Worker's safety was something that industry owners seldom considered, and when a worker got injured or incapacitated in the line of duty, they just got a replacement. Due to changes in legislation from 1930 onwards, it became more cost-effective to protect the current workers from harm that replaced them. The concept of safety footwear was born in line with that legislation to protect the workers.
If you don't know what safety footwear is, these are particular types of shoes with unique features such as thick rubber soles, water, oilproof upper, steel toe caps protection, and anti-static insulation. Read on to find out the types of safety footwear and their features.
Features of Safety Boots
Safety shoe features are the qualities that make safety shoes suitable for the working environment and distinguish them from normal shoes. Below are some of them:
Sole Material
Some people take them for granted, but there is more than meets the eye regarding shoe soles. The outsole is the most fundamental part, since all other shoe parts are built upon it. The outsole determines the comfort of your feet, insulation, shoe flexibility, durability, traction, and slip resistance.
The following materials are commonly used to make the outsoles of safety footwear;
Toe Protection (SB)
It’s scary enough to have a nightmare where some rodents are gnawing at your toes, let alone the toes being severed by some sharp moving machine part or being crushed by heavy falling objects. Toe protection should be able to bear a 200-joule impact. Although the toe protection should have a resting mass of over 1 tonne, heavier falling objects don't necessarily generate much energy compared to lighter things falling from a higher height.
Most SB(shoe basic-the primary footwear standard) class shoes will have steel toe caps in the product descriptions, which isn't necessarily true. Boot toe caps for lighter applications are mostly made of composite materials such as strengthened plastic which is stronger but lighter at the same time.
Climatic factors, seating materials, and clothing may generate static electricity in your body. You must be familiar with rubbing a plastic material, say a plastic ruler or comb, on your hair and then magnetically pick some pieces of paper. The exact process happens with safety footwear and working conditions. Walking on a carpet or footwear material rubbing against your foot may over insulate the body, creating a static electricity charge in your body. Touching a metallic material, say a door handle, causes a quick flow of electricity, enough to kill a human save for the low frequency. You will only experience a short-lived uncomfortable shock. Antistatic footwear will offer significant protection from the buildup of static charges. Still, you will have to get an Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) pair for complete protection if you work in an explosive or electronics industry.
Anti-Static Protection (A)
Climatic factors, seating materials, and clothing may generate static electricity in your body. You must be familiar with rubbing a plastic material, say a plastic ruler or comb, on your hair and then magnetically pick some pieces of paper. The exact process happens with safety footwear and working conditions. Walking on a carpet or footwear material rubbing against your foot may over insulate the body, creating a static electricity charge in your body.
Touching a metallic material, say a door handle, causes a quick flow of electricity, enough to kill a human save for the low frequency. You will only experience a short-lived uncomfortable shock. Anti-static footwear will offer significant protection from the buildup of static charges. Still, you will have to get an Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) pair for complete protection if you work in an explosive or electronics industry.
Puncture Resistant
The chance is you have stepped on an iron nail left behind after construction or some shards of broken glass, and you don't want to recall the unpleasant experience. The risks of your shoes being penetrated by scrap metal and other sharp objects increase with some industries, for example, the construction industry. Therefore, safety footwear should feature anti-penetration protection.
Safety footwear has to resist a penetrating force of not less than 1100N to meet anti-penetration. Manufacturers usually insert aluminum or stainless steel inserts in the midsole to reinforce the anti-penetration protection. However, stainless steel inserts are very rigid, making aluminum and Kevlar insoles the most popular choice because they are much lighter, flexible, and cover a large foot area. Kevlar is excellent at thermal insulation.
Metatarsal Guards
A metatarsal guard is an advanced form of toe protection to include the toe area and the upper foot. The upper side of your foot has 26 bones that enable you to kick a ball. These bones are prone to injury from heavy falling objects, hence the need for protection by metatarsal guards. Metatarsal guards are incorporated both inside and outside safety footwear so that you can fully exploit your potential without fear of fractures, pain, and injury.
