EN ISO 20345:2011 – Safety Footwear for Professional Use for the European market

 

All safety footwear sold in Europe must comply with the EU Personal Protective Equipment Regulation and be CE marked (certified) by an EU notified body.

Safety footwear has to meet the requirements of the European harmonized standard EN ISO20345. A Technical File detailing construction, material/component suppliers, test report references, etc. must be prepared, Conformity Declarations signed and the footwear has to be certified by a European Notified Body (for example – CTC or Intertek) prior to production and it must carry the CE mark shown in the label at the end of this section. The product must also be marked with the importers name and address.

CE Certificates have a 5 year expiry date – (must be renewed every 5 years).

See also the explanation in the “User Information” that can be found at the end of this booklet for requirements as they apply to EN ISO 20346 Protective footwear and EN ISO 20347 Occupational footwear.

EN ISO 20344 provides test methods and EN ISO 20345 specifies performance standards for Safety Footwear that will offer the highest level of protection against defined risks.
Specifically, the footwear protects the wearer's toes against injury from falling objects and crushing. The impact protection (falling objects) provided is 200 Joules and the compression protection (crushing) provided is 15,000 Newton's (1530 kgs). Additional protective features can be provided in the footwear and are identified by additional markings on the product.

Classifications of footwear:
Class I – Footwear made from leather and other materials
Class II – All-rubber or all polymeric footwear
There is also a Hybrid Class II where the lower part of the upper is a polymeric material and is extended upwards by something other than polymeric material.

PRODUCT GROUPING AND CERTIFICATION

Product grouping is allowed for different stock numbers that have the same last, toe cap,
outsole/midsole, penetration plate, metatarsal protector, method of construction and the same safety features. Any changes in any of these will require that the footwear is recertified or an extension requestand corresponding testing evidence submitted to extend certification.
Note that certification is for a specified size range and if larger or smaller sizes need to be added this will also require an extension request.

Certification requires a Technical File to be created detailing the make-up of the footwear, how it satisfies various requirements, a risk assessment, etc. following a specific format supplied by the notified body.

In addition, an EU Declaration of Conformity for all future production must be prepared, signed and made available to customers.

 

 

---

 

TEST PROPERTIES THAT APPLY TO ALL FOOTWEAR
Test specimens must be taken from smallest, middle and largest sizes of footwear unless
indicated by †† for further details refer to Table 1 of EN ISO 20344.

Design
Height of upper
Seat region

Whole footwear
Construction – insole security (Class Ionly)
Upper/outsole bond strength (Class I only)
Toe protection – cap security
Internal length of toe cap
Toe impact
Toe compression
Corrosion of metal toecaps ††
Behavior of non-metallic toe caps
Slip resistance (SRA, SRB, SRC)
Leakproofness (Class II only)
Ergonomics (questionnaire given)

Upper
Height below which all test standards apply
(Class I only)
Thickness (Class II only)
Tear strength (Class I only)
Tensile properties (split only in Class I)
Flexing resistance (Class II only)
Water vapor permeability (Class I only)
Water vapor coefficient (Class I only)
pH (leather only) †† (Class I only)
Hydrolysis (Class II only)
Chromium VI content (leather only) ††
Lining (optional in Class II)

Tear strength
Abrasion resistance
Water vapor permeability (Class I only)
Water vapor coefficient (Class I only)
pH (leather only) ††
Chromium VI content (leather only) ††

Tongue (Class I only)
Tear strength
pH (leather only)
Chromium VI content (leather only)

Insole/insock
Thickness ††
*Water absorption and desorption ††
Insole abrasion ††
Insock abrasion ††
Chromium VI content /pH (leather only) ††

Outsole
Thickness
Tear strength
Abrasion resistance
Flexing resistance
Hydrolysis (PU only)
Interlayer bond strength
*Not required for the insock if it is "Water permeable" – this is defined as "when tested for Water absorption/desorption lets water through within 60 seconds or less" –hence tend to use perforated cushion inserts.  

Footwear complying with the requirements that are specified for all the above properties can be marked with SB; this is the basic product marking.  Additional optional safety features and properties can be added to the footwear from the list below.

