The ASTM F2413-24 is a key piece of legislation setting up legal requirements around the provision of protective footwear for employees. Maintained by OSHA in the U.S. and ASTM internationally, complying with ASTM F2413-24 is essential not only for avoiding fines and punishments, but more importantly for ensuring a person’s safety in their workplace.
Note that if your business operates in Canada, you’ll need to be reading about the CSA Z195 instead!
What is ASTM F2413-24?
Essentially, ASTM F2413-24 lays out in detail an employer’s responsibility to assess what footwear is required for employees in their workplace, and also their responsibility to ensure that employees abide by the results of this assessment at all times.
To figure out what kind of footwear an employee will need, the legislation describes how workplaces should conduct hazard assessments. These assessments are designed to figure out what kind of footwear the employee should have, and also whether that footwear should have any special properties, for example shock-absorption, compression or electrical-resistance.
Understanding ASTM Markings
ASTM F2413-24 is not only a valuable tool for employers, but employees as well, as it teaches workers how to interpret the ASTM label on their boots. These labels usually contain codes, which mean the following things:
- Impact resistance (I/75: protection against falling objects up to 75 ft-lbs)
- Compression resistance (C/75: protection against crushing up to 2,500 lbs)
- Metatarsal protection (Mt/75: shielding metatarsal bones from impacts)
- Puncture resistance (PR: against sharp objects penetrating the sole)
- Electrical hazard protection (EH: insulation against electrical shocks)
- Static dissipative properties (SD: reducing static electricity buildup)
- Conductive properties (Cd: for environments requiring static discharge)
ASTM certification is crucial for matching the right boot to the right job environment, so to ensure safety and avoid disaster, employers should vigilantly ensure that their workers have knowledge of the legislation and are constantly complying with it.
Changes from Previous Version (ASTM F2413-18)
The previous version of this legislation (ASTM F2413-18) has key differences to the current legislation. While these changes focus mainly on minor updates for clarity and inclusivity, it is still important to ensure your workplace is operating under the new standards.
First off all, ASTM F2413-24 has updated definitions on things like protective footwear and new unisex sizing, as well as alignments for new technologies and testing refinements that were uncommon or nonexistent while the previous legislation was in effect.
In fact, this legislation has changed a lot over the years. From ASTM F2413-11 to ASTM F2413-18, there have been substantial improvements in legislation surrounding labelling and the standardisation of metatarsal levels.
ASTM 2413 Lab Testing
While testing isn’t technically mandatory to comply with ASTM F2413-24, test results are one of the only ways your business can prove it is conforming with the legislation.
If your business is located in China, Vietnam or India, HQTS have you sorted: our in-house lab facility covers ASTM F2413-24 testing, so you can rest easy knowing your business is complying with the legislation and has evidence to support this. Get in touch if you’re interested!
