Winter is officially here. Depending on where you are in Canada, snow has finally started to fall and actually stick to the ground, and outdoor working conditions have become less pleasant for many. There are a lot of seasonal safety measures that need to be considered by construction workers and management.
Perhaps the best place to start when thinking winter construction safety is at the bottom – from the ground up so to speak. And looking at the ground, the first thing that comes to our minds at Norsteel Builidings is appropriate winter safety work boots.
Winter Safety Work Boot Buying Tips
Perhaps the most important thing to consider when choosing winter work boots is that safety boots have a steel toe to prevent sharp objects from piercing through the boot and into your toes. It can also to some extent prevent the crushing of the toes if a heavy object were to drop. There is also a steel shank in work boots to prevent the bottom of feet from being impaled by nails or other sharp objects. The steel toe and shank in work boots is one of the most important features of a work boot. In winter, however, this can also be the source of a lot of discomfort and possibly even pain. This is because the steel will conduct cold into the boot. Even with proper work socks, this can be a problem in moderate to extreme weather. It is important to purchase winter safety work boots with thermal insulation to counteract this.
An important tip to choosing winter work boots that will be comfortable is to wear your winter work socks when trying on boots. If you wear a pair of socks that are too thin or thick, and these are not the ones you will be wearing every day at work, this can alter the original comfort level you felt in the store.
If you happen to be one of the many who have one foot that is slightly or significantly larger than the other, always fit to your larger foot. You can always compensate for your smaller foot with differing thicknesses in work sock but to squish your foot into a smaller boot is never a good idea.
It may seem counterintuitive to think light and flexible when considering winter work boots but this is exactly what you should do. You are trudging around in your boots all day so you want them to be as light as possible, not heavy and burdening. The leather should also be flexible enough to form perfectly to your feet. This is just as important to your comfort as slip resistant soles are to your safety.
Of course the exact nature of your employment will make the overall difference in which winter work boots that you choose. It is important to make sure that you are buying the right boots for your field and that the boots’ unique safety features for that field of work are Canadian Standards Association (CSA) approved.
These are just a few winter safety boot construction buying tips. If you happen to have any more good buying tips, please leave them in our comments section.
