Choosing PPE That Fits the Wearer: What About Occupational Footwear?

When an organisation selects personal protective equipment (PPE), compliance with the required protection standards is naturally essential.

But PPE selection does not necessarily stop at compliance.

Guidance from the French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) emphasises that PPE selection should take into account the nature of the risk, working conditions and the characteristics of the wearer, including morphology. It also recommends involving workers in the selection process and allowing them to test equipment before a final choice is made.

This principle is particularly clear for some types of PPE. Respiratory protective equipment, for example, needs to be appropriately fitted to the user's facial characteristics for the intended protection to be achieved.

But what about occupational footwear?

One type of PPE, different wearers

Within a company, fire and rescue service, police organisation or operational unit, many people may be issued the same model of footwear.

Yet their feet are not the same.

Foot length is only one dimension. Width, volume, instep characteristics and overall foot shape can also vary considerably from one person to another.

When occupational footwear is selected for a group of workers, how do we know whether it is also appropriately fitted to the feet of the individuals who will actually wear it?

This does not question the importance of protective standards. Instead, it introduces another consideration into the selection process: the relationship between the equipment and its wearer.

When wearers identify a problem

A report concerning station footwear within the French fire and rescue service SDIS 33 provides an interesting real-world example.

The boots and duty footwear discussed in the report were PPE complying with NF EN 15090 and were regarded as effective for the operational protection for which they were intended.

However, the review was prompted in part by repeated feedback from firefighters who considered their boots or duty footwear heavy and uncomfortable during prolonged wear.

The report also noted that the footwear was being worn throughout the working day, including during administrative activities, vehicle cleaning and meals—not only during emergency operations.

This highlights an important issue in PPE management: equipment may be appropriate for a particular protective function, while its actual conditions of use, duration of wear and relationship with the individual wearer can raise additional questions.

The report also describes a podiatrist's observations concerning adjustment around the instep. According to the account, insufficient adjustment could allow the foot to move forwards inside the boot, while a wearer with a higher instep could experience excessive pressure.

This field report does not, by itself, establish that a particular type of footwear causes a specific health condition. It does, however, illustrate why listening to wearers' experiences can reveal issues that may not be apparent when footwear is initially purchased.

When measurements tell another story

Research involving 208 Australian underground coal miners provides another perspective.

Dobson and colleagues used 3D scanning to compare miners' foot dimensions with the internal dimensions of their work boots.

The researchers found that the miners were wearing boots substantially longer than their feet. One possible explanation proposed by the researchers was that boots corresponding to the workers' foot length may have been too narrow.

This finding raises an important footwear-fit question.

Selecting a larger size may appear to solve a width problem. But increasing footwear length does not necessarily create a better overall fit.

This is where relying on shoe size alone has limitations. Size provides useful information, but it cannot describe the complete relationship between the foot and the footwear.

From PPE selection to footwear fit

The INRS guidance, the SDIS 33 firefighters' experience and the study of Australian coal miners come from very different occupational environments.

Nevertheless, they lead to a common question: How can the characteristics and experiences of individual wearers be better incorporated into the selection of the equipment they are expected to use?

For occupational footwear, organisations might begin by asking relatively simple questions.

Does the available footwear range offer sufficient choice for different feet? Can workers properly try the footwear before the final selection? Is their feedback about fit and comfort collected? And what happens when a fit-related issue becomes apparent after several weeks or months of use?

These questions move the discussion beyond the initial purchase decision.

A Footwear Fit Management perspective

This is where Footwear Fit Management offers a complementary perspective.

Footwear fit is not treated simply as a one-time decision made when footwear is purchased. Instead, it considers the relationship between the foot and footwear throughout its use, while recognising that footwear, activities and conditions of use may change over time.

For an organisation, this means considering not only which footwear to purchase, but also whether appropriate choices are available for different wearers, how footwear is selected and fitted, and how wearer experience is evaluated over time.

Compliance remains essential.

But once compliant PPE has been selected, another question is worth asking: Do you know whether the footwear is appropriately fitted to the person wearing it?

Oliverland Consulting works with organisations to explore questions such as these through Occupational Footwear Fit Management.

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References

INRS. Protection individuelle – Ce qu'il faut retenir. Institut national de recherche et de sécurité.

SDIS 33 / CHSCT representatives. Chaussures de casernement au sein du SDIS 33 – Proposition pour une étude sur des chaussures de casernement.

Dobson, J. A., Riddiford-Harland, D. L., Bell, A. F. & Steele, J. R. (2018). The three-dimensional shape of underground coal miners' feet do not match the internal dimensions of their work boots. Ergonomics, 61(4), 588–602.