Want to be sure your workers have the right foot protection on the job – but just not sure where to start? Choosing protective footwear is no easy task! Critically, incorrect or insufficient footwear can lead to compliance issues and even worker injury in the event of an incident. Follow just a few key steps to be sure your workers are safe, comfortable and well-protected!
Step 1: Do workers require footwear with a safety toe cap? If so, reference standard ASTM F2412, Standard Test Methods for Foot Protection, and ASTM F2413, Standard Specification for Performance Requirements for Protective (Safety) Toe Cap Footwear. These standards govern test methods and performance requirements for safety toe footwear.
Step 2: Assess other workplace safety hazards. Do workers need to be protected against heavy falling objects or sharp objects? What about electrical hazards? Identifying the hazard(s) and selecting boots that protect against the hazard is the key to ensuring workers are protected.
Step 3: Understand the standards that inform worker foot protection. There are seven protective properties – described more fully in our previous post.
Note: Description of protective properties paraphrased from ASTM F2412 and ASTM F2413.
As mentioned in our previous post, one of the biggest misconceptions related to ASTM F2413 is the idea that footwear needs to “meet” the standard. Footwear does not need to meet all of the requirements listed above to conform to ASTM F2413 – in fact, it would be highly unusual for any one product to meet all of the protective requirements. The product must clearly state which of the requirements the footwear does meet.
If workers do not require footwear with a safety toe cap, reference ASTM F2892, Standard Specification for Performance Requirements for Soft Toe Protective Footwear (Non-Safety / Non-Protective Toe). Because there are many jobs that do not require toe protection from impact or compression, ASTM developed soft toe (non-safety) footwear performance requirements to protect workers’ feet from the following hazards:
Note: Description of protective properties paraphrased from ASTM F2892.
Step 4: Identify additional needs. There are a broad variety of boots available on the market that go well beyond meeting the standards, offering protection against weather and offering additional benefits for specific jobs. Look for insulated or waterproof boots for workers that require cold and wet weather protection. Workers that pass through metal detectors to get to their worksite – for example, those that work in nuclear power plants – will benefit from products with composite toe or shanks. And, Linemen will benefit for boots with shanks designed to support utility pole-climbing. Many of the boots are EH-rated and meet the specifications of ASTM F2412, F2413, and F2892, the most recent standards for footwear. In addition, there are other protective characteristics that may be important to workers:
Tyndale also offers women’s boots with protective toes and recommends purchasing these instead of men’s boots when a protective toe is needed.
Step 5: Make meeting the protective standards easy!
Tyndale offers a variety of boot program options to meet the needs of any organization requiring foot protection for their employees. Let Tyndale manage the program so you can manage your business! Tyndale offers a variety or protective footwear – from electric hazard protection, impact resistance, compression resistance, static dissipative properties, and more, protecting against on-the-job hazards while meeting your company’s specific requirements and budget.
The goal of our program is to deliver flexibility, choice and convenience to your company’s employees while eliminating the burden of ordering, enforcing spend, tracking, and distributing boots. Take advantage of a Tyndale managed boot program with our flexible options:
Ready to Get Started with a Boot Program Extension? Contact your National Account Executive or call us at 800-356-3433 today.