Standards

EN ISO 20345 standard specifies basic and optional requirements for safety footwear used for general purpose. It includes, for example, mechanical risks, slip resistance, thermal risks, ergonomic behaviour.

The basic requirements that safety shoes of all protection classes should fulfill cover among others following:

• height of the upper and design of the seat region;

• sole performance, toe protection, leakproofness, specific ergonomic features;

• thickness, tear strength, tensile properties, flexing resistance, water wapour permeability of the upper;

• tear strength, abrasion resistance, water wapour permeability of the lining;

• tear strength, abrasion resistance, flexing resistance of the outsole and interlayer bond strength.

Footwear that fulfill only above mentioned requirements are ranked as SB protection class.

In the table below you can find requirements for further protection classes:

PROTECTION CLASS	REQUIREMENTS
SB	Basic requirements (see above)
S1	As SB, plus Closed seat region Antistatic properties Energy absorption of seat region Resistance to fuel oil
S1P	As S1, plus: Penetration resistance
S2	As S1, plus: Water penetration and absorption
S3	As S2, plus: Penetration resistance Cleated outsole

Please note that every protection class was developed for special conditions: for example, for job in e.g. logistics in a warehouse without any work to do outdoors the S1P class would be a perfect solution as it offers great breathability.

The same is valid for the slip resistance of the footwear. The SRC class is a versatile solution, but maybe SRA or SRB will be enough for you? For more information check the table below:

LABEL	CHARACTERISTICS TESTED	TEST CONDITIONS	FRICTION COEFFICIENT
SRA	Slip resistance on ceramic tile floors with sodium lauryl sulfate solution (SLS)	Forward slip of the heel Forward slip on a flat surface	No less than 0.28 No less than 0.32
SRB	Slip resistance on steel floors with glycerol	Forward slip of the heel Forward slip on a flat surface	No less than 0.13 No less than 0.18
SRC	Slip resistance on ceramic tile floors with sodium lauryl sulfate solution and on steel floors with glycerol	Includes all test conditions cited under a. and b.

There are additional protection features that the safety footwear can offer. For more information check the table below:

Additional requirements for special applications with corresponding symbols

SYMBOL	RISK COVERED	EN ISO 20345					EN ISO 20347
SYMBOL	RISK COVERED	SB	S1	S2	S3	S5	OB	O1	O2	O3
–	Basic	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
P	Penetration resistance*	⍟	⍟	⍟	✓	✓	⍟	⍟	⍟	✓
A	Antistatic footwear	⍟	✓	✓	✓	✓	⍟	✓	✓	✓
E	Energy absorption around heel	⍟	✓	✓	✓	✓	⍟	✓	✓	✓
HI	Heat insulation	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟
CI	Cold insulation	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟
WRU	Water resistance of upper	⍟		✓	✓		⍟		✓	✓
HRO	Heat resistance of outsole (+300 °C/min)	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟
WR	Whole shoe waterproof	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟		⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟
M	Metatarsal protection	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟
FO	Resistance to oil and petrol	⍟	✓	✓	✓	✓	⍟	⍟	⍟	⍟

✓ => Meets the specific requirement
⍟ => Requirement can be met but is not stipulated