Toeing Up To Footwear
by Allen Cooley
Many newspaper-production employees already are—or should be—wearing protective footwear. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's personal protective footwear regulation, 29 CFR 1910.136, states that "the employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses protective footwear when working in areas where there is a danger of foot injuries due to falling or rolling objects, or objects piercing the sole, and where such employee's feet are exposed to electrical hazards."
The key phrase for newspapers? "Where there is danger of foot injuries due to falling or rolling objects, or objects piercing the sole."
The 1991 American National Standards Institute standard, 1991 Z-41, describes the requirements for approved personal protective footwear. Newspaper-safety personnel must not only be aware of the hazards involved at the newspaper, but also understand the ANSI requirements. Just because a pair of safety shoes is labeled "ANSI-approved" does not mean they offer anything more than the minimum requirements of impact and compression resistance.
Protective shoes with impact protection are required for carrying or handling materials such as newspaper bundles, objects, or tools that could be dropped, as well as other activities where objects might fall onto feet. Shoes with compression protection are required for work around manual material-handling carts, skids, paper rolls and heavy metal parts, all of which can roll over an employee's foot.
If employees are exposed to nails, tacks, scrap metal, staples or heavy wire, they are required to have additional puncture-resistant safety shoes. Further, metatarsal protection is required for work around heavy newsprint rolls suspended on racks or suspended pallets.
Many pressroom, reelroom, loading dock and distribution-center employees are exposed to heavy tools and equipment, such as pallet jacks and lift trucks, as well as heavy rolling objects such as newsprint rolls. Workers in these areas should be wearing ANSI-approved footwear for at least impact and compression resistance, but possibly puncture and metatarsal protection as well.
The issue of who pays for personal protective footwear has been a matter of debate in recent months. OSHA chief Charles N. Jeffress recently stated that "employers are in a better position to select and provide the correct equipment to protect against specific job hazards." However, safety shoes are exempt from the OSHA requirements requiring employers to pay for personal protective equipment because they are "personal in nature."
Several newspapers offer an annual allowance to permanent employees required to use protective footwear. Temporary workers are typically given a steel-toe "over-the-shoe rubber" to wear on the outside of the shoes.
Celia Booth, Gannett Co.'s manager of safety and loss-prevention, suggests managers should conduct a cost-benefit analysis. Determine the expense for an average preventable foot injury—and how many shoes this figure would cover. Gannett found the figure to be roughly $690 per employee incident. If a newspaper provided a $50 annual allowance for mandatory safety shoes, preventing one injury would pay for 14 employees' shoes.
Employees at The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch are provided an annual allowance of up to $75; temporary workers receive steel-toe over-the-shoe rubbers. Workers must prove their shoes are ANSI-approved I-75 models to get reimbursed, says Kevin George, the paper's environmental, health and safety manager. Since the program was implemented, no serious foot injuries have occurred at the Dispatch.
At the Chicago Tribune, a "shoemobile" rolls through each of two manufacturing facilities every three months, providing a free pair of ANSI-approved steel-toed safety shoes to all workers once per year. "Our commitment to the shoe program communicates our commitment to health and safety," says Jim Herrman, director of planning and administration.
According to Colleen Garlington, manager of environment, health and safety, the Tribune negotiated substantial discounts with approved vendors, which offer employees more than 50 different shoe styles at no cost. If employees purchase their shoes elsewhere, they are still eligible for reimbursement of a portion of the costs once a year.
The Oregonian in Portland requires all production workers to wear ANSI-approved I-75 safety boots, and provides $99.99 vouchers to purchase them at one of three Portland-area stores. Four years old, the program initially cost $35,000 per year, but costs have fallen each year since average shoe life is 1.5 years.
Employees need only demonstrate that their footwear is worn out or defective to receive another voucher, and most keep their boots in individual lockers since they're discouraged from wearing them offsite.
Allen Cooley is an NAA industrial hygenist. E-mail, coola@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1834; fax, (703) 902-1857.
Know Your ShoesProtective footwear should be considered for the following risks:
There are three different ANSI classifications for impact ratings: 30, 50, and 75 foot-pounds, representing the amount of energy a shoe can withstand from sudden impact. ANSI I-75, which indicates an impact resistance of 75 foot-pounds, is the highest standard. ANSI-approved shoes meet one of three compression designations: 1,000, 1,750, and 2,500 pounds of pressure under test conditions. There are three metatarsal ratings for ANSI-approved footwear for standards of 30, 50 or 75 foot-pounds. Safety shoes come in a variety of fits and styles. Shoes may include features such as pillow collars, padded tongues, comfort notches, inside and outside padding, steel-toe boxes, breathable linings, fiber layers, perforated foam layers, shock-absorption padding, cushion inner layers, and dense outer layers. Safety-shoe vendors appear at annual shows and conferences, including the American Industrial Hygiene Association Conference & Exposition, the American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development Conference and Exposition, the National Safety Council Congress & Expo—and, of course, NEXPO®. |