Protecting Your Feet With Safety Shoes Whilst In The Workplace

Workplace Safety and Safety Workwear To Improve It...

Working in a demanding environment whether it be in a factory, outside landscaping or in the comfort of your own home, one of the major risks employees and employers will be cautious of is the risk of an accident occurring. It is estimated that there were 1.1 million workplace accidents recorded during 2011/2012, with an estimated £13.4 billion being spent on treatment. They seem alarming figures, and rightly so. There are 7 major causes of workplace accidents, which include taking shortcuts, being over confident. ignoring safety procedures, mental distractions, poor housekeeping, starting a task with incomplete instructions and failure to pre-plan tasks. The majority of workplace accidents can easily be avoided with the correct health and safety regulations being introduced to the workplace along with the use of safety workwear and safety shoes.

The Importance of Safety Clothing & Safety Shoes...

I cannot stress enough the importance of safety Workwear and safety shoes. In the work place the likelihood of an accident occurring is high if the correct risk assessment and procedures are not followed. Along with the standard health and safety regulations, workplace safety clothing should be mandatory to reduce the likelihood of such accidents happening.

When in the workplace, employees carry out a number of manual tasks daily, whether it’s outside in the unpredictable UK weather, in a factory, whilst on the road or even in the office. All it takes is a loss of concentration and an injury could happen. Industrial workplace injuries tend to be more dangerous, as workers could be working with chemical substances, operating large machinery, using industrial tools such as electric saws or driving heavy goods vehicles. Workwear such as hard hats, high visibility vests, overalls, gloves, safety glasses and safety shoes (steel toe-capped) would and should be worn at all times whilst working in these environments.

As with the majority of topics there are benefits and limitations associated with wearing workwear and safety shoes in the workplace. Here is a list of a few…

Benefits

- Possible Prevention of an accident occurring (pretty obvious really).
- Reduces the risk of exposure to injury or death to yourself due to the actions of others.
- Ensures that Health and Safety Regulations are followed in the workplace, thus encouraging others to do so.

Limitations

- Protective workwear and safety shoes will only protect the individual wearing it, and not other employees in the workplace.
- Protective Workwear will only prove effective if the correct items are chosen for a certain tasks, and are properly fitted, used and cared for ad instructed.
- The choice of workwear can compromise mobility, visibility and communication between individuals.

When it comes to selecting safety clothing and safety shoes to carry out tasks, there are a number of things to consider, and may require a little bit of research in order to ensure that you are fully protected in the workplace. Normally, your employer provides protective workwear and safety shoes, but if not, here are some aspects you may want to consider when choosing items…

Size – Ensuring that Workwear and safety shoes fit correctly will reduce the risk of clothing getting caught in machinery, it will also ensure that particles do not bypass gaps in safety glasses, and gloves that fit will ensure that chemicals do not come into contact with skin.

Brand/Manufacturer – Carrying out some research on manufacturers of Workwear and safety shoes will give you the best idea as to which items will be best suited for your work, in addition to this, you can also obtain useful information on how to correctly wear the equipment whilst working.

Item Durability – Always read the items specifications to ensure that they can perform at optimum performance for the task you are carrying out. Some items of protective workwear may be better suited for specific tasks, and wearing items that aren’t suitable could increase the risk of an accident occurring.
So when it comes to protecting yourself in the workplace, always ensure that the health and safety regulations are followed, and that the appropriate workwear and safety shoes are worn at all times, as you never know when an accident may happen.

This post was written by Samara Weidmann