Electrical Hazard (EH)
If your work conditions expose you to live currents, you need safety footwear labeled EH. These protective shoes or boots will protect you from up to 600 volts of open circuits if you work in a factory or plant, say a plant operation manager, which exposes you to the danger of electrocution.
EH labeled footwear is typically made of one piece, meaning the sole and the heel are molded to a single piece before being fastened to the upper boot without any conductive material such as metal or nails. These shoes are tested by an independent laboratory because they should at least bear 14000V at 60 Hz for sixty seconds with the leakage exceeding 3.0mA to ensure total safety. If the conditions are dry, EH safety boots should protect the worker from 600V circuits or less. However, this type of shoe doesn't offer protection from explosives because such conditions require conductive footwear.
Categories of Safety Footwear
There are several categories of footwear depending on factors such as the health of the user, conditions of use, and primary materials. They include:
Safety Boots
Safety boots are the most popular, so that their image is what pops into your mind first when the term safety footwear is mentioned. They usually incorporate most safety features, including steel midsole inserts for penetration resistance and denser rubber outer soles for slip- resistance. Safety boots also insulate your feet from extreme cold and heat.
Safety Shoes
Safety shoes are a lightweight version of the safety boots resembling usual shoes but with protective features. They belong to the SB category, meaning they only offer basic protective abilities.
Safety Trainers
These are for you if you love to put on that sharp look, even in the work environment. They offer aesthetically appealing features with steel or composite material toe caps.
Riggers
Historically, these boots were issued to workers on offshore oil rigs around the Red Sea but have grown in popularity to become general-purpose safety wear, meaning that most average workers own at least a pair.
Although there have been concerns about the absence of ankle support, these pull-on safety footwears have been described as super-strong.
Wellingtons
Most Americans commonly use the Wellingtons, especially during the rainy season, so they get overlooked as safety footwear. Primarily made of rubber, wellingtons are suitable for wet working conditions, say in the chemical and food industries where the safety footwear needs to be disinfected and cleaned regularly for hygiene purposes.
Clogs
Clogs can also be categorized as safety footwear because of their resistance to penetration by sharp objects. Traditionally, they featured an open heel and a stiff wooden sole made of beech wood. Nowadays, manufacturers have added thin rubber outsoles to make them quieter and steel toe caps for increased toe protection.
Ladies Safety Footwear
There appears to be a new trend to produce more women friendly safety footwear, since earlier versions had male workers in mind. Lady's safety footwear falls in the usual trainer, boot, and shoe categories. They have a more aesthetically appealing look with key safety features such as oil and water repellent outsoles, steel or composite toe caps, and midsoles capable of withstanding extreme temperatures.
Safety Footwear for Specific Health Conditions
The evolution of safety footwear for the average industrial worker has finally reached a point of recognizing that some of these workers have specific health conditions that set them apart from the rest. Safety footwear should consider, among other things, the type of disease and what it does to the foot. Below is a safety guide when shopping for safety footwear for diabetic, plantar fasciitis, and arthritic workers;
Plantar Fasciitis
The Heel Spur Syndrome is a painful condition caused by calcium deposition under the heel after a foot injury or stress. These calcium deposits are known as heel spurs. Standing for extended periods or putting excessive weight on the bottom of the foot without properly cushioned shoes may cause damage to the foot.
Safety footwear for Plantar Fasciitis patients should feature increased comfort through extra cushioning in customized orthotics and inserts. The boots should also be matched with the kind of job that needs to be done.
Diabetes
Diabetic patients are usually at a greater risk of developing foot injury at work and consequently worsening the diabetic foot. Safety footwear for diabetes features breathable suede or leather materials designed to provide heel, ankle, and arch support while cushioning the foot. The material shouldn’t create injuries when it rubs against the foot, and the shoes should provide an even distribution of body weight from the heel to the toe to evade painful pressure points. Diabetic work shoes also feature extra depth to support, straighten and improve their wearer's feet for increased comfort through foot pain prevention.
