In a lifetime, a person travels on average a distance longer than four times around the equator. The weight of the entire body is carried by the feet, so choosing the right shoes is crucial. We can find many different manufacturers and suppliers of work shoes on the market. So deciding which type of shoe is right for your line of work can be a big problem. To ease the process of buying work shoes in a world of marketing jargon, acronyms, standards, safety classes and classifications, we've put together this beginner's buying guide so you can make the right decision.
The employer must provide workers with personal protective equipment free of charge.
Based on the Act on Safety and Health at Work - Rulebook on Personal Protective Equipment Used by Workers at Work, page 13467, published in the Official Gazette, employers must provide personal protective equipment to employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health and safety. Which means that employers must provide workers with work shoes and other personal protective equipment free of charge. While this is great news for employees, it can mean a lot of headaches if you don't know exactly what you should buy and what you need for your job.
Learn about work shoe standards
When buying work shoes, it is essential that only these provide complete safety. Therefore, it is important to have a general understanding of the various standards used to describe safety shoes. In the Slovenian market, this generally means that you look at the European test standards written in EN ISO 20344:2011.
EN ISO 20345:2011 is the European standard for safety shoes, which ensures that safety shoes, work shoes and sandals meet the necessary requirements and standards, with a protective cap resistant to impacts of up to 200 joules (equivalent to a 20 kg dropped weight ) and a compression test of 15 KN (equivalent to 1.5 tonnes if gravity is taken into account).
EN ISO 20346:2004 is the European standard for safety shoes, which ensures that safety shoes, work shoes and sandals meet the necessary requirements and standards, where this is lower, namely 100 joules of impact resistance and a 10 KN compression test.
EN ISO 20347:2004 is a European standard for toeless work shoes for commercial use. It can have many features of safety and protective shoes, but without a protective cap, so it is not recommended for use where mechanical impacts may occur.
Once the work boots have been tested and certified, they will carry the CE mark, so look out for this when purchasing work boots without toe caps and work boots with toe caps.
Work shoes with different types of protection available
There are many models of work shoes available to the modern customer, and the easiest way to explain the differences is to divide work shoes into work shoes with a toe cap and work shoes without a toe cap. The biggest difference is in the protective cap that protects the fingers. The cap can be made of steel, aluminum or composite material. Work shoes are used by health workers, policemen, soldiers, in the kitchen and in the habeco industry. Work shoes are divided into low work shoes and high work shoes. Safety shoes have a cap and safety shoes are also divided into low safety shoes and high safety shoes, and they are used against mechanical, electrical, chemical and thermal influences.
Marking Guide for Work Shoes
When buying work shoes, you will see many abbreviations that describe their characteristics. The list below describes the most common abbreviations you will come across and what they mean.
P : puncture resistance of the sole
C : shoe conductivity
A: antistatic properties
I: shoes with electrical insulation
E : energy absorption in the heel part
HI : heat insulation
CI : insulation against cold
WR : water resistance
M : protection of the metatarsal part
AN : ankle protection
CR : cut resistance of the upper part
WRU : resistance of the upper part to the transmission and absorption of water
HRO : heat resistance of the sole
FO : resistance of the sole to oils and fuels (hydrocarbons)
Handbook of safety classes for work shoes
To assess the level of protection or safety standard carried by a particular work boot, look out for the two or three letter code in its name or description. As a basic requirement, protective work shoes for construction site work must have a 200 joule cap. For example, this is called "Safety Basic" (SB). However, there are many other safety standards that work boots can include. Here is a breakdown of the security classes used.
SB: from the English term "Safety Basic", with a protective cap that provides protection of 200 joules and an oil and fuel resistant sole. These are the minimum requirements for work shoes.
SBP: as SB plus bulletproof sole.
S1: as SB plus anti-static properties and fully enclosed energy-absorbing heel area.
S1P : as S1 plus sole puncture resistance.
S2: as S1, plus resistance to water penetration and absorption.
S3 : like S2 plus protective sole and puncture resistance.
S4: protective cap 200 joules protection, all shoes made of rubber or polymer (waterproof), antistatic properties, closed heel area that absorbs energy and resistance to fuel oil and fuel.
S5: like S4 plus protective sole and penetration resistance.
Standards for non-slip shoes
Anti-slip shoes are vital in workplaces where the risk of falling, tripping or slipping is increased. Did you know that slips in the workplace account for more than a third of all serious injuries at work? It is no wonder that anti-slip shoes are increasingly in demand for many professions. When purchasing non-slip work shoes, you will notice that they have their own standards.
SRA : tested on ceramic tiles soaked in a dilute solution of sodium lauryl sulfate (soap).
SRB: tested on smooth steel with glycerol
SRC : tested under SRA + SRB conditions
