What Is the Testing For Steel Toe Boots?
Steel-toe boot is the traditional name for what is nowadays better described as a safety boot. These types of boots now protect the wearer from many perils, not just getting their toes crushed. Type testing of new boot designs is essential to ensure that they are capable of providing the required protection. Does this Spark an idea?
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Why Is the Testing Required?
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The law requires employers to provide their workers with adequate foot protection. National standards define the minimum protection that the footwear must provide, and the employer must be able to demonstrate that the footwear supplied is capable of meeting or exceeding those standards. In practice, employers purchase footwear that has been tested by an independent laboratory and certified as being able to meet the minimum criteria.
The standards do not define how the footwear should be made, it describes the tests which it must withstand. For example, steel-toe boots need not have any steel in them at all; the toe cap may be made out of a composite material, such as carbon fiber, or any other material, provided it can withstand the tests to which it must be subjected.
Testing the Toecap
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Safety boots with steel toecaps were originally invented to protect workers from objects being dropped onto their feet, and of course that is still one of the fundamental requirements for safety boot testing. A standard form of weight is dropped from a standard height onto the toecap; after the impact, the toecap is measured to ensure that any eventual deformation is less than the required limits.
The toecap must also protect the foot from being crushed by lateral forces, such as would occur if the shoe was trapped in a sliding door. An attempt will be made to crush the toecap using a minimum pressure applied by a hydraulic press, after which measurements will be made to check for eventual deformation.
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Testing the Rest of the Boot
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The sole is another important feature of safety boots. It must be capable of withstanding a perforation test that is designed to simulate stepping onto a sharp object such as an upturned nail. Safety boots must be able to withstand heat, and they will also be tested for their long-term resistance to chemical agents such as fuel oil to ensure that the materials used do not degrade prematurely and thus fail to offer the required protection.
Defining the Tests
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All developed countries have national standards organizations that are responsible for defining legally recognized product standards. Increasingly these organizations co-operate at an international level so that the required standards are harmonized across international boundaries.
The tests are continually updated to take account of new technology and trends, and to improve the degree of protection offered. Industrial accident inspectors recommend improvements to specific requirements to reduce the most frequently occurring injuries.
Who Carries Out the Testing
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In order to sell footwear described as conforming to the standards, a manufacturer must be able to demonstrate that the article has been tested in accordance with the standards. Normally this is done by an independent testing laboratory that has been certified by a national standards institution as being competent to carry out the required tests. With national standards being harmonized at an international level, these laboratories tend to certify products as conforming to a number of standards with a single product-testing cycle.
Other References
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Note that it is not possible to link directly to standards, as they are only available as downloads to registered subscribers. So if you are a member, look up the following:
ANSI Z41.1 -- American National Standards Institute standard for general safety footwear.
BS/EN/ISO 20344 -- Defines test methods for safety shoes. These standards are used in Europe and many other countries.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Randy
