electricians wearing steel toe boots. This company that I just started working for about 4 weeks ago has a new safety director. A new policy has just been instituted. Everyone must wear steel toes. Should I bite my lip, shut up, and do what I'm told, bite my nails, or in the spirit of Mike Tyson, bite off the safety director's ear? On top of that, I like my Red Wings, and I don't want to give them up.

Don't let me die with my boots on,
Doc

Doc, I hate to say it but I held a company meeting on monday where the first issue on the memo was about wearing steel toe boots. With the OSHA man lurking around the corner and the insurance man hiding in the trees I had no choice but to enforce it. Sorry to give you the boot.

On the boots—any offers by the company to compensate for some of the expense?

{IMO, they do not interfere with any electrical-safety issues.}

steel toes get cold......

to All:
Not only do they get cold in the wintertime in a steel-mill they can be very detrimental to your toes.
They are designed to protect the toes from 'stuff' dropped on them but are not much protection when pressure is applied such as a crushing force from a hydraulic ram such as crane, they can also act like a Guillotine.
I got my toes caught in such a freak acccident and had I not yelled and the operator stopped the crane and reversed direction the Da*%ed steel toe would have cut my toes off as it was I broke 3 of them, I am convinced with regular shoes I would have sensed the pressure earlier.
Freak accidents happen all the time in industry, but they havnt changed their policy and any violation of it the employer can get heavily fined by OSHA.
I am not a great believer in them but I dont like fines either, so until the rules are changed, you are probably stuck,,,,,

-Mark-

The company is going to pay for our boots. This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
This little piggy wore steel toe boots all the way home.

With cold footed regards,
Doc

Watt Doctor,

Here in Detroit we love our Red Wings too!

MikeW

Unfortunately, I have to be the bearor of bad news here. Luckily most of the companies I've worked for used "tech" toes, not steel toes, but I have had to use the steel also.
but look at this letter from OSHA on the subject:

June 18, 1993

Wayne Marryatt
538492 Ellis #1
Huntsville, Texas 77343


Dear Mr. Wayne Marryatt:

The Directorate of Compliance Programs received your undated letter on June 15 that requested information about protective footwear>>.

OSHA does not generally consider the wearing of steel-toe shoes by electrical tradesmen to be hazardous, so long as the conductive portion of the shoe is not in contact with the employee's foot and is not exposed on the outside of the shoe. One option you and your employer may wish to consider is the purchase of safety <<footwear>> that has been manufactured in accordance with section 4 "Electrical Hazard <<Footwear" of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z41 document. Enclosed are copies of the OSHA and ANSI standards that are applicable to your inquiry.

Your letter has been forwarded to the OSHA Regional Office that has the jurisdiction for your workplace.

Should you need further assistance the OSHA Regional Office, VI, is located at:

525 Griffin Square Building
Room 602
Dallas, Tx. 75202
214-767-4731.


We appreciate your interest in employee safety and health.

Sincerely,

doc,always enjoy your posts.I work for hl&p we must wear steel toed and puncture resistant. this consists of a stainlees steel insert sewn into boot sole.nice conductive medium while climbing in high voltage areas.

Possibly applicable hits at: google.com/search?q=red+wing+steel-toed+boots

Mr. Mike W,
Congrats to y'alls Red Wings. I will state for the record that if I tried to put my foot into the type of Red Wings that you are refering to, I would not only get my front teeth knocked out, but would have to sit in the penalty box for an undisclosed amount of time.

bobc,
Many thanks, and the pleasure of posting here is all mine. I have the greatest respect for you, and all at HL&P (except the billing department ).

No dental work required here,
Doc

No steel toes here, my work boots are Reebok tennis shoes. Maybe I should, but I don't require any special footwear for my employees. We mainly do residential work and I've never seen anyone from OSHA.

When I was estimating, and in the office all the time, I wore shorts and tennis shoes everyday. Then I got my present job, and had to go back to jeans and work boots.
Eagle,
Tennis Shoe Electric. I love it. You think that you could get Reebok to sponsor you? The official shoe of Tennis Shoe Electric. I see it in Neon Light, and plastered on the side of a fleet of service trucks.

Dead on my feet,
Doc

All joking aside, when you are visited by OSHA and handed a fine that will negate or exceed the money you would have made on the whole job,(or more than one job) you will take notice. I have personally seen this happen to a small residential contractor. I'm not trying to scare anyone, but this 7 man outfit had never been visited by OSHA on a job before either. I work for a pretty large company and we are visited two or three times a year. We employ a full time safety director to keep our jobs and employes compliant. Even with this expense, it keeps our insurance, workers comp, and OSHA expenses down. We have never required our construction electricians to wear steel toed shoes, although our industrial electricians and motor shop personel yes.

Roger

From another prospective,
I used to work as an electrician some years ago. to this day I still have 5 toes on my left foot that wouldn't be there had I not been wearing my steel toes. Yep they were cold and uncomfortable, but sitting here wiggling my toes reminds me that it was well worth wearing the shoes.

Don

Rog, dlabrenz,
You'll have to forgive me for playing the jokester, and I must agree that this is a serious matter. I'm just trying to livin' it up a bit. Old habits die hard, and I will conform to the rules. Just let me kick and scream alittle bit, and we'll all be happy about it in the end.

Seriously,
Doc

Minor links--

"SAFETY TOE Hy-Test offers the SEMC® (Structurally Engineered Moldable Composite) safety toe, designed to retain heat better in extreme conditions. The lightweight, non-metallic toe is constructed to be more impact-resistant in cold temperatures and does not conduct electricity. It exceeds ANSI standards. Hy-Test Safety Footwear, Rockford, MI." http://www.ishn.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,2162,15216,00.html
http://www.ce-mag.com/suppliers/co/162/16276.html
http://www.hytest.com/
www.lehighsafetyshoes.com/

huh?wha????
my luck i'd be stuck hangin' like a bat off a bussway.....

Sounds like green-tractor boots are right up there with the miracle QuackRay Ionitropic bracelet.

“It’s NOT magnets and it’s NOT copper!” “Test performed by licensed medical professionals.” “Individual Results May Vary.”

[This message has been edited by Bjarney (edited 06-23-2002).]