People who work in laboratories face a wide range of daily workplace challenges that make choosing the right personal protective equipment (PPE) extremely important. With the right PPE, employers can minimize workplace accidents and significantly improve employee well-being, which in turn will have a positive effect on performance and productivity. However, selecting the right PPE is not an easy task. In this article, we explain which factors are important to consider for appropriate product selection.
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PPE should be selected based primarily on the hazards of the workplace. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), laboratory workers are exposed to several hazards including:
When working in the laboratory, concentration is key, so ensuring your PPE does not distract from your performance is paramount. In order to achieve this, it is fundamental to analyze the conditions in the laboratory and to take a closer look at application. For instance, selecting the wrong coating for safety glasses might cause the lenses to fog up which can create disturbances and reduce the focus on the task, which in turn might lead to errors, accidents, and lower compliance. In the case of coating selection, several external factors must be considered such as:
When thinking about fit, the first and most vital thing to remember is that one size does not fit all. Most protective devices are available in multiple sizes and care should be taken to select the proper size for each employee. The wrong size can create discomfort and reduce the performance of the PPE. For instance, respiratory masks that don´t have the proper fit can create leakages, reducing the wearer´s protection.
In the case of safety footwear, the width of the shoe is also an important factor to consider but one which is unfortunately often forgotten. Tight shoes can cause nerve entrapment in the foot, which can lead to pain, discomfort, and numbness. Wearing shoes that are too tight for long periods of time can also damage the intermetatarsal nerves (metatarsus) and lead to the development of a relatively common benign fibrous tumor – Morton’s neuroma.
Finally, sustainability is a factor that is becoming more and more important for product selection. After all, when it comes to safety, it´s not only about protecting our employees but also our planet and future generations. There are many factors that must be reviewed on this point, both at the product and the production level, including:
Always remember to review these five essential factors when choosing the appropriate PPE to ensure that you are reducing workplace hazards and improving employee well-being, which will result in performance and productivity increases.
https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHAlaboratory-safety-guidance.pdf
Did you know about the 5 Step Safety Shoe Check before purchasing new safety footwear?!
A study by Marr & Quine () many years ago about 321 surveyed workers revealed their major complaints about their safety footwear were that they were too hot, the insole wasn’t flexible, too heavy and the steel cap put too much pressure on the toes.
I have been focused and passionate about caring for workers who wear safety footwear. I’ve said many times verbally and written that this type of work I regard as an endurance sport. I have encountered many safety shoe wearers and I am confident on my unofficial survey that incorrect footwear fitting and selection is a one of the major causes of foot pain. Although the workplace conditions, labour and activity certainly contribute to lower limb and foot pain, I would like to focus on providing advice on how to choose and buy safety footwear.
BACKGROUND OF SAFETY FOOTWEAR
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Safety footwear undergo vigourous assessment and testing so that they can be approved under a country’s safety standards. Safety shoes go under certain Australia and New Zealand’s safety standards such as AS/NZS.3, AS/NZS.4, AS/NZS.5 and EN – ISO (Class I S1 SRC)
Safety shoes standards and information are marked on the tongue (which is the ‘metatarsal guard’ – the loose material that protects the top of your foot) and must have the size, manufacturer’s information, date of manufacturer, approved standard number and year. The extent of testing and assessment covers the following components
Not all footwear undergo every test above as they are all tested based on the requirement of the workplace. That’s why there are 3 common types of safety footwear which are occupational, protective and safety. Occupational generally covers non-slip properties and are usually preferred for hospitality and retail while safety involves protective toe caps.
It’s a whole lot of testing to be done on these shoes. I wonder if you knew this.
We usual do the finger space test when trying on regular footwear such as joggers and oxfords by pressing down at the toe box to feel wear your toes are. If the shoe has a solid safety toecap, you can’t press your finger at the toebox to make sure a fit, you must take the insole out, stand on it and have a rep check that there should be a 12-15mm gap or a thumb gap from the end of insole to your longest toe. By having this done right, it’ll mean that your toes won’t be impacting the safety toecap which does cause many common toe problems such as ingrown and bruised nails.
A vital tip! When trialling new safety footwear, please try them on with your regular work socks because some workers enjoy wearing thicker cotton socks for padding which adds more bulk to your foot.
If you notice that your foot is causing a stretch, that is if your foot is hanging over the midsole then a different style of boot is required. If your foot is tight but the whole foot is sitting on the midsole (with no overhanging sides of the feet) without the stretch then a half-size larger is needed.
Put the boot on and flex the toes on the ground, where the toebox or the nose of the shoe has it’s bending angle – this is called the flex point. The ball of your foot should be positioned over the flex point. Having a boot that’s too rigid and little flex point will stop you from walking comfortably. This would mean you have to compensate and apply additional muscle recruitment to get the basic movement of walking!
Safety footwear should not feel tight over top of the foot. You can either feel this is too tight with the metatarsal guard/tongue and laces putting too much pressure on the top of the foot. If this is the case then you may need to go up a half-size larger
The shoe should not feel too loose over the top of the foot. If you can lace the boot with the gap between the laces close together then you’ve gone a size too big or the style is too deep. Find a different one style.
There are certainly more factors to consider such as temperature, weight and height of the footwear but that’s the matter of your shoe rep or guide to advise you of the different material weight and properties before you buy. Certainly the introduction of composite and fibreglass toecaps has made safety footwear much lighter. But remember golden step 1 – ask your Occupational Health and Safety officer what is required of the workplace!
If you’re a company and business that requires your employees to wear safety footwear and you would like to discuss a Podiatrist workplace assessment and health and wellness programs, please fill out the contact form below and we will respond promptly. I look forward to working with you.
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