If you work in the construction industry, in a factory or around heavy machinery chances are you wear safety shoes. Safety shoes have a semi circular ‘clam shell’ of reinforced material built into the toe to protect the wearer from getting hurt by falling objects or heavy items being dropped on their toes. Some of these safety shoes also have a reinforced sole to stop sharp objects piercing the foot, and special types of safety shoe can protect the wearer against electrical shock and static.
Safety shoes don’t always have to be big ugly things. Some manufacturers now make them available in a range of colors and styles, including clogs, boots and even trainers. Formal and smart shoes can also be bought as a safety shoe, which is a great benefit to a worker in a supervisory capacity or a manager who might be juggling site visits with important meetings and wanting a safety shoe that can fit all situations. Riding boots are also available with a steel toe cap now; as jockeys and grooms decided they had finally had enough of broken toes from horses stepping onto their feet.
In many jobs the wearing of safety shoes is mandatory. If a worker is not wearing appropriate safety footwear they may well be infringing health and safety law or policy, and could invalidate the company’s insurance. Therefore it is important the management at the organization is fully aware of health and safety legislation and that they enforce the wearing of safety shoes if and whenever appropriate.
In some places you may see safety shoes being worn where there is no apparent danger. For example if you hang out with Goths, punks or skinheads you will often see Doctor Marten boots or Grinders being worn. These have become part of the sub culture uniform and are more of a fashion statement than a safety feature. Of course these safety shoes, whilst in some eyes being attractive to look at, are mainly a serious piece of kit for workers who need foot protection.
An urban myth suggests that wearing steel toe capped safety shoes can actually be dangerous, as a really heavy object falling on the shoe could cause the steel cap to bend and act like a blade, chopping the toes off inside the boot. However, while this is possible, the reality is that the amount of weight needed to bend and cause the steel toe cap to sever the toes like this would have to be so great that the probability is that the toes would need to be amputated anyway.
Safety shoes have various marks denoting their effectiveness as a protective shoe. These marks differ from one country to another. In the UK a BS or British Standard Kite Mark shows the product has been tested and approved to be of a certain quality. In the USA a range of symbols are used and in Canada a 5 digit alpha numeric code tells you what the shoe is for.
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