10 Points for Purchasing Protective Footwear

Treat your feet right. They support you. You need to support them. Wear work boots that fit and are appropriate to your occupation.

Work boots that are not appropriate may fail to prevent injury and may cause foot problems. Poorly fitting work boots can result in bunions, corns, calluses, hammertoes, and other foot problems. You can prevent some of these problems by paying attention to how you select your work boots.

Here are some suggestions on work boot selection and fit from the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and the Pedorthic Footwear Association.


• Safety first. Know the specific hazards of your work environment. Satety toe caps (steel or composite), metatarsal guards, puncture-resistant soles, and special construction materials can help protect against failling objects, sharp metal edges, chemicals or electrical hazards.

• Buy what you need. Go to a store that carries footwear specific to your job. Ask an experienced fitter to measure your feet and fit you with appropriate shoes or boots. An experienced fitter knows the characteristics of the footwear the store carries, and can match the footwear’s design and materials to your special requirements.

• Check your soles. Make sure the footwear soles are appropriate to your working conditions. Soles can be designed to resist slips, and protect your feet from heat, puncture, and electrical shock.

• Wick away the moisture. Buy leather uppers lined with moisture-wicking lining to keep your feet dry, and help prevent blisters and corns.

• Stability is important. Wear shoes or boots with flat soles and a wide base. They will provide greater stability when working on uneven surfaces.

• Completely cover your feet. Protective footwear must completely cover the foot with puncture resistant material. High top lace boots should lace 1/2” to 1” of the full length of the lace row to keep your heel securely in the boot. Gusset tongues sewn part way to the top of the boot help keep out foreign materials.

• Make sure you can wiggle your toes. The toe box needs to be deep enough so you can move all your toes inside without feeling pressure. Try boots on at the end of the day or shift when your feet are largest. Wear your usual work socks. Usually one foot is larger than the other so buy to fit the larger foot. (NOTE: If you have diabetes or loss of feeling in your feet, you may need special fitting assistance.)

• Get the proper support. Strong heel counters provide stability for your ankle and should fit snugly. A wedge bottom sole or puncture-resistant midsole improves stability for ankle and arch support.

• Comfort is critical. Footwear should feel comfortable when you first try it on. Don't expect to need a "break-in" period before footwear feels comfortable. Try protective footwear out while you’re in the store. Walk on a hard surface and not a carpeted showroom floor. Shock absorbent removable insoles provide the best available footbed.

They can be removed to be cleaned, replaced as needed or substituted with a custom prescription insert.

• Always buy safety footwear labeled ANSI Z41.1.

No footwear can provide protection against all injuries. Contact the footwear manufacturer if you have specific questions.

For more information about protective footwear, check out The National Safety Council ANSI Z41 Committee’s “User Guide.” You may purchase a copy from:

National Safety Council
1121 Spring Lake Dr.
Itasca, Ill. 60143-3201
Telephone: 800-621-7619
Fax: 630-775-1613

Foot and Leg Protection

When must I provide foot and leg protection?

You must provide foot and leg protection if your workplace hazard assessment reveals potential dangers to these parts of the body. Some of the potential hazards you might identify include the following:

• Heavy objects such as barrels or tools that might roll onto or fall on employees' feet.

• Sharp objects such as nails or spikes that might pierce the soles or uppers of ordinary shoes.

• Molten metal that might splash on feet or legs

• Hot or wet surfaces.

• Slippery surfaces.

What are the types of protection and where do I use them?

The type of foot and leg protection you provide your employees will depend upon the specific workplace hazards you identify and the specific parts of the feet or legs exposed to potential injury. Safety footwear must meet minimum compression and impact performance standards and testing requirements established by ANSI. Protective footwear purchased after July 5, 1994, must meet the requirements of ANSI Z41-1991.(8) Protective footwear bought before that date must comply with ANSI Z41-1967. Foot and leg protection choices includes the following:

• Leggings. Use these to protect the lower legs and feet from heat hazards, like molten metal or welding sparks. Safety snaps allow leggings to be removed quickly.

• Metatarsal guards. Made of aluminum, steel, fiber, or plastic, these guards maybe strapped to the outside of shoes to protect the instep area from impact and compression.

• Toe guards. Toe guards may be made of steel, aluminum, or plastic. They fit over the toes of regular shoes. These guards protect only the toes from impact and compression hazards.