 

---

 

OPTIONAL SAFETY FEATURES AND ADDITIONAL MARKING

Outsole resistance to hot contact HRO
Outsole fuel oil resistance FO
Penetration resistant inserts P
Dimensional conformity
Penetration resistance
Flex resistance ††
Corrosion resistance ††
Behavior of non-metallic inserts ††
Insulation against cold through outsole CI
Insulation against heat through outsole HI
Heel energy absorption E
Water penetration-resistant uppers ††WRU
Electrical resistance protection (100V):
Conductive (100kΩ) C
Antistatic (100kΩ to 1000MΩ) A
Cleated outsoles:
Base thickness
Cleat height
Cleated area
Metatarsal impact protection M
Ankle impact protection AN
Water resistance (whole footwear) WR
Cut resistance CR
Refer to pages 21 onwards for further details of additional property testing.

MANDATORY QUALITY AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

Design (5.2)
Five footwear designs are pictured and coded A to E depending on the height of the upper, design A (low shoe) is nominally the only shoe with designs B through E being
different leg length boots.

Height of upper (5.2.2)
Minimum heights are specified for the leg/ankle of footwear for each of the 5 designs.
The heights are measured from the lowest point on the surface of the insole between the heel breast and the back of the footwear to the highest point on the upper.

 

 

Euro sizes	Design A (mm)	Design B (mm) minimum height	Design C (mm) minimum height	Design D&E (mm) minimum height
36 and below	<103	103	162	255
37 and 38	< 105	105	165	260
39 and 40	<109	109	172	270
41 and 42	<113	113	178	280
43 and 44	<117	117	185	290
45 and above	<121	121	192	300

Note: Design E is a thigh length boot with variable length leg extension that can be adapted to the wearer.

 

---

 

Seat region (5.2.3)
The seat region should be closed in all except design A mules (slides)

WHOLE FOOTWEAR

Construction (5.3.1.1)
If an insole is used it must not be possible to remove it without damaging the footwear, if an insole is not used, then an insock that is non-removable must be used in the footwear.

Note, in a Gore-Tex construction the ‘insole’ will be the bootie bottom.

Upper/outsole bond strength (Except stitched sole) (5.3.1.2)
Not less than 4.0 N/mm width (3.0 N/mm if the sole material tears)

Toe protection (5.3.2)
The toecap cannot be removed without damaging the footwear.
For internal toecaps a lining must cover the toecap and in addition the back edge of
the toe cap must have a covering that extends at least 5mm onto the toecap and at
least 10mm into the footwear.
Scuff–resistant covering for toe area, shall not be less than 1mm thick.

 

Internal length of toecap (5.3.2.2)
Minimum internal lengths are depending on size of footwear.
Measured 3 to 10mm above the level of a surface on which the cap is placed for
measurement.

 

Euro sizes	Minimum internal length (mm)
36 and below	34
37 and 38	36
39 and 40	38
41 and 42	39
43 and 44	40
45 and above	42

 

Impact resistance (200 Joules approximately 147.5 ft. lbf) (5.3.2.3)
Minimum impact clearances depending on size of footwear; the toecap shall not
develop any cracks which go through the material, through light can be seen.

 

Euro sizes	Minimum clearance in impact and compression (mm)
36 and below	12.5
37 and 38	13.0
39 and 40	13.5
41 and 42	14.0
43 and 44	14.5
45 and above	15.0

 

---

 

Compression resistance (15,000 Newtons approximately 1530 kgf) (5.3.2.4)
Minimum compression clearances depending on size of footwear (same as for impact resistance, see above table)

Corrosion resistance of metal toecaps (1% sodium chloride exposure) (5.3.2.5)
Caps should have no more than 3 areas of corrosion none of which shall exceed 2.0mm in any direction

Behavior of non-metallic toecaps (5.3.2.5)
Impact testing after acid, alkali, solvent, low temperature and high temperature exposure as specified in EN 12568

Leakproofness (Class II only) (5.3.3)
No leakage of air in an air inflation and water immersion test

Ergonomics (5.3.4)
The footwear is tested for correct sizing and that it does not cause discomfort to a wearer or prevent a wearer from carrying out normal functions (walk, climb and descend stairs, kneel and crouch, etc.)

Slip resistance (5.3.5)
Test using EN 13287 with surfaces as below and one of the 3 marking codes shown below must be included in product marking

 

Marking code	Test surface and contaminant	CoF requirements
SRA	Ceramic tile with sodium lauryl sulphate (NaLS) contaminant (soapy ceramic tile)	Flat ≥ 0.32 Heel ≥ 0.28
SRB	Smooth stainless steel with glycerin contaminant (oily )	Flat ≥ 0.18 Heel ≥ 0.13
SRC	As for SRA and SRB	Passes both SRA and SRB

 

 

Longitudinal stiffness (5.8.4)
The force required to flex the footwear is measured to determine whether outsole flex testing should be conducted – see Outsole flexing resistance.

