Steel-toed safety footwear

The JMAN,

Thanks for the info. I haven't had an adequate opportunity to talk to the person involved in the accident. I stayed with him in the emergency room until shortly before he was discharged but I didn't think it was the appropriate time to grill him for details. He did say that he had one end resting on the ground so that only one end was suspended. There were no witnesses so I can only guesstimate that the height of the elevated end was roughly 3 to 4 feet.

Again thanks for the info. I will put it to good use.

Andy Peters

Since you were on the scene, your call is the right one (from my perspective) about questioning the injured. However, you will want to get answers before memory starts to fade (or be replaced with what 'should have' happened). You already have the technical answer from JMan - who got a GA vote from me.

I don't know about the newer boots (since 1975) but having nearly lost the toes of my right foot because of a steel toed boot, I have always since used a metatarsal guard. The back edge of the steel insert folded down and cut to the bone when I dropped a 75 lb brake rotor on it. I do have EEE wide feet and that probably changed the contour of the insert.

The jman has the info correct but sounds as if the manner of material handling played a huge role in this incident.

My experience with steel toed boots is with the 2500 crush rated variety. I only broke a toe when I wasn't wearing the steel toed boots and if I was wearing steel toes anything that fell did not fall on the toe.

bwire,

I agree that material handling was probably the root cause of the accident. The bone that may be broken (it is only suspected to be cracked and will probably only be known for sure in several weeks if a second x-ray shows calcification of the bone which would definitively indicate that it was indeed broken) is a metacarpal several inches behind the rear of the steel toe. It does not appear that the steel toe itself was deformed to any degree. Without the steel toe I would venture to say that the entire front half of his foot would have been irreparably crushed and would have had to be amputated (bearing in mind that is a layman's interpretation rather than a medical one.)

I intend to pass around both boots during the next safety meeting I have to demonstrate the effectiveness of steel-toed safety footwear and will place greater emphasis on employees considering the purchase of safety footwear with metatarsal protection.

Thanks for your response.

Andy Peters

I often used a 2" diameter by 14" long round steel bar dropped from waist height onto a steel toed boot with a dummy foot in it as a proof. A steel bar dropped from that height will break bone but won't even bend the steel toe. And I'd tell the crew that if you are wearing the steel toe and get hurt the insurance will cover if not...

It ought to be able to deflect an impact energy of 200J without deformation, i.e. a 20kg weight dropped from about a metre.

The toe cap is able to support a weight much larger than that, provided that the impact energy remains below 200J. An example from from personal experience:

• A 45ft length of railway rail weighing somewhere north of 600kg overturned while it was being moved and came to rest upon the cap of a toe cap boot. The individual wearing the boot walked away without damage to either the boot or the foot when the rail was removed.

PWSlack,

Thanks for the comments. The examples you cited should prove to be useful examples in an upcoming safety meeting.

Andy Peters

In the safety meetings, don't forget to emphasize three things:

1) PPE is the last line of defense against potential hazards. Engineering controls to eliminate hazards comes first, administrative controls to work around hazards comes second. PPE is there to defend against what dangers cannot be otherwise removed from the workplace.

2) PPE is not 'armorall' for the body. Even the best designs, and even when worn properly and appropriately, have limitations which, if exceeded, leave soft body parts to suffer the consequences. NOTHING can protect you completely from all hazards and still allow you to do the work.

3) The single most important piece of safety equipment you have is your brain. Use it to think of how to avoid hazardous situations. Use it to think your way out of those that are unavoidable. Use it to plan ahead for what to do when even that fails. Use it always as something more than a spacer to keep your ears from clapping together.

Stay safe!!!

Agreed, and complacency is the first breach of safety known as brain fade but it becomes habitual so everyone needs to have their own personal safety meeting every day.

Yup. What I tell people is that they need to ensure they go home at the end of each day in the correct number of pieces - a minimum and a maximum of ONE!