CHECKPOINTS
INDUSTRIAL FOOT PROTECTION
Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset, Your Employees
By Lori Hyllengren
Outfitting employees with reliable industrial footwear reduces injuries and lost work time while improving
productivity and morale. That’s because every year, more than 50,000 workers suffer foot injuries, resulting in
an average of 9 lost work days.
According to data from Bureau of La-
bor Statistics, 75% of these injuries involve
workers who failed to comply with safety
regulations. But getting workers the cor-
rect footwear can be a serious challenge
for safety managers. This article presents
five ways to overcome this challenge.
1) Know the Regulations
Understanding the code of practice
around safety footwear is not easy. Workers
in industrial settings must have protective
footwear according to OSHA. Organiza-
tions that fail to comply with OSHA regu-
lations run the risk of warnings, sanctions
and fines. In 2019, OSHA raised its max-
imum penalties to $13,260 a per day for
failure-to-abate violations. If a workplace
is cited with a willful and repeat violation,
the maximum penalty is $132,598.
OSHA standards categorize footwear
as a type of PPE. And while OSHA dic-
tates the use of PPE, ASTM International
(a global standards organization) sets
performance requirements for protective
footwear. Safety footwear must comply
with current ASTM standards.
2) Understand the Label
There are two ASTM standards for safe-
ty toe footwear. ASTM F2413-18 specifies
the minimum performance requirements
to protect against various hazards. ASTM
F2412-18a dictates the test methods used
to measure foot protection. Two signif-
icant risks are impact (falling objects)
and compression (rolling objects). An
ASTM-certified shoe may be labeled with
several label codes. For example:
•ASTM F2413-18
•M/I/C
•Mt
The first line says the shoe meets the
ASTM F2413-18 standard. Next, the M
stands for male. (F stands for female for
women’s shoes). The I stands for the impact
rating (a 50-lb weight is dropped onto the
toe from a height of 18 in., delivering 75 ft-
lb of force). The C is the compression rating
(the shoe can withstand 2,500 lb of com-
pressive force on the toe). The last line (Mt)
indicates that the shoe offers impact protec-
tion for the metatarsal area of the foot.
3) Choose the Right Footwear tabs on product wear and tear, process invoic-
If workers need toe protection, experts es, and manually distribute vouchers.
recommend shoes that conform to the Digital programs can simplify these pro-
ASTM F2413-18 standard. This means the cesses. User experiences vary, but the concept
shoe must include a protective toe cap as an of a digital process is an online one-stop shop
integral, permanent part of its design, as op- where program managers can review consol-
posed to add-on protective devices such as idated invoices from employee purchases at
strap-on toe caps that can fit poorly, hamper multiple store locations, authorize or revoke
mobility or be forgotten by employees. electronic vouchers in real time, and run re-
ports to analyze important program metrics.
Digital programs minimize management
time by automating formerly manual steps,
efficiently collecting information that was
previously difficult to find and providing a
better big-picture view of program details.
5) Perform Scheduled Maintenance
To keep a safety footwear program
Red Wing Shoe Co. testing industrial foot- tuned up, it is important to create a main-
wear in the laboratory. tenance plan. Employers must regularly
check work shoes to determine whether
In addition, shoes should defend against they need to be replaced. Any time a heavy
workplace-specific threats. For example, object hits a safety toe, it could be compro-
heat-resistant soles protect workers in pav- mised. Any material embedded in the soles
ing, roofing and hot metal industries. Electric should be removed immediately. Regular
hazard shoes provide secondary protection cleanings are important for maximum pro-
against stepping on live electrical circuits, tection and longevity.
electrically energized conductors, parts or Employers must also periodically conduct
apparatuses. Puncture-resistant shoes defend workplace hazard assessments. Fulfilling
against nails, sharp cables and other debris this OSHA mandate is not only important
found in construction, tire manufacturing, for compliance, but also helps protect em-
metal recycling and glass industries. ployees against new hazards or dangerous
It is important for safety managers to under- conditions that may have emerged on the
stand the unique hazards of the job and find job since the last assessment. PSJ
footwear to match. In general, the more dan-
gerous the job, the more likely the shoe will be References
BLS. (2015, Dec, 2). Type of injury or illness
designed for a certain category of risk. Manu- and body parts affected by nonfatal injuries and
facturers and retailers can help employees find illnesses in 2014. Retrieved from www.bls.gov/
the appropriate pair of shoes for their needs. opub/ted/2015/type-of-injury-or-illness-and
-body-parts-affected-by-nonfatal-injuries-and
4) Go Digital -illnesses-in-2014.htm
Managing a safety footwear program can Kallis, R. (2017, Jan 1). Safe footwear im-
be complex. Program administrators must proves worker outcomes. Retrieved from https://
assign shoes to specific workers based on their ohsonline.com/Articles/2017/01/01/Safe-Foot
jobs, the weather or environmental factors, wear-Improves-Worker-Outcomes.aspx
such as wet floors. Then s/he must ensure that OSHA. (2019, Jan 23). OSHA penalties. Re-
employees purchase the correct shoes, keep trieved from www.osha.gov/penalties
Lori Hyllengren is the laboratory manager for Red Wing Shoe Co. and S.B. Foot Tanning Co. She has
experience in product quality testing of leather, footwear and PPE garments across international stan-
dards including ASTM, Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and European Standards (EN). Hyllengren
represents Red Wing Shoe Co. on the ASTM D31 Leather Committee, Department of Defense Footwear
Committee, ASTM Subcommittee F13.30 on Footwear and CSA Protective Footwear Committee Z195,
where test methods and specifications are developed for the U.S. and Canada.
assp.org MARCH 2019 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY PSJ 29