Proper Work Boots – 4 Ways They Protect You
What comes to mind when you think about proper work shoes? Chances are you imagine steel toe boots, or something similar. After all, this heavy-duty footwear offers superior protection, with reinforced toes to protect your feet from hazards. Today, they are a crucial piece of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, at both construction and industrial worksites.
There are several different types of shoes available today to help make your job safer, not just steel toe boots. Other shoes and boots offer arch support, traction and many other safety benefits. To determine what type of footwear is necessary for your place of work, it’s a good idea to do a hazard assessment and figure out what risks are present. Once you have this information, you can choose the right types of boots for your employees.
While the shoes you wear may not seem as important to overall workplace safety as gloves or protective eyewear, it offers an array of benefits. Some of the functions offered by the right work boot for the job or situation can be found here.
1. Protection from Flying or Falling Objects
If your workers carry heavy materials, or if they work in a dynamic environment where several vehicles, machines and people are operating all at once, flying and falling objects aren’t unusual. Protective footwear, such as safety toe boots can help to prevent serious crushing injuries to the feet.
2. Puncture Protection
If workers are in an environment where they may be struck by a sharp object from above or step on a sharp object, then having shoes with heavy-duty soles, along with thick materials around the foot offer the highest level of protection. Many construction worksites have sharp objects present that could cause an injury. In most cases, soft-soled shoes won’t provide the highest level of protection.
3. Prevention of Slips and Trips and Falls
Falls, trips and slips can happen in virtually any workplace and they result in quite a few accidents and injuries every year. You can take steps to prevent these issues by using anti-slip floor tape and cleaning up spills when they occur. Additional protection can be provided by proper footwear.
If you work for roofing contractors in Kansas City, for example, it’s important to purchase shoes with quality traction, which can help prevent falls in slippery environments. They can also help to prevent slips and falls off ladders, or other raised surfaces.
4. Protection from Electrical Hazards
There’s no question that electricity poses a significant risk in any workplace. Workers may face a possible electrical shock, or even accumulate static electricity, resulting in sparks in some environments.
To help prevent the risk of an electrical accident, it’s a good idea to use non-conductive footwear that is made from rubber, leather or other materials that won’t conduct electricity.
Having the right work boots is essential to keep your workers safe. It’s important for workers to follow company requirements to prevent accidents and injuries. The information here shows why this is so important.