Footwear for professional use is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) designed and manufactured to protect the worker’s feet from various risks: mechanical (slipping, impact, compression, puncture, cut etc.), chemical (contact with hydrocarbons, mineral oils etc.), physical (moisture, water, heat, cold etc.) and electrical (antistatic properties, conductive properties etc.).
It is subject to the essential requirements set forth by EU Regulation 2016/425 for ergonomics, harmlessness, comfort and efficacy. The protective features of the footwear vary according to the specific needs of use. The selection of the right footwear for professional use depends on its protective features and on the risks in the workplace.
Available in a variety of materials, footwear for professional use is divided into two classes:
Footwear in leather or other materials, excluding shoes entirely in rubber or polymers (e.g., shoes with leather uppers and sole in polyurethane or rubber).
Footwear entirely in rubber or polymers (e.g., boots entirely in rubber or PVC).
Both classifications may also be divided into a further 3 types, based on the protection features:
Safety footwear fitted with protective toecap against impacts with energy up to 200 J or a compression load up to 15 kN (in compliance with European harmonized standard EN ISO 20345).
Protective footwear fitted with protective toecap against impacts with energy up to 100 J or a compression load up to 10 kN (in compliance with European harmonized standard EN ISO 20346).
Work footwear without protective toecap (EN ISO 20347).
All footwear for professional use must comply with some basic requirements concerning duration, comfort and harmlessness of the materials.
They must also guarantee slip resistance with specific protection in relation to reducing the risk of slipping on wet surfaces:
The footwear shall be submitted to a test carried out on a ceramic floor covered with water and detergent. Footwear marked SR is additionally subjected to a test on a ceramic floor covered with glycerine.
Furthermore, additional protections can be provided for specific risks (mechanical, chemical, physical and electrical risks): antistatic properties (A), energy absorption in the heel area (E), perforation resistance of the sole (P metallic insert, PL or PS non-metallic insert), water penetration and absorption of the upper (WPA), water resistance of the footwear (WR) sole resistance to hydrocarbons (FO), sole resistance to contact heat (HRO), cold (CI) or heat insulation (HI), metatarsal protection (M), ankle protection (AN), cut resistance (CR), ladder grip system (LG), scuff cap abrasion resistance (SC).
Finally, there are several protection categories that summarise the most common protective features:
SB: includes 200j safety toecap, durability, material innocuousness and performance, ergonomics and comfort of the footwear, anti-slip protection on a ceramic floor + detergent.
S1: as SB + closed heel area, antistatic properties, energy absorption in the heel area.
S1P: as S1 + penetration resistance with P-type metal layer. S1PL: as S1 + penetration resistance with PL-type non-metallic layer.
S1PS: as S1 + penetration resistance with PS-type non-metallic layer.
S2: as S1 + resistance to penetration and water absorption from upper. S3: as S1P + resistance to penetration and water absorption from the upper and outsole with cleats.
S3L: as S1PL + resistance to penetration and water absorption from the upper and outsole with cleats.
S3S: as S1PS + resistance to penetration and water absorption from the upper and outsole with cleats.
S4: as S1 (only valid for footwear made entirely of rubber or polymer of classification II).
S5: as S4 + puncture resistance of the outsole (P) and outsole with cleats.
S5L: as S4 + puncture resistance of the outsole (PL) and outsole with cleats.
S5S: as S4 + puncture resistance of the outsole (PS) and outsole with cleats.
S6: as S2 + water resistance of the footwear.
S7: as S3 + water resistance of the footwear. S7L: as S3L + water resistance of the footwear.
S7S: same as S3S + water resistance of the footwear.
The protection features offered by the footwear can be understood from the markings on the footwear, providing the following indications:
marking;
shoe size;
manufacturer’s name or logo;
article code;
manufacturing date;
benchmark standard;
symbols and/or category of the protection offered.
Each pair of shoes also comes with an information note indicating the correct methods of use, storage and maintenance, cleaning and/or disinfection/decontamination, explanation of the marking and specific information for certain protection categories.
For specific risk situations, special footwear with specific additional protection is required. This includes footwear with cut protection from portable chainsaw, electrically insulating, for firefighters, ESD.
