Without a doubt, the safety boot is one of the most common PPEs on the market. When used correctly, it offers protection against various types of risks and provides comfort for a full day’s work. Using the correct equipment for each activity is essential to ensure the health and physical safety of workers. After all, this is the last risk control measure to be taken for this purpose.
Although the safety boot is such a common item, the numbers seem to show otherwise. Among all Work Accidents, the feet are the second most affected part of the body, second only to the fingers. In today’s article, you will learn a little more about this important Personal Protection Equipment! What are the excellent usage practices? What should the worker know? What should the employer consider?
What Are The Main Functions Of The Safety Boot?
As you know, the safety boot serves to protect the user’s feet against possible work accidents. However, there are boots with different characteristics, so the person in charge must know how to identify them.
At the time of purchase, what must be taken into account are the risks to which the professional will be exposed and the exposure time. The responsible team will certainly do a good deal by combining this with knowledge about the PPEs available on the market.
The Safety Boot can protect the user against:
- Falling of materials that could injure the foot immediately;
- Electrical discharges;
- Burns or accidents with chemical and corrosive products;
- Punctures or the dropping of piercing objects directly onto the feet;
- Kicks trip or crashes into heavy materials;
- Prevents falling on slippery or wet ground;
- Protects against extreme temperatures.
As you can see, it is a Protective Equipment with many advantages. It remains to identify the model that best suits the worker’s working conditions. Suppose you want to deepen your knowledge about this PPE. Check out the complete Safety Footwear guide and find out what the difference is between the models!
Important Tip:
When purchasing a Safety Boot like the Thorogood moc toe with a steel toe cap, it is essential to verify that the equipment Approval Certificate contains the following sentence:
Approved for protection against impact at the energy level of at least 200 J and a compression load of at least 15 KN.”
This indicates that the footwear was produced following all Ministry of Labor safety guidelines. If the shoe does not have this approval, the worker will be exposed to the Guillotine Effect risk.
The Guillotine Effect is when a heavy object falls on the worker’s foot on top of the steel tip, causing it to sink. Thus, it can cause a real guillotine on the user’s toes.