• Combination foot and shin guards. These guards may be used in combination with toe guards when greater protection is needed.

• Safety shoes. These sturdy shoes have impact-resistant toes and heat-resistant soles that protect against hot work surfaces common in roofing, paving, and hot metal industries. The metal insoles of some safety shoes protect against puncture wounds. Safety shoes may also be designed to be electrically conductive to prevent the buildup of static electricity in areas with the potential for explosive atmospheres, or nonconductive to protect workers from workplace electrical hazards.

A shoe Thing...

A small foundry employs workers to cast metal rods. Although engineering controls and work practice procedures eliminated most employee exposure to molten metal, a hazant assessment conducted by the employer revealed that during pouring .spatters of the molten metal could reach employees ' legs and feet.In addition, the wheels of the material handling equipment that lift the rods pass near employee work areas and constitute a compression hazard to employees' feet.

The employer provided that during and foundry shoes.The leggings fit over the shoes and provide protection against molten metal spatters to the employees legs,while the shoes keep burning material from making contact with employee's feet. The mandatory safety toes built into the foundry shoes provide protection against the possibility that heavy machinery could injure employees if it rolls onto their feet.

The employer also trained employees to use and care for the protective gear properly,according to the manufacturea'instructions.

What should I look for when choosing safety shoes for my employees?

Generally, safety shoes must be sturdy and must have impact-resistant safety toes, instep protection, and heat-resistant soles (see Figure 3). All safety shoes must comply with the ANSI standard(s) mentioned above. In addition, depending on the types of worker exposures, you may need to provide specially designed safety shoes such as conductive or electrical-hazard safety shoes.
Conductive Shoes

Electrically conductive shoes protect against the buildup of static electricity. Essentially, these shoes ground the employees wearing them. Employees working in explosive and hazardous locations such as explosives manufacturing facilities or grain elevators must wear conductive shoes to reduce the risk of static electricity buildup on an employee's body that could produce a spark and cause an explosion or fire. During training, employees must be instructed not to use foot powder or wear socks made of silk, wool, or nylon with conductive shoes. Foot powder insulates and retards the conductive ability of the shoes. Silk, wool, and nylon produce static electricity.

Conductive shoes are not general-purpose shoes and must be removed upon completion of the tasks for which they are required. Employees exposed to electrical hazards must never wear conductive shoes.

Electrical hazard, safety-toe shoes are nonconductive and will prevent your employees' feet from completing an electrical circuit to the ground. They can protect employees against open circuits of up to 600 volts in dry conditions. Electrical hazard, safety-toe shoes should be used in conjunction with other insulating equipment and precautions to reduce or eliminate the potential for your employees' bodies or parts of their bodies to provide a path for hazardous electrical energy. Note: Nonconductive footwear must not be used in explosive or hazardous locations; in such locations, electrically conductive shoes are required.

Train your employees to recognize that the insulating protection of electrical hazard, safety-toe shoes may be compromised if

• The shoe is wet

• The rubber sole is worn through

• Metal particles become embedded in the sole or heel; or

• Other parts of the employees' bodies come into contact with conductive, grounded items.


Foundry Shoes

In addition to insulating your employees' feet from the extreme heat of molten metal, foundry shoes prohibit hot metal from lodging in shoe eyelets, tongues, or other parts. These snug-fitting leather or leather-substitute shoes have leather or rubber soles and rubber heels. In addition, all foundry shoes must have built-in safety toes.

Once I have selected equipment to protect my employees' feet and legs, how do I make sure they use it properly?

Train your employees to use the protective footwear. Checklist E will help you instruct your employees to use and care for the foot and leg protection you provide.

Checklist E:

Use and care of Foot and Leg Protection

Train your employees to know...

• Why foot or leg protection is necessary -i.e., the workplace hazards that threaten the feet or legs .

• How the equipment you provide will protect your employees .

• The limitations of foot or leg protection

• When employees must wear the protective legging ,guards, or shoes

• How to properly put on the protective equipment

• How to adjust straps, laces and other parts for a comfortable and effective fit

• How to identify signs of wear such as

• Scuffled, cracked, or lacerated uppers

• Holels or cracks in soles or heel

• Metal embadded in heelsor soles of electrical hazard, safety-toe shoes

• How to clean an maintain the leg or foot protection you provide