Non-slip Boot Safety Standards Are Changing

Safety footwear standards have undergone significant changes, including updates to classifications, testing, and markings. This blog focuses on slip resistance, which is arguably the most affected by the EN ISO 20345:2022 updates.

If you are in charge of Health and Safety in your organization, you must be aware of the most recent slip-resistance data. This knowledge will be useful when specifying and requesting non-slip safety boots from your suppliers, as it will allow you to identify the specific footwear you need to improve your team's stability and safety. But, before we go any further, consider why slip testing is so important for workplace footwear.

1. What is the significance of slip resistance testing?

The answer is, unfortunately, straightforward. Slips and falls are the most common non-fatal workplace accidents, accounting for more than one-third of all recorded accidents. Furthermore, 95% of major slips result in broken bones, causing significant distress and time off for victims but having a serious impact on performance and productivity for employers.

The average slip results in 8.5 lost days of work (a period that, according to Safety Mats, generates an average total cost of £19,000), and the HSE estimates that slip accidents cost employers more than £500 million per year.

2. Why have slip-resistance requirements changed?

The safety standards have changed for a variety of reasons, but the overarching goal of the update is to make things safer, given the alarmingly high figures above.

The changes are intended to make slip-testing a more precise and accurate process.

Slip-safety testing will reflect more realistic or real-world conditions.

Markings on safety footwear will be more visible, resulting in less confusion.

3. Standards for slip resistance from the past

Safety footwear was assigned a slip rating of SRA, SRB, or SRC in the old EN ISO 20345:2011 standards based on its grip performance on specific treated surfaces. This grip standard is known as the 'friction coefficient.'

SRA. This rating is given to footwear that meets the friction coefficient standard on a soapy ceramic tile surface.

SRB. This rating is given to footwear that meets the friction coefficient standard on an oily steel surface.

SRC. The highest slip resistance rating a shoe or boot can receive if it passes both the SRA and SRB tests.

4. What has changed?

Markings

The old slip resistance markings 'SRA', 'SRB', and 'SRC' have been removed from the new standards. Because slip resistance is regarded as such an important feature of general safety footwear (recall the slip accident statistics at the beginning of this piece), it is now considered mandatory and will not bear a mark.

Manufacturers have the option of performing an additional slip test, which if passed allows footwear to be labeled with an 'SR.' Click here for safety shoes.

Surface

The steel surface will no longer be used for slip resistance testing; instead, both mandatory and optional SR tests will be performed on a ceramic tile surface. However, the contaminant solution has changed: sodium lauryl sulfate will be used in the mandatory test, while glycerine will be used in the optional 'SR' slip test lubricant.

Area

A final change is in the area where the footwear is tested. Instead of the shoe or boot's flat, the heel and forepart will now be tested.

Ladder grips

This new marking code is derived from the firefighter standard (EN 15090) and will be denoted by the symbol 'LG' to indicate that the boots' sole tread engages with ladder rungs for additional grip and stability when working at height.

Many Nobler footwear users have already benefited from this type of grip on our products, as our IGS and STS sole units have included ladder grips that meet firefighter standards since 2016.

Your obligation as an employer

It is the employer's legal responsibility to ensure that employees are adequately protected from the hazards of their workplace, so you must ensure that if there are slip risks present, the boots you've provided can provide the necessary grip and traction to maximize your team's safety.

If you are a distributor of safety products,

If you supply safety footwear to a company, you must stay current on slip resistance testing and coding. This knowledge will assist you in advising your customers on how to keep their teams safe while also ensuring that the information in their tender documents or catalogs is up to date.

We can help

If you need help reducing slip hazards in the workplace or finding the right type of non-slip safety boots for your employees, we can assist. We've worked with companies across many industries for many years, using our passion and expertise, to help reduce workplace accidents and advise them on the most appropriate safety footwear, so get in touch: we'll get you from slip to grip in no time. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.