Hopefully quite a lot when walking on slippery ground or on a brash mat.

Our ’Plant Your Feet‘ programme is currently in development with the aim to help us reduce the amount of serious injuries caused from slipping and falling on site. As part of the programme, we are commencing a trial of boots with an open tread pattern on the sole that we hope will perform well.

Aside from slips and trips, footwear also provides protection in a variety of other ways. For many in our industry, the prime protection required by their footwear is from a chainsaw. It is also important that boots provide protection from the wet. A good quality boot will also offer good ankle support to protect against ankle twists and safeguard our toes with protective toe caps in the event of stubbing our toe or dropping a heavy object.

But what protection are we afforded from penetrating objects underfoot?

A recent injury highlighted the issue of sharp penetrating objects underfoot on site. An employee received an injury to their foot when walking a new fence line to undertake an inspection. Unseen in the vegetation was some of the old fence which pierced the side of their boot and went into their foot. Injuries such as these carry risk of infection alongside the physical wound. In this instance a protective mid-sole in the boot wouldn’t have provided protection at the location where the wire pierced the boot, but they can offer protection where a sharp object is most likely to strike, from underneath.

We ask quite a lot from our work boots. All of the above, to fit a variety of foot shapes, and to be comfortable for all day use. How much do you consider all these criteria when selecting your boots?

Look out for our announcements as we progress our ‘Plant Your Feet’ initiative.

 

Remember:
• Select your footwear based on the foreseeable risks you wish to protect against.
• Always wear the right footwear for the ground conditions on site.
• Consider your route across site and where you place your feet. Footwear can only do so much to protect you.