Diabetic workers often have a loss of sensation and numbness in their feet, making it even more essential that they pick correct fitting safety footwear to avoid ulcer development. The shoes or boots should fit properly, that is, they shouldn’t be too tight nor too loose.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a painful condition that attacks the joints, especially as people get older. Consequently, safety footwear for arthritis should feature increased comfort. Width and size fitting should be a key consideration here because the feet' shape changes with age.
Smooth linings that lack seams are more suited for patients with prominent joints or hammertoes. Special insoles, also called orthoses, are sometimes fitted inside the shoes, although the fitters should ensure that they leave enough room, especially at the toes. Generally, shoes for people with foot problems should have the upper parts made of leather and should be flexible unless the podiatrist advises the patients to wear more rigid soles depending on their condition.
Importance Safety Shoes
Now that you already know the types of safety shoes and their features, it’s only fair to tell you the importance of those safety features. Here is why safety footwear is important.
1. Protection from Vertical and Horizontal Impacts
Safety footwear will keep your feet from being crushed by rolling or falling objects. Some dynamic work environments such as construction and manufacturing industries have people, heavy things, and machine parts constantly moving. Some say a building block may suddenly fall on your feet and safety shoes fitted with steel toes are your best bet for protection against major injuries, for example, fractures.
2. Anti-Slip Protection
Safety footwear should provide excellent multi-directional anti-slip properties because they increase traction. Workplace accidents and injuries due to skidding are commonplace in wet or slippery working conditions due to water, lubricants, and other greasy substances that make the floor slippery. Anti-skid shoes also protect workers who work at heights because they have to climb up and down the ladder, frequently increasing the risk of falling and suffering fatal injuries.
3. Protection from Chemical Spillage
Safety boots or shoes should protect the workers' feet from harmful chemicals. This is especially important for cement production industries where chemical spillage is the order of the day. Safety boots with solid outsoles made from pure rubber will protect your feet from burns and corrosion. For example, in battery manufacturing companies where chemicals spill on the floor while filling the batteries. Regular shoes would be too risky because they will be damaged and injure you at the same time.
Workplace safety footwear protects the workers' feet from extreme temperatures, for example, when it is too hot or too cold. They will protect your foot from frostbite and other cold-related injuries when working under wet and refrigerated conditions. They should keep your feet warm by maintaining your body temperature despite the cold environment.
Safety shoes with thick rubber outsoles will protect your feet from being burned if you work in hot environments like glass settings or metal smelting industries.
You should wear Anti-static protection (A) or Electro-Static Protective shoes if you work in an electrical company as an electrician or in an explosives company. There are many electrical hazards, say electrical shocks, due to the accumulation of static current from working on live wires or generated from clothing or flooring materials.
Safety footwear for such environments should feature non-conductive materials such as rubber and leather and anti-static materials that will keep static current from accumulating.
Safety footwear should have an outer protective casing to prevent injuries from sharp objects such as chainsaws. Sharp machinery moving parts will get damaged instead of your feet, thus preventing major injuries.
Safety shoes should offer protection and also comfort because they feature better ergonomic designs. Many industrial workers say those in the packing or construction industries stand for hours on end all day long, which may strain the feet, back and other spinal muscles. Things get worse for arthritis and diabetic patients.
You should choose safety shoes that suit your particular health condition. Most of them have to cushion the inner sole for increased comfort, but you should consult your doctor for more customized orthotics.
Safety footwear is a range of special shoes with unique features to protect industrial workers from various occupational hazards such as abrasion, chemical corrosion, falling objects, extreme temperatures, and open electrical circuits. Basically, they feature steel, composite, or alloy toe cap protection, light or thick rubber outer soles for better traction and insulation, and leather uppers for water and oil resistance. Safety footwear is available in many forms, such as safety boots, safety shoes, safety trainers, famous wellingtons, and riggers.
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