Page 50 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2018

FOOT PROTECTION
Selecting the Right Shoe Can Make All the Difference
Test results demonstrate that an employee is indeed safer while wearing a pair of safety-toed shoes.
BY ADAM J. LEVESQUE
Personal protective equipment should always be the final step in reducing exposure to workplace hazards, and that also stands true when implementing a safety shoe program.
Foot-related injuries are a common workplace in- jury, causing significant morbidity, disability, and lost wages. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that greater than 60 percent of all injuries are musculoskel- etal related, 10 percent of which are specifically foot and ankle injuries.
OSHA’s federal regulation 1910.136 regarding foot protection provides limited guidance to employers, stating that employees shall use protective footwear “when working in areas where there is a danger of foot injuries due to falling or rolling objects, or objects pierc- ing the sole, or when the use of protective footwear will protect the affected employee from an electrical hazard. . . .” In short, employers are tasked with completing a hazard assessment to determine whether foot protec- tion is required and, if so, they must meet stringent standards (i.e., ASTM International F2412 and F2413).
Steel- and composite-toed shoes are the common- ly accepted method of foot protection, however, there is little published information regarding the actual level of protection afforded. A common belief is that safety shoes are actually more dangerous than regu- lar footwear because the safety toe, when/if crushed by a significant amount of weight, will amputate the section of foot underneath. The belief is so perva- sive that an orthopedic surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the popular TV show “Myth Busters” completed studies to quantify the benefit of safety shoes. The weights used in each study exceeded ASTM testing requirements.
What do you think the results were?
The Massachusetts General study dropped 150 pounds from a height of 3 feet onto five pairs each of safety-toed and non-safety toed shoes. Cadaver lower extremities were used to simulate the injuries incurred during each event. The results showed that feet in the regular boots sustained on average 8.2 fractures per foot, while feet in safety shoes sustained 3.2 fractures per foot, a reduction in severity of 67 percent.
The “Myth Busters” study dropped 75-and 400-pound weights from 3 and 6 feet, respectively, onto safety-toed shoes containing a clay foot to mea- sure compressive force and damage. This test method was identical to ASTM requirements. No compressive forces registered, and only minor deformation to the steel plate resulted from the 3-foot drop of 75 pounds. When dropping 400 pounds from 6 feet, the compres- sive forces deformed the steel plate and resulted in sig- nificant foot fractures. The “Myth Busters” test did not generate any amputations.
“Myth Busters” also tested regular shoes and the safety-toed option to total failure using an arbor press. Failure of the toe box was reached at 1,200 pounds for the non-safety toed shoe, whereas safety shoe with- stood up to 6,000 pounds of compression before failing.
These results demonstrate that an employee is in- deed safer while wearing a pair of safety-toed shoes than the same pair without. While safety shoes will not completely prevent injury, they will reduce the potential for injury when exposed to minor compres- sive forces (weights less than 75 pounds) and greatly reduce the severity of the injury when exposed to sig- nificant amounts of compressive force.
Tips for Selecting Safety Footwear
As the results show, effectiveness is paramount to minimizing injury, and therefore selection plays an in- tegral role in performance. There are multiple factors to consider when selecting the most appropriate foot protection. The goal is to make sure that your feet are comfortable, supported, and, most importantly, SAFE! The hazards associated with workplace footwear are not only falling objects or fork trucks rolling over toes, but also discomfort due to improper fit and selection.
Choosing the appropriate safety shoe could pre- vent foot-related problems such as bunions, corns, calluses, hammertoes, and even prevent discomfort to the legs, hips, and back.
With many potential negative consequences to consider if the incorrect shoes are chosen, consider these three tips when selecting your next pair.
44 Occupational Health & Safety | APRIL 2018
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