Factors that influence safety shoe usage.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cleveland RJ
• Description:
  Factors influencing the wearing of safety shoes were evaluated. A survey was conducted among 1251 employees in six occupations who had sustained foot injuries. In addition, 2005 foot injury cases were assessed from worker compensation agencies. A questionnaire was mailed to these workers; 62 percent responded. The major occupational groups that reported foot injuries were: laborers, 39 percent; operatives, 28 percent; and crafts workers, 27 percent. At least 3 percent or more of total foot injuries were reported by carpenters, mechanics, repairmen, assemblers, welders and flame cutters, machine operators, construction laborers, freight and material handlers, warehouse workers, and general laborers. Of the injured workers, about 77 percent did not wear safety shoes. Safety shoes were not required by the employers in 77 percent of the cases; no instructions for wearing safety shoes were given to 71 percent of injured workers and 54 percent of employers had no policy regarding safety shoes. Over 84 percent of workers had to purchase their own safety shoes; only 10 percent of employers paid the complete cost. About 25 percent of workers said safety shoes were not practical. In 52 percent of injury cases the employer took no action to prevent recurrence of the same type of injury. The critical factor in using safety shoes was employer attitude toward shoe usage. Factors to be considered included amount of protection needed, the need for a metatarsal guard, and the need for puncture protection. The author concludes that if employers take an interest in the basics of foot protection, employees will see the need for safety shoes and the incidence of occupational foot injuries will be reduced. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Equipment-design Foot-protection Industrial-safety-programs Injuries NIOSH-Author Occupational-accidents Protective-clothing; Risk-factors Safety-equipment
• ISSN:
  0099-0027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  26-29
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00140398
• Citation:
  Prof Saf 1984 Aug; 29(8):26-29
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Professional Safety
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d43fd78892e0617cf8c959c1a7506ce66fdb968294f11f6b307f370ecb669381906bd35337e21e05f45acb81e9e679a65dcaaec93481c70acd6436efed02e95e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184747/cdc_184747_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 421.47 KB ]