Page 64 - OHS, October 2021

PPE: FOOT PROTECTION
Safety Shoes Make the Outfit for Well-Protected Workers
When you are wearing safety shoes, you are more likely to be protected from common
hazards.
DBY EMILY MILFORD
o you remember the first time you were required to wear safety or steel toe shoes? You likely complied by purchasing a pair without really thinking about how and why they would protect you. Before the term
personal protective equipment (PPE) came to be, workers during the industrial revolution were already inventing ways to protect themselves. French and British farmers wore sabots, hallowed out
60 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2021
www.ohsonline.com
wooden shoes to protect their feet. These shoes protected them from falling objects and famously became known because workers threw their sabots into production machinery during protests. This is how the word sabotage came into existence.
True safety shoes appeared in the 1940s when German soldiers in WWII were issued boots with reinforced metal toecaps. After this time, safety shoes became prevalent with workers in many