8 End-Users in the Chilean and Peruvian Mining Industry

Stake Companies