When it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) most of us are only interested in whether or not it does the job, not how or why it does it. Not a lot is revealed about the equipment itself and how it is developed and produced. To redress the balance Tina Weadick visited safety boots manufacturer Jallatte to find out what goes on behind the scenes.
The colourful wooden sign on the road leading into the small French town of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort rather unexpectedly announces to visitors that they are now entering “the worldwide capital of safety footwear”. In today’s globalised economy there are probably several centres in the Far East which can lay equal, or even greater claim to this title but in terms of history, technological contribution to the development of safety footwear, and continuing dedication to quality it is fair to say that Saint-Hippolyte is not overstating its own importance in this field.
This otherwise unassuming town, which lies in the Languedoc region of south-west France some 30 miles north of Montpellier, was chosen by manufacturer Pierre Jallatte as the site for his first footwear factory in 1947. Set up in the 17th-century military fort which gives the town its name the factory was soon concentrating on the manufacture of safety shoes. It was the first in France to produce footwear with a steel toe-cap – a post-war idea adopted by Monsieur Jallatte from the US – and continues to focus on new technology and product innovation to this day.
In 1974 a second factory was opened in the nearby town of Alès and between the two of them they employ some 200 people from the local area and produce 1.2 million pairs of shoes a year. The company’s director of production, Guillaume Silvestre, explains why – unlike many other Western manufacturers – Jallatte continues to makes its products in France: “There are three main reasons: we can ensure quality via our own rigorous laboratory testing procedures; productivity is high owing to the high degree of automation in the factories; and our advanced technology allows for great flexibility in both the design and manufacturing processes.”
Nevertheless, the company is not completely immune to the attractions of overseas outsourcing: the uppers for its shoes and boots are made in a Jallatte factory in Tunisia, while some also come from India. Silvestre is pragmatic, admitting that it is simply too expensive to manufacture these in France – “labour costs are 15 times cheaper in Tunisia”. He is quick to point out that this does not mean any compromise on quality, as many of the processes, including stitching, are automated and upper materials are just as stringently tested as soles, toe-caps, etc.
Walking the line
It’s fairly safe to assume that most workers, as they pull on their boots or shoes at the start of a shift, don’t give a second thought to the combination of leather, textiles, steel and rubber that helps keep them and their feet safe from slips and trips, penetration by sharp objects, electric shocks, burns from heat sources or chemicals, etc. Following a shoe around the production line gives a real insight into the complicated and fascinating technology that goes into this most important – and, arguably, most widely used – item of personal protective equipment.
At Jallatte, once the uppers come in to the factories in France, the process of putting together the shoes and boots begins in earnest. First of all, a label is stitched on to the upper, which contains such information as brand name and relevant industry standard number. Box labels with barcodes are printed to track the shoe through the production process. An inner lining, for absorbing perspiration, is stitched to the upper – a skill which apparently takes two years to fully master, as it has to be very precisely matched to the upper to make sure alignment is perfect.
Next to be fitted is the reinforced toe-cap. After the sole, this is perhaps the most important feature of any safety shoe, as it helps protect the wearer from crush and impact injuries. Most manufacturers use steel toe-caps but Jallatte is also pioneering the use of ‘composite’ caps, made from glass fibre and resin. Composite toe-caps are very much lighter than steel but, according to Silvestre, they are just as effective. He explains: “We first put 100-joule-standard composite toe-caps in ladies’ shoes about ten years ago. We subsequently developed a 220-joule version, which was very difficult to make, as early examples were large and cumbersome. Now we have a version that is similar in dimension to the traditional steel cap but obviously much lighter.”
In addition to the weight advantage over steel the composite caps also have applications in workplaces in which metal is not allowed – for example, for airport staff. “The Spanish Mint is also a good customer of ours!” laughs Silvestre. The composite caps maintain a steady temperature, in that they don’t heat up and get cold like steel can, and in the event that they do sustain an impact they bounce back to their original shape, unlike steel, which remains dented.
The system used by Jallatte to fit the caps into the shoes is unique, says Silvestre. The shoes are put on specially formed ‘lasts’ (like plastic models of feet) and are locked into place by machine, rather than a person, which helps avoid musculoskeletal problems. The cap is then fitted. In the case of leather uppers, to ensure that the material is supple enough to be stretched around the toe-cap it passes through a humidifier to soften it up. Once it has been stretched over the cap and stuck down the whole thing goes through an oven and is dried on the last.
Steel makes a further appearance in many safety shoes in the form of a mid-sole, designed to help prevent penetration of the foot by nails and other sharp objects. As well as being puncture-resistant the steel mid-sole is also very flexible, to accommodate the movement of the wearer. At Jallatte the process to insert them is carried out by machine to help avoid vibration risks to employees.
Sole session
At this point, the sole of the shoe is fitted. Most manufacturers create and employ various sole technologies because there is no ‘one sole fits all’ solution to safety footwear. For a long time the main emphasis in the industry was on physical protection – from the above-mentioned crush, impact and puncture risks. However, as awareness of these risks increased so did the ability to engineer them out of the workplace but it has proved less easy to reduce slip and trip risks.
