Page 24 - OHS, April 2020

FOOT PROTECTION
Put Your Best Foot Forward:
How to Choose the Right Boot for the Job
Proper footwear is needed for nearly every occupation and setting, so why not make sure you understand the options?
BY XAVIER KAWULA
20 Occupational Health & Safety | APRIL 2020
www.ohsonline.com
Your footwear is the foundation for a pro- ductive, safe and comfortable day at work. Employers and workers want to avoid inju- ries while on the job, and standing for long periods of time can lead to tired, accident-prone feet.
Although potentially overlooked by some, protective footwear should be a key element in any occupational health and safety protection program. From finding the best type of footwear for the job to assessing in- vestment value, the following are important things to consider for incorporating essential footwear into your programs for keeping teams happy and healthy.
The Proper Fit
As with any footwear, fit is the most important feature. No matter the quality of materials or excellence of de- sign, a boot that does not match your foot’s particular shape will be unsatisfactory. Things to consider when looking for a boot: do your toes have room to move? Is there noticeable heel slippage? Are the lining materi- als rough or have heavy seams? Does the insole have too much or too little structure?
Your Occupational Duties,
Not Your Occupation
Finding the right shoe shouldn’t be based on occu- pation, but rather on occupational duties. There are health care professionals that easily put in 10,000 steps a day and those that require more standing tolerance. The former will likely need a shoe similar to what a warehouse worker or first responder might need, and the latter may have more in common with an assem- bly worker who has a particular station they are re- quired to administer. Looking generically for a nurs- ing or health care shoe may set you down the wrong path. Even in a category like construction, the needs of a foreman are different from that of a roofer, which also differ from a mason. Things to consider include: how active you are, what kinds of surfaces you are working on, and if you need protection from contami- nants. These are all very important questions to think through when finding the right boot for daily tasks.
As part of this, it is important that you treat not only your footwear but your workspace with respect. Just because your footwear has been slip-test-rated does not mean you can let your workspace get out of hand.
You need to maintain your surroundings, too. Slip-resistance footwear is just one part of a hazard reduction program, and we all need to make sure that maintenance takes place in both what we wear and where we are working.