Choosing The Right Safety Shoes In The Engineering Industry

Phil Black - PII Editor 12/01/2023

742 2 minutes read

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Foot injuries account for 7% of wounds brought on by occupational accidents. The employer is responsible for providing, maintaining, and replacing safety shoes. When visiting or doing work in high-risk locations, employees are required to wear these shoes. If an employer fails to supply each employee with appropriate safety shoes, labour inspectors have the right to impose sanctions. Wearing safety shoes helps protect employees from hazards including chemicals, slick floors that can make you fall, sharp edges, splinters, and electricity. In settings like factories, construction sites, and other settings where accidents are frequent, these shoes are a need.

What is a Safety Shoe?

Heavy-duty footwear, like steel-toe boots, may come to mind when you think about shoes for the job. They have reinforced toes to protect the feet from risks like large items. However, there are many other types of footwear than steel-toe boots that can help make tasks safer. Engelbert Strauss provides different styles of boots and safety shoes that can assist safety by offering traction, heat and cold insulation, and other features. They also offer additional orthopaedic foot protection with raised soles.

You must do a hazard analysis and identify the hazards that represent a threat to your employees' feet in order to locate the appropriate foot protection for the occupations in your workplace.

How to choose the right shoes?

In industrial settings, safety footwear must also be at least anti-slip on smooth and oily floors. Safety shoes for welding shops need to be heat resistant or have anti-static protection in case there are electrostatic discharges. Determining if the employees in question can wear low shoes or whether they should wear high shoes is one of the first factors for selecting the most comfortable shoes once the essential aspects of protection have been identified.

Then you may choose whether the shoes should be constructed of leather, cloth, or polymeric materials in order to assure waterproofness. The material used will frequently affect the weight of the shoes; lighter materials lead to more comfortable shoes. The kind of materials used for the toe cap is another important factor to take into account when evaluating the comfort of the shoes. You might have to check the size with the manufacturer as they tend to make the shoes to fit the feet over thick protective socks.

Why do you need safety shoes?

Protection from falling objects

Handling and lifting large goods in an industrial setting increases the possibility of items falling and hitting workers' feet. Reinforced toes can improve worker safety.

Prevents from falling in a slippery environment

Comfortable safety shoes will allow you to keep your balance and will help you avoid trips and slides. Additionally, it's vital to wear shoes with the right tread and grip, particularly while working in greasy industries, in the construction business, or on uneven terrain. It is also crucial to make sure your shoes are hydrocarbon resistant.

Protection against elements

It is crucial that your employees' shoes provide protection from rain, snow, and extreme cold while they operate outside in all sorts of weather. Likewise, it is essential to protect them from burns from chemicals and molten metal splashes, especially in a welding setup.

Protect against electric shocks

To reduce the risk of receiving an electric shock, safety shoes must be constructed of non-conductive materials like leather or rubber. Anti-static shoes are also recommended if your workers are working in an area in which a build-up of static electricity is possible.

Conclusion

Prioritise your worker's safety, by wearing the correct safety shoes. Access your occupational conditions and select the right material suiting your needs.