Safety Footwear Selection: How Do You Choose the Right Pair for Your Industry?

Discussion on Safety Footwear Selection

Let's start a discussion on the various parameters for selecting proper safety footwear for various industries. Let me clarify that safety footwear is not fashion footwear in which a toe cap has been incorporated; it's much more than that. Safety footwear protects the wearer from physical, chemical, and electrical hazards. I will try to answer all the questions related to safety footwear, its applicable standards, and the selection process.

Thanks for starting such a discussion in the forum. I hope the forum members will benefit from this initiative. As I am basically from a cement manufacturing plant, what type of safety footwear should we recommend for our workers? Awaiting to hear from you...

Dear Chuknoo, heartily welcome to the CiteHR EHS forum. First of all, sorry for the delay. I come from a construction background in Africa, where it is always hot. Can you suggest the best type of safety footwear for the African weather? Thanks in advance.

Note: I will be heading home for vacation starting tomorrow, and I will be off-site for 2 weeks. If I find the time, I will try to participate. Goodbye, see you soon...

Regards,

Selecting the Right Safety Footwear for Hot Weather

In hot weather, feet perspire profusely, and sweat, if accumulated within footwear, will provide a soggy and uncomfortable feeling. Furthermore, this will attract the breeding of bacteria/fungus and cause foul smells. Therefore, it is very important that you select the correct safety footwear. Here are a few basics:

1. The low ankle (derby) style is preferred over ankle boots.
2. The upper material should be breathable to allow air exchange to occur across it.
3. Waterproof leather is a BIG NO as it seals the pores through which air exchange occurs.
4. The best material is suede leather, but it is very difficult to maintain in your industry.
5. You can try cotton canvas as the upper material.
6. Some manufacturers provide two ventilation holes in the instep area, but they may allow water to seep into the footwear.
7. Avoid footwear with synthetic leather lining.
8. The best lining would be Cambrelle, which is a DuPont product.
9. Encourage your workers to store their footwear in a well-ventilated area when not in use.
10. You will need footwear with a steel toe cap and steel midsole.

I hope these tips help you in choosing the right safety footwear for your needs.

Warm regards

Hi Chuknoo, we are dealing with acid at work. The shoes we are currently using have soles that do not last for more than 3 months. Gum boots are used by workers who directly handle it. However, I need to select appropriate footwear for the rest of the staff. Additionally, we have an electrowinning process, so the shoes should also be shockproof.

Kindly suggest...

Regards, Hansa

What about the Food Industry, particularly in a climate similar to India, such as in beverage manufacturing, juice, and dairy? Can you please suggest which safety footwear is good for regular workers and cleaning laborers?

You need a good Nitrile rubber sole footwear. If Nitrile rubber is not working, it must have a lot of fillers as prices of nitrile rubber are quoting at an all-time high. The problem with you seems to be in the upper material, which has to resist acid. Acid-resistant leathers are available, and we manufacture it, but it works well in a weak acid environment. You may try footwear with wide nitrile rubber foxing all around, as you see in sneakers. Nitrile rubber footwear provides the best Electrical Shock Resistance. Can you post a few photos of damaged footwear for better understanding?

Regards,
Sudhir

Cleanroom Footwear in the Food Industry

The food industry requires cleanroom footwear. These are minimal stitch footwear made from a new material called Lorica, which is washable yet breathable. It's around four times costlier than leather. Typically, they are all-white slip-on footwear that can be cleaned by simply wiping with a damp cloth. One very important aspect is slip resistance. I am attaching a photo of the same.

Regards,
Anish

Sole: The Soul of Safety Footwear

The sole is the soul of safety footwear. It must be considered based on various parameters such as:

• **Mode of Attachment to the Upper:** Stitched, stuck on, Goodyear welted/direct injected (molded), or a combination thereof.

• **Material of the Sole:** This can be a single material like rubber, PU, PVC, TPR, TPU, or a combination like Rubber+PU, TPU+PU, etc.

• **Density:** Single or double.

Typically, in safety footwear, a direct injected sole is preferred as the sole material attaches directly to leather fiber, providing a very good, long-lasting bond. It is important that the material used in the sole also acts as a good adhesive. PU is very good in this respect. In the case of PU, the direct injection is done by two processes. The Direct Pouring Process is inferior compared to the Direct Injection process where closed molds are used, and PU is injected with a lot of controlled parameters.

The material to be used in the sole depends on the electrical, thermal, and chemical hazards against which the footwear is meant to provide protection. PU is effective up to 120 degrees Celsius, while natural rubber is effective up to 160 degrees Celsius, and nitrile is effective up to 300 degrees Celsius.

PU footwear is typically antistatic, while rubber footwear is for electrical hazard protection. For conductive footwear, rubber sole footwear is used.

Nitrile rubber provides good chemical resistance against acid, alkali, and fat.

Regards,
Sudhir

Dear Dipil, First, my profuse apologies for not being able to reply immediately.

Common Injuries in the Cement Industry

When examining injuries sustained in the Cement Industry, the primary culprits are Slip, Trip, and Fall incidents, followed by injuries from falling objects and electrical accidents. Occasionally, injuries also occur due to contact with hot cement.

