How can foot injuries be prevented in the workplace?

Emergencies and accidents can happen anytime at the workplace. Foot injuries can be really stressful and scary for both employers and employees. There can be various causes of these foot injuries and it is important to ensure extra care and precautions must be set to help prevent the foot injuries from occurring. Here are some of the tips to prevent foot injuries at the workplace. 

Choosing the right Footwear to prevent foot injuries

Best workplace injury prevention technique and strategy involves wearing proper protective equipment and safety shoes are vital parts of preventing foot related injuries. Proper footwear is as important as the need to protect your hands and eyes. According to a Labor statistics report, foot injuries can be prevented if workplaces feature safety footwear. Improper footwear can lead to foot discomfort and contributes heavily towards foot related injuries. Poor fitting, high heels and pointed shoes are inappropriate footwear at any workplace. 

There’s no workplace that is immune to foot injuries and the first step to prevention is developing a strategy for your foot problems. Identifying proper footwear is not only important for your foot comfort but also stops aggravating any foot problems. Choosing supportive safety footwear should take precedence over fashionable ones. It is important to take guidance and support from safety footwear manufacturers that can help design safety shoes for your workplace. You can find various safety footwear types available to choose like safety-toed shoes, steel insole shoes, metal instep footwear, metatarsal shoes, electric hazard shoes etc. 

A good quality footwear should have firm grip, freedom of movement at forepart and the shoe must have softening across the instep to prevent it from slipping. Shoe soles must be chosen as per type of flooring at the workplace. Selection of safety footwear also depends on working conditions and must meet safety standards of your jurisdiction.

Best practices to avoid foot injuries at workplace

Apart from wearing the right safety footwear, there are few other best practices that can be followed to avoid foot injuries at workplace

1. Regular work areas must be kept clean by keeping sensitive equipment like mobile pieces, floor cleaners, motorized equipment away. Install safety mirrors in the hallways in the corners to prevent severe accidents due to collision. 
2. Keep the sensitive machines and critical equipment guarded at the workplace by ensuring that the machinery doesn’t cause any accidents or lacerations. 
3. The Work environment must have proper housekeeping by keeping the floors dry and clean along with keeping any hazardous materials off the floor to prevent any fall, punctures or slip to happen anywhere. 
4. Consider choosing a visible color wherever any maintenance job is happening. Cleaning maintenance work must be easily recognizable by employees working anytime. 

According to Occupational health and safety standards, occupational hazards, especially foot injuries can be prevented by choosing the right protective safety shoes that fits the required safety standards.  Using above mentioned best practices and safety measures, you can help prevent most types of foot related injuries at the workplace.