EN ISO 20345 Safety Footwear Standard — How to Choose the ISO 20345 Tester

Providing suitable safety footwear to protect feet from workplace hazards is key to ensuring worker safety. If you design or manufacture footwear that needs to meet safety requirements in different parts of the world, you must comply with the ISO 20345 standard.

ISO 20345 is the international safety footwear standard. It specifies the minimum performance requirements for shoes designed to protect against workplace hazards.

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

Special risks are covered by complementary job-related standards, e.g. footwear for firefighters, electrical insulating footwear, footwear protecting against chain saw injuries, chemicals, molten metal splash, and protection for motor cycle riders.

Key highlights of ISO 20345:

Requires 200 joule impact-resistant toe cap

Includes slip resistance testing (SRA, SRB, SRC)

Safety levels such as SB, S1, S1P, S2 and S3

Covers features like antistatic properties, water resistance, and energy absorption

Common safety classes under ISO 20345:

After testing and certification, safety footwear manufacturers will mark EN ISO 20345 compliant products with the standard and CE mark. Products are labelled with a simple two- or three-letter code defining the basic safety characteristics, for example:

SB – Basic safety toe protection

S1 – Adds antistatic, closed heel, and energy absorption

S1P – Includes puncture resistance in dry conditions

S2 – Adds water absorption and water resistance

S3 – Built on S2, with cleated outsole and full outdoor protection

ISO 20345 footwear is commonly used in construction, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, and heavy industry.

1. Clarify Required Test Items

2. Evaluate the equipment

Standard compliance

The equipment must explicitly declare conformity to ISO 20345, while also considering compatibility with other relevant standards such as EN, ASTM, etc.

Accuracy and calibration

Force, displacement, time, temperature and other sensors should come with traceable calibration certificates. Prefer equipment with automatic calibration capability.

Important: The equipment manufacturer should be able to provide initial third-party calibration services or guidance.

Automation and data

Does it feature automatic control, data logging, and report generation? Support for Excel/PDF export facilitates analysis. Network connectivity is a plus.

Safety and compliance

Must include safety guards, emergency stop buttons, etc. Meet local electrical safety (e.g., CE) and electromagnetic compatibility certifications.

3. Suppliers

Select manufacturers with at least five years’ specialisation in safety footwear testing equipment, giving priority to brands that collaborate with SGS, BV and TÜV. Ensure they offer rapid response capabilities (24-hour technical support and 48-hour on-site service) to minimise production downtime. Can the supplier provide installation, training and guidance on testing methods? Do they provide standard operating procedure videos or detailed manuals?

• • Specialist Equipment Manufacturer: Dedicated to producing a comprehensive range of safety footwear testing instruments compliant with ISO 20345 and ISO 20344.
  • Comprehensive Coverage: Equipment for all mandatory safety footwear test items, including toe cap impact, compression, puncture resistance, slip resistance, electrical insulation and water resistance.
  • Solution Provider: Supplies standard-compliant equipment, turnkey laboratory configurations, installation training and after-sales support to footwear manufacturers, quality control laboratories and third-party testing bodies.
  • Compliance and Market Access Support: Assists clients in meeting certification requirements such as EU CE and national standards, for factory quality control and access to international markets.
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