Shoes are an essential necessity. They have a very important purpose to serve in our daily lives: provide comfort to our feet while protecting it from outside elements, especially while working amidst hazardous working conditions. And those flashy sports shoes or your casual pair of short or long boots can’t offer the required features. 

“25% of disability applications worldwide are due to injured feet”

Safety shoes are specially designed to protect the wearer’s feet from all kinds of workplace hazards. Available in different sizes and types, these shoes protect the worker’s feet from a broad spectrum of workplace hazards, varying in nature from greasy or wet floors that might cause a worker to slip and fall , to random gravel stained paths and sharp objects , and from heavy falling objects, etc.

Safety Shoes Protect Workers Feet in Different Scenarios

1. Prevention from Slip, Trip and Fall: Wet, greasy factor floors are very common, causing countless slip, trip and fall accidents annually. Businesses can employ different measures to prevent such accidents, including implementing housekeeping measures, installing the wet/greasy floor signs or installing anti-slip floor tape. However, chances of such accidents would still remain high. Safety shoes with proper slip resistant properties  can reduce these mishaps to a large extent, including minimizing other fall and slip related accidents like falling from ladder, etc.
2. Protection Against Falling & Flying Objects: Workers, especially in the construction or logging industry are under constant risk of incurring injuries from falling and flying objects, due to the dynamic work environment with machines, vehicles and people operating at once. Safety shoes such as steel toe boots (one with steel toe caps) effectively prevent such injuries to the wearer’s feet, keeping them safe and protected.
3. Protect from Punctures: At workplaces such as construction sites, workers are likely to step on sharp objects such as nails popping out of the surface or be struck by sharp objects from above. These hazards can cause serious injuries, infection or even death. Safety shoes made with heavy-duty soles, complemented by puncture resistant insoles of different materials, provide optimum protection to the foot against such accidents
4. Protection from Cutting Hazards: Workers from the logging industry or other industries where workers operate heavy machinery that is sharp or contains moving parts are always under a risk of incurring cutting hazards. OSHO approved safety shoes featuring cut-resistant properties can provide workers with protection against most cut-related accidents along with keeping their feet dry amidst wet working conditions.
5. Protection from Electrical Hazards: Electric shocks kill more people than other workplace hazards. Mostly because workers associated with work that involve the risk of getting electrocuted, lack the required safety gear, especially the safety shoes. Workers without the required safety essentials could face potential electric shocks or accumulate static electricity. This can lead to electric sparks in certain environments. Safety shoes made with a non-conductive material such as leather or rubber, etc. can help prevent injuries or deaths due to electrical hazards.
6. Fire and Cold Weather  related Accidents: OSHA approved safety shoes made with durable materials, can protect the wearer’s feet from other hazards such as fire burn, chemical splashes, molten metal splashes, frostbite and hypothermia along with other unknown hazards.
   
   Summing up, safety shoes are crucial to keeping your worker’s feet safe and protected. However, before you start to look around for suitable options, do remember to check with a PPE consultant or PPE manufacturer about the specifics of your worker’s requirement.