For V12 Footwear, giving our wearers fully certified and rigorously tested footwear is essential, because we want them to have two crucial things: protection and peace of mind.
From the very beginning of production all the way through to the finished boot, we are relentless about going above and beyond the testing requirements. In this blog, we show you how we do it, so our wearers have certified safety footwear that is reliably and consistently safe.
But before we look at testing and certification, let’s remind ourselves of the standards to which safety footwear is tested.
EN ISO 20345
EN ISO 20345 is the European Standard for safety footwear and identifies the basic and optional requirements for general purpose safety footwear.
Footwear under this standard must have a 200-joule toecap and be slip-resistant as a basic requirement.
Other properties which commonly feature in safety footwear include midsole protection, anti-static and water resistance, but these will vary depending on the footwear's specific requirements and hazards the wearer could encounter.
For these added features, additional tests must be passed.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY FOOTWEAR TESTING?
Put simply - it's a legal requirement. Any safety product that is imported and placed on the market with a CE mark must have completed and passed all safety testing and had its CE certificate approved and issued by a notified body.
It’s not just a legal requirement for manufacturers either. The Health and Safety PPE regulation 2016 states that employers must ensure their employees are properly equipped for the work they undertake, according to the EN ISO 20345 safety footwear standards.
A safety boot that has passed a particular safety test means it meets the requirements for a specific application or hazard, and the certification is the proof of this and so can be marketed as such.
HOW IT CAN GO WRONG
Unfortunately, there are still a significant number of poorly performing and non-compliant safety products on the market.
Recently, the BSIF carried out tests on 127 non-member safety products - which included compliance checks and testing to prove they performed as advertised - and the results were shocking. Only 18 (15%) of these products were fully compliant.
Yes - you read that correctly.
The products that failed included:
- An ‘indestructible safety trainer’ that failed the midsole test
- Gloves marketed and labelled as 'cut-resistant' that didn’t pass the cut test
- A safety harness without any user instructions or documentation
PPE like the ones above which are labelled and marketed to protect but are actually not remotely up to the task of keeping people safe is proof that procurers have to be wary of these failing and fraudulent items. You can read more about the results of BSiF's findings in Health and Safety Matters' blog here.
WHO ARE THE BSiF?
The BSiF (British Safety Industry Federation Registered Safety Supplier Scheme) is dedicated to eliminating counterfeit safety products and investigating manufacturers producing safety footwear labelled or marketed in a way that misleads or ‘safety washes.’
We are BSiF associates, meaning we've formally declared that we sell only certified PPE carrying the CE and UKCA mark and matching its safety claims. So, our customers have total peace of mind that V12 footwear is an investment in safe and compliant footwear.
The BSiF have recently launched their 'Check, Select, Protect' programme - an initiative that urges buyers and end-users of safety products to follow a clear process to guarantee the PPE they procure is fit for purpose.
It strongly recommends that businesses buying PPE only procure it from suppliers who are registered BSiF members (like V12) because this means the PPE purchased from this company will have been audited and deemed fully compliant. They also urge those in the market for safety equipment to use the expertise of their supplier to select PPE with the correct safety specification for the requirements of the job to ensure their workforce stay protected.
BSIF CEO Alan Murray puts it best when talking about compromising on safety: "Anyone can sell safety, but you wouldn't buy safety from just anyone."
Find out more about 'Check, Select, Protect' here.
SUBSTANDARD SAFETY
Manufacturers and factories responsible for this type of substandard product can often resort to using cheaper and less effective components in production to save cost. What’s even more dangerous and unethical though is when this financial corner cutting takes place, and the manufacturers continue to claim the product uses certified and superior components that are actually no longer in the boot.
Say someone wearing such mislabelled and mis-certified footwear had their toes crushed by a falling object. Health and Safety would immediately check if the toecap in the boot matched the toecap construction stated in the manufacturer’s technical files. If the two do not match – ie the toecap wasn’t as strong or effective as the certificate claimed it to be - the brand could be liable for thousands or even millions of pounds.
Not that this should be a company’s primary concern, as people’s safety is far more essential, but it’s another reason for safety manufacturers to never compromise on quality, and to retain a full and thorough view of all stages of their supply chain.
And here’s where V12 really step up.
HOW DO WE GO ABOVE AND BEYOND IN TESTING?
