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SB standard: safety shoes

The EN ISO 20345 standard concerns safety footwear in Europe. It was updated in 2011. It requires the presence of a protective tip that resists energy or pressure force up to 200 joules. Different classes are under this standard, then there are the additional standards. safety shoes for women and men must be tested before being certified EN ISO 20345. The different footwear standards do not provide the same level of safety for the user.

Various risks are included in this standard, depending on the trades and the needs in terms of protection. These include slip resistance, mechanical and thermal risks.

The SB class

The SB-standard shoes are equipped with a safety toe cap, a non-slip sole. These are basic requirements which consist of protecting the toes at 200 J/15kN. Wearing shoes subject to the EN ISO 20345 SB standard is suitable in a dry working environment and on flat ground.

The tip or the protective shell

The toe cap can be metallic (made from steel or aluminum) or non-metallic (made from polycarbonate or composite). For safety shoes meeting the EN ISO 20345 SB standard, non-metallic toe caps are more advantageous because:

  • They are 20% lighter;
  • They conduct cold and heat less;
  • They are resistant;
  • They are painless.

Understanding the Joule unit

The Joule unit corresponds to a force of pressure or energy that can be measured according to the mass of an object and the height of the fall.

When the height is high, so is the fall speed. The force of pressure of the same object varies with its height of fall. It is this force that is expressed in joules.

For EN 345 ​​footwear with a toe cap resistance equivalent to 200 joules, the weight of the object is 20 kg and its fall height is 1 m.

In the event of a crush, i.e. the fall height is 0, the 200 J toe cap resists an energy equivalent to 1,500 kg.

Note that shock due to a pressure force can damage the shell. In this case, the shoe no longer meets the standard. The replacement of safety shoes is therefore imperative for worker safety.

What is a shoe upper?

In each shoe, there is the part called the upper, to locate the place for you, it is the upper part of the shoe, the whole part without the sole. Tests are carried out on this part of the shoe to ensure the fundamental requirements that are expected of an SB safety shoe, in the same way the materials that make up the upper also pass tests such as that of abrasion, permeability or even tearing.