Your Safety Footwear Meets the Standard. But Does It Fit Your Workforce?

When an organisation purchases safety footwear, compliance with applicable standards is naturally one of the first considerations. The footwear must provide the protection required for the risks associated with the job.

But there is another question that may receive less attention: Does the footwear actually fit the people who have to wear it?

These are related questions, but they are not the same.

European PPE requirements distinguish product protection from the relationship between the equipment and its user. Regulation (EU) 2016/425 includes adaptation to user morphology among its essential health and safety requirements and refers to adjustment systems or an adequate range of sizes as ways of achieving this. The EU workplace PPE Directive also states, within its scope, that PPE should take account of ergonomic requirements and the worker's health and should fit the wearer correctly after necessary adjustment.

Occupational footwear has to work with different feet

Employees wearing the same model of safety footwear do not necessarily have the same foot dimensions or morphology.

Length is only one part of this relationship. Width, volume and shape can also influence how a particular item of footwear interacts with a particular foot.

This becomes important when an organisation selects footwear from a limited range of models, sizes or widths for a workforce whose feet are naturally diverse.

A 2024 review in Occupational Medicine, covering 27 studies, reported problems associated with occupational footwear including discomfort and problems affecting the foot and other parts of the lower limb. The authors emphasised that occupational-footwear specifications need to consider foot morphology, work biomechanics and the conditions and demands of the activity.

This does not mean that occupational footwear necessarily causes these problems, nor that a compliant safety shoe is unsuitable. It does mean that compliance alone cannot tell an organisation whether a particular shoe fits every person who receives it appropriately.

What happens when the footwear does not correspond well to the wearer?

This question matters because footwear is not simply purchased with ; it has to be worn and used during work.

Research involving 632 safety-footwear users found that fit and comfort were important to both women and men. Sixty per cent of women and 45% of men participating in the study reported their safety footwear to be less comfortable than their regular footwear. The study also identified differences in wearing behaviour between women and men.

France's INRS makes a similar practical point from an occupational-prevention perspective. Its guidance on protection for the feet and lower legs explains that footwear selection starts with occupational-risk assessment, but worker comfort also needs to be considered; otherwise, protective footwear may be unsuitable and therefore not worn. INRS also notes that manufacturers increasingly offer footwear intended for different foot morphologies.

For an organisation, this introduces questions that go beyond purchasing price and certification. Are employees comfortable enough to use the footwear as intended? Are some employees changing size to obtain more width or space? Are employees requesting replacements or choosing another pair themselves? Does the available footwear range adequately accommodate the workforce? And does the organisation currently have the information needed to answer these questions?

Footwear fit can therefore become an organisational issue

An inappropriate foot–footwear relationship may be associated with discomfort and difficulties in use. Research also indicates that occupational-footwear problems can involve adherence to the footwear provided.

Repeated replacement, difficulty finding suitable sizes, employee complaints, footwear that is not consistently worn, or employees purchasing alternatives can potentially create additional cost and management complexity. Where footwear is PPE, substitution also raises an important question: is the alternative footwear providing the protection required for the employee's work?

These consequences should not automatically be attributed to poor footwear fit. Each situation needs to be examined. But they are signals worth understanding.

From footwear purchasing to Footwear Fit Management

Footwear Fit Management connects the relationship between the foot and the footwear with issues that matter to the organisation: people, safety, cost and performance.

Rather than treating footwear as a one-time purchasing decision, it considers footwear fit before selection, when footwear is fitted, and throughout its use. The objective is to help organisations provide more appropriately fitted footwear and maintain better fit throughout the footwear-use cycle.

Through Footwear Fit Management, Oliverland Consulting helps organisations identify potential fit-related issues, make better-informed footwear decisions, and improve how occupational footwear is selected, fitted and managed over time.

The objective is simple: better-fitted footwear for employees and better footwear decisions for organisations.

If footwear fit is a question for your organisation, contact Oliverland Consulting for a discussion.

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References

European Union. Regulation (EU) 2016/425 on personal protective equipment; Council Directive 89/656/EEC on the use of personal protective equipment at the workplace.

Pereira-Barriga J. et al. (2024). A review of the injuries caused by occupational footwear. Occupational Medicine, 74(3), 218–226.

Janson D., Newman S.T. & Dhokia V. (2021). Safety footwear: A survey of end-users. Applied Ergonomics.

INRS. Protection des pieds et des jambes — guidance on occupational protective footwear.