TESTING HOUSES
We only use the best testing houses to ensure our products are 100% reliable, and this is generally SATRA, an independent research and testing organisation who work with the highest standards of integrity.
We are one of the few safety footwear companies to carry their exclusive Quality Mark logo, showing that the product is fit for purpose and from a manufacturing environment featuring a rigorous and meticulous inspection and testing programme.
Whether they’re crushed, twisted, flexed or pierced, we ensure our products are put through their paces as comprehensively as possible. Watch the video below to see how V12 boots can protect its wearers to the maximum by being tested to the extreme.
THE BEST MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS
We are passionate and persistent when it comes to offering maximum quality and safety, so we use only the best components and materials and insist on full transparency from our factories during the test sample making process. This means we can:
- Drive down returns
- Drive up customer satisfaction
- Give our wearers peace of mind that they will be reliably protected
- Ensure that comfort as well as safety is guaranteed
Take our metatarsal boot V2180 Invincible as an example.
Before a metatarsal safety boot can be certified and released to market, it must pass the metatarsal protection test, which is notoriously difficult.
In the test, a wax foot shape is placed in the boot and a 20 kg weight is dropped onto the metatarsal area. Because the weight is tapered, it is an extremely concentrated impact. Due to the high-quality materials, the industry experts we worked with and its innovative construction, when it came to the metatarsal test, Invincible’s qualities shone through.
We tested it against 7 other leading met boots, and not only did it outperform the competition, it scored 10% above the required clearance level – an extremely impressive result to achieve. And this wasn’t just the best result: it was an average of the multiple tests the boot underwent.
Another example of how V12 boots give wearers complete peace of mind with complete protection. See the video below for more information on V2180 Invincible’s next level protection.
NO CORNER CUTTING – HOW ELSE WE GUARANTEE PEACE OF MIND
- V12 have always and will continue to invest significant amounts of money, resource and time in ensuring our end product matches the materials and components used in CE testing
- We always ensure strict monitoring and insist on full transparency from our factories during the test sample making process
- We carry out extensive AQL (acceptable quality level) checks to ensure the highest production standards
- We check diligently that the materials and components used in the CE testing samples are from the Tier 2 supplier stipulated in the certification documents
ONE STEP FURTHER – ADDITIONAL TESTING
To give our wearers additional protection, many of our styles have been independently tested on specific real-life surfaces such as Kennedy Grating and scaffold boards in line with the recommendations of the HSE.
This means that wearers working on these particularly slippery areas can rely on the fact that the grip of their V12 boots have been specifically tested on - and are certified to meet - these demanding and hazardous surfaces.
Take a look at the diagram below. We pitted our revolutionary IGSTM sole unit against a competitor common to the industry in a slip test on Kennedy Grating. And there was very clearly only one winner. The IGSTM showed a far superior grip compared to its competitor on this surface.
Want to see how else our safety boot styles did in the other additional slip tests against its competitors? Head to the blog here and find out more. (Spoiler alert – we nailed them all)
THE KEYMARk
This voluntary, third-party European certification mark (The 'Keymark') is owned by CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) and CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation).
The Keymark gives the consumer assurances that initial samples meet the requirements of the European standard for CE-marking, but also that future production conforms consistently to these standards.
HOW WE QUALIFY FOR KEYMARK CERTIFICATION
- Our production facility is audited to guarantee the quality of the product
- On every V12 boot carrying the Keymark, testing is carried out to EN ISO 20345
- Carrying the Keymark means that we are required to maintain quality of production and carry out regular quality control tests
- As part of the Keymark process, SATRA conduct ongoing conformity tests in independent laboratories on random product samples
Key Mark certification gives our wearers further reassurance that our safety footwear is high-performing and reliable.
THE CONFIDENCE OF SAFETY
All of these processes - the rigour and comprehensiveness of our auditing and testing, the focus on high-quality materials and our above and beyond approach to performance gives us the confidence to offer a 200-day warranty on all our footwear. That’s how sure we are that our boots will be high-performing and extremely durable.
So now you know that V12 boots are tested to the maximum, you need to make sure the product you're wearing is right for you and your environment. In our foot health and safety product suitability assessment, we can help you establish the most appropriate safety footwear for your workplace in order to maximise safety and comfort. Interested? Head to the blog below to find out more.
