A steel-toe boot (also known as a safety boot, steel-capped boot, steel toecaps or safety shoe) is a durable boot or shoe that has a protective reinforcement in the toe which protects the foot from falling objects or compression. Safety shoes are effective in keeping the feet of industrial workers safe from sharp and heavy objects while working in factories.
Safety footwear now comes in many styles, including sneakers, clogs, and dress shoes. Some are quite formal, for supervising engineers who must visit sites where protective footwear is mandatory.
Some brands of steel-toe footwear have become fashionable within subcultures such as skinhead, punk, and rivethead. While brands that were previously renowned within the fashion industry have also diversified into the safety footwear market, industrial brands like Caterpillar, Rock Fall and JCB have also issued licenses to produce safety footwear.
Safety criteria
Asia
Safety shoe standards in Asia are: China: GB 21148 & An1, An2, An3, An4, An5 Indonesia: SNI 0111:2009 Japan: JIS T8101 Malaysia: SIRIM MA 1598:1998 Singapore: SS 513-1:2005 India: IS 15298-I: 2011 test methods, IS 15298–II for safety footwear, IS 15298-III Protective footwear, IS 15298-IV Occupational Footwear Thailand: TIS 523-2011
Europe
The International Organization for Standardization provides the European standard for safety footwear. The current one is ISO 20345:2011 - previously ISO 20345:2004.
The codes applicable to European safety footwear are:
There is also EN ISO 20346:2004 for protective footwear (must comply to basic safety requirements but toe cap impact resistance requirement is lower - 100 Joules) & EN ISO 20347:2004 for Occupational Footwear (must comply to basic safety requirements with antistatic or slip-resistant properties. This standard does not require a protective toe cap)
North America
Canada
In Canada, the most common standards used by employers are those of the CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association; CSA), published in CSA standard Z195. These standards are similar to the ASTM International standards commonly used in the United States but the testing methods do vary.
CSA standards on shoe labels feature distinct shapes and colors, represents specific safety criteria for all safety footwear and apparel: Green triangle with CSA symbol - Sole puncture protection with a Grade 1 protective toe. (Heavy work environment: construction; machine shops; where sharp objects are present) Yellow triangle with registered symbol - Sole puncture protection with a Grade 2 protective toe. (Light industrial work environments) White rectangle with orange Greek letter omega and CSA symbol - Soles that provide electric shock resistance, with Ω (capital omega) being the symbol for ohms of electrical resistance. (Any industrial environment where live electrical conductors can occur) Yellow rectangle with green letters "SD", a grounding symbol and CSA symbol - Capable of dissipating an electrostatic charge in a controlled manner. (Any industrial environment where a static discharge can be a hazard for workers or equipment) Red rectangle with a black letter C, grounding symbol and CSA symbol - Soles that are electrically conductive. (Any industrial environment where low-power electrical charges can be a hazard for workers or equipment) White label with green fir tree symbol and CSA symbol - Provides protection when using chainsaws. (Forestry workers and others required to use a chainsaw) Blue Square with CSA symbol - Grade 1 protective toe only. (For all other environments not listed above)
Generally, a safety shoe is a shoe that follows at least one of five criteria. The criteria that a safety shoe adheres to can be found by looking for the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) alphanumeric code found inside the shoe. This code is made up of a combination of 5 different symbols: 1, 2 or 0; P or 0; M or 0; E, S or C; X or 0.