Consequently, Jallatte and other safety footwear manufacturers have focused on developing and/or providing sole units designed for particular environments in which slips and trips are a concern. For example, a sole featuring deep treads will be much more effective in, say, an outdoor, muddy environment than a flatter sole designed not to slide on indoor, hard-floor surfaces. Grip is extremely important, as it can be affected so easily by the surface – wet or dry, level or uneven, hard or soft – and the actions of the wearer – twisting and turning, climbing, lifting and carrying, etc.
Jallatte soles are all dual-density – made from either rubber and polyurethane (PU), or two layers of PU – which is said to make them extra-comfortable. This has an important bearing on slips and trips as discomfort can cause an awkward gait in the wearer. This, coupled with the fact that the wearer is likely to be paying less attention to their surroundings and more to the discomfort in their feet, increases the risk of a slip or trip occurring.
In the production process, once the outsole and ‘grid’ layers (if applicable) are applied, the foam-like PU comfort layer is injected by machine. Its quality is checked every hour by squirting an amount into a small paper cup, producing what looks rather like an ice-cream sundae. In its original form the PU is colour-neutral but it can be tinted to whatever colour is required by customers. Says Silvestre: “We used to use many colours but current trends mean that most customers now ask for brown, black, beige or grey. We can still provide crazy colours if requested, though!”
The final component of the sole unit is the shock absorber, which goes in the heel cavity. This is designed and shaped to compress the air under the heel while walking, which provides cushioning and protection for the wearer. Silvestre feels that adequate shock absorption has not always been a priority in safety footwear manufacture, despite the fact that most wearers are constantly pounding around on their feet while at work. He explains: “If shock absorption is not adequate wearers can suffer micro-traumatic shock injuries. While these in isolation are not enough to cause harm they can accumulate over time, to the point where the wearer suffers a musculoskeletal injury.”
The shoes are now removed from the last and sent for finishing and any necessary trimming. They are double-checked to ensure the steel midsole has been incorporated and footbeds, or insoles – with or without arch reinforcement, as necessary – are inserted. Laces are provided for relevant styles and these can be anti-bacterial (for use in cleanrooms, medical environments, etc.) The CE mark is stitched into the shoe on a label that cannot be removed, so the wearer knows the exact specification of the shoe being worn. There is one final check for the steel midsole before the shoe is boxed and labelled, ready to be dispatched, or to go into stock.
Testing, testing
As a result of this process, the Alès factory produces 4500 pairs of safety shoes and boots every day. But maintaining production is not the only concern – testing the products and materials to ensure they comply with the relevant industrial standards is also a full-time job for several employees. Most of them are based at the main laboratory at the Saint-Hippolyte site, which is quite fitting given that it is an old military fort and many of the testing machines look like they were designed to extract confessions from the enemies of Louis XIV!
In order to receive certification to the European Standards relating to footwear (see panel below) all of the company’s products are tested both in its own laboratory and externally, by the likes of CTC (the French independent shoe and leather testing centre) and SATRA, the UK-based industrial testing and research body. Silvestre explains that, rather than produce models specifically for test purposes, Jallatte carries out random tests on ‘real’ shoes taken from the production line. Among the many properties tested for are the following:
* slip resistance – oil on steel;
* puncture resistance of the steel midsole – it must be able to withstand a force of 110kg;
* water resistance of the shoe leather – the shoe is suspended in water and the dry side of the leather has an electrode attached to it. The time it takes for the electrode to light up is the time taken for the leather to be permeated by the water. The leather is also subjected to wrinkle tests and puncture/tear resistance;
* anti-static – the shoe is fitted with a steel ball-bearing and is placed on a copper plate, through which a 1000-volt current is run. To pass, resistance must be under 100mOhm for electro-static discharge (ESD) and over 100mOhm for isolation.
One of the most interesting tests is the impact, or ‘drop’ test carried out on the steel and composite toe-caps (pictured below). The shoe is cut in half to reveal the front toe area and a plasticine ‘plug’ is placed under the cap. A weight of 20kg is dropped on to it from a height of one metre. The plug is removed and any depression in the top of it – which would correspond to any depression in the toe-cap as a result of the impact – is measured. The new EN ISO 20345 stipulates a height for the distance between the insole of the shoe (and where the wearer’s toes would normally lie) and the top of the toe-cap. The height of the plasticine indicates what space is available for the toes under impact and if it is high enough to conform to the standard.
The employees in the testing lab certainly seem to have one of the more fun jobs in safety – it’s almost like a real-world version of a child’s demolition game – but the results of their work are deadly serious. With the development of stricter standards governing safety footwear, and the continuing need to reduce slip, trip and other risks to workers, employers no longer have any excuse not to provide the right foot protection for their workers – whatever environment they work in.
Raising the standards
In September 2004 a set of new European and International Standards (EN ISO) covering professional safety footwear was published by the European Standardisation Committee (CEN) in order to harmonise testing methods and specifications.
The previous standards EN 344, 345, 346 and 347 have been replaced by the new versions, as follows:
* EN ISO 20344 – details the methods for testing safety footwear under the new standards;
* EN ISO 20345 – defines the requirements and performance levels of safety footwear with a 200-Joule toe-cap;
* EN ISO 20346 – defines the requirements and performance levels of safety footwear with a 100-Joule toe-cap;
* EN ISO 20347 – defines the requirements and performance levels of safety footwear with no toe-cap specification
All new products will be checked for compliance with the new standards, but products already tested and certified under the old standards are still valid and can remain on the market without time limit.
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