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Any individual working in warehouse operations, moving operations involving heavy equipment, work involving close contact with large animals, and jobs requiring work with certain chemicals should consider the hazards from dropping or having heavy objects fall on their feet. Many workers take the precautions necessary to protect their hands and face, but too often neglect protecting their feet. Open-toed shoes and sandals do not belong on a hazardous jobsite. In order to prevent serious injury from falling objects never expose your feet – wear steel toe shoes. You can wear open toed or unprotected shoes or sandals to and from work, in the office, or during your lunch break but never on the job site.

Protective footwear is required by OSHA for any employee working in an area where injuries could occur to the feet from falling or rolling objects. The legal standard for protective footwear comes from OSHA’s Occupational Foot Protection Standard, 29CFR 1910-136. This standard states that protective footwear shall comply with the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Z41-1991 Standard. The ANSI standard requires specific compression and impact testing on steel toes in protective footwear. it also states, “the steel toe should be incorporated into the construction and be an integral part of the footwear.”

Toe guards are an alternative to steel toe shoes. Toe guards cover the toes on the outside and are usually secured by strapping. The OSHA standard states that footwear shall comply with the ANSI Z41.1 or shall be demonstrated by the employer to be equally effective. Most manufacturers of toe guards test their toe guards to meet the ANSI requirements for impact and compression testing thus making them equally effective.