Safety Footwear Recommendations

To ensure your safety, it is crucial to wear high-quality safety footwear with EN marked Double Density PU soles, a steel toe cap, and a slip-resistant sole. It is recommended to obtain a slip resistance certificate, indicating markings such as SRA, SRB, or SRC, with SRC being the most effective. For areas with high temperatures, Nitrile Rubber soled footwear is necessary. Additionally, pay attention to the padding in the collar of the footwear as it helps prevent the entry of cement particles into your shoes.

Regards,
Sudhir

Dear Sir, Thank you for your valuable advice. I will advise in the future when it comes to Safety footwear as follows:

- Double Density Slip Resistant PU Sole, Steel Toe Cap with EN Certified, for general use by most employees.
- Nitrile Rubber Sole, Steel Toe Cap with EN Certified, mainly for workers in hot areas.

Question on Safety Footwear for Electrical Work

Now, my question is, what type of safety footwear is suitable for those dealing with Electricity, such as Electrical Engineers, Electricians, Instrument Engineers, and Technicians? Is it Dielectric footwear? What is the difference between this and normal safety footwear?

If the footwear has a CE marking, who will be the issuing agency for the slip resistance certificate? And who will be the issuing agency in the case of IS approved footwear?

Please continue to share your expertise with us. Thank you in advance.

Regards

Dear Dipil, For electricians who deal with live electricity, it is essential to wear vulcanized rubber sole footwear. Please ensure that such footwear has no metal in the sole complex, including a steel midsole. Normal safety footwear, if presumed to be antistatic, will protect you up to 300 volts, while rubber footwear that complies with EN 50321 will provide protection from 600 volts to 1000 volts. However, this level of protection decreases with the wearing of the sole.

For technicians working in the electronic industry, ESD footwear is preferred.

The CE marking issuing authority is in the UK. Many labs such as SATRA, Intertek, and SGS issue slip resistance test certificates. In India, FDDI also issues slip resistance test certificates.

Regards,
Sudhir

Thank you for your valuable reply. I have one more question: if footwear is to be provided to all employees except the electrical personnel, should we always recommend one with a steel midsole or not?

Thank you once again, and please continue to share your expertise with us.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Dear Dipil, It's advisable to go for antistatic footwear for all employees except electricians. There is no issue in having a steel midsole in antistatic footwear, but it cannot be in Electrical Shock Resistant footwear. A steel midsole is required only when you need penetration resistance. Even in cases where you require a penetration resistance insert for electricians, you can ask for a Kevlar midsole. We are making such footwear, but it is a little expensive.

Regards,
Sudhir

Thank you for your continuous support and the answers provided. We are using Kevlar Shoes for those workers working in hot areas. Once again, thank you very much for your replies, and please continue to share your expertise with us.

Regards,
[User's Name]

Could you please provide guidance on how to conduct the temperature or heat contact test? Is this test specific to footwear only, or is it necessary for the entire body?

I am also curious about the temperature resistance of the JCB Safety Footwear. Is this footwear suitable for prolonged wearing and working, such as an 8-hour shift for a regular worker in normal conditions, rather than in hot environments?

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards

Heat Resistance in Safety Footwear

A good PU-soled footwear resists 150 degrees Celsius for one minute. A Nitrile rubber sole footwear will resist 300 degrees Celsius for one minute. It's a heat contact test where a predetermined heated metal contact is applied to the sole for 60 seconds. The sole should not char or crack for a pass test.

Another important thing is the conduction of heat to the wearer. For this, the insole plays a very important role. All the JCB footwear displayed as an attachment here are excellent footwear for the majority of industries except hot areas. They are priced between Rs 900-1100 per pair and are CE marked. They are a class apart from what we are getting in the market.

Regards,
Sudhir Agarwal

In hot weather, feet perspire profusely, and sweat, if accumulated within footwear, will provide a soggy, uncomfortable feeling. Furthermore, this will attract the breeding of bacteria/fungus and cause foul smells. Therefore, it is very important that you select the correct safety footwear. Here are a few basics:

1. The low ankle (derby) style is preferred over the ankle.
2. The upper material should be breathable to allow air exchange to occur across the upper material.
3. Waterproof leather is a big no as it seals the pores through which air exchange happens.
4. The best material is suede leather, but it's very difficult to maintain in your industry.
5. You can try cotton canvas as the upper material.
6. Some manufacturers provide two ventilation holes on the instep area, but they may allow water to seep into the footwear.
7. Do not buy footwear with synthetic leather lining.
8. The best lining would be Cambrelle, which is a DuPont product.
9. Ask your workers to store footwear in a very airy area when not in use.
10. You will need footwear with a steel toe cap and steel midsole.

Prefer PU sole to PVC sole, though a bit costly PU is more comfortable than PVC, which is hard and heavy. Finally, you can refer to IS:15298. Also, ask for a slip resistance test certificate. Your choice ultimately depends on the application you are looking for and the price range.

Regards,
Santosh