UPPER
Height below which all upper materials requirements apply (5.4.1)

All materials in the upper below the heights that are given in the table below must meet ALL the upper material requirements. An exception is the material covering the toe cap and counter stiffener, this material does not need to meet the WVP and WVC requirements. Some certification bodies will allow other areas (e.g. eyestay facings) to incorporate non permeable material and this should be discussed with the certification body.

 

Euro Sizes	New - Design A	Design B	Design C	Design D & E
36 and below	44	64	113	172
37 and 38	46	66	115	175
39 and 40	48	68	119	182
41 and 42	50	70	123	188
43 and 44	52	72	127	195
45 and above	53	73	131	202

Note: When collar materials and inserts are above the heights given in the table above, the materials must meet the requirements defined for lining materials except WVP and WVC

 

Thickness (Class II only) (5.4.2)
Rubber 1.5mm, other Polymeric 1.00mm

Tear strength (Class I only) (5.4.3)
120 Newtons minimum strength for leather, 60 Newtons minimum for non-leather

Tensile properties (Leather splits only for Class I) (5.4.4)
Leather split 15N/mm2 minimum tensile strength
Rubber 180N minimum breaking force (Class II only)
Polymeric 1.3 to 4.6 N.mm2 minimum 100% Modulus and 250% minimum elongation at break (Class II only)

Flexing resistance (Class II only) (5.4.5)
Rubber – no cracking before 125,000 flexes
Polymeric – no cracking before 150,000 flexes

Water vapor permeability and coefficient (5.4.6)
WVP - 0.8mg/(cm²h) minimum and WVC - 15 mg/cm² minimum

pH value - Leathers only (5.4.7)
pH 3.2 minimum and if pH is below 4 then a 10x dilution must be carried out and the difference between diluted pH and undiluted pH must be less than 0.7

Hydrolysis (Class II only) (5.4.8)
Polyurethane uppers must meet Flexing resistance requirements following hydrolysis  treatment

Soluble chrome VI - Leathers only (5.4.9)
Shall not exceed 3.0mg/kg

 

---

 

LININGS (VAMP AND QUARTER LININGS)

Tear strength (5.5.1)
30 Newtons minimum for leather, 15 Newtons minimum for coated fabric and textiles

Abrasion resistance (5.5.2)
Vamp and quarter – no holes after 25,600 revs dry and 12,800 revs wet
For seat region – no holes after 51,200 revs dry and 25,600 revs wet

Water vapor permeability and coefficient (5.5.3)
WVP - 2.0 mg/(cm²h) minimum and WVC - 20 mg/cm² minimum

pH value - Leathers only (5.5.4)
3.2 minimum and if pH is below 4 then a 10x dilution must be carried out and the
difference between diluted pH and undiluted pH must be less than 0.7

Soluble chrome VI - Leathers only (5.5.5)
Shall not exceed 3.0 mg/kg.
TONGUE (IF A DIFFERENT MATERIAL OR THICKNESS TO UPPER MATERIAL)

Tear strength (5.6.1)
36 Newtons minimum for leather
18 Newtons minimum for coated fabric and textiles

pH value - Leathers only (5.6.2)
3.2 minimum and if pH is below 4 then a 10x dilution must be carried out and the
difference between diluted pH and undiluted pH must be less than 0.7

Soluble chrome VI - Leathers only (5.6.3))
Must be absent (i.e.<10ppm) Shall not exceed 3.0 mg/kg.

 

INSOLE (IF PRESENT) AND INSOCKS

Note: In Gore-Tex constructions the ‘insole’ will be the bootee bottom

 

 

Thickness (5.7.1)
The thickness of the insole or, the insole and insock together if the insock is nonremovable, or the insock only if no insole, must have a minimum thickness of 2mm

pH value - Leather only (5.7.2)
3.2 minimum and if pH is below 4 then a 10x dilution must be carried out and the
difference between diluted pH and undiluted pH must be less than 0.7

Soluble chrome VI - Leathers only (5.7.2)
Must be absent (i.e.<10ppm) Shall not exceed 3.0 mg/kg.

Water absorption and desorption (5.7.3)
Note in some constructions insole and insock are tested together – minimum water
absorption 70 mg/cm² and minimum desorption shall be 80% of what was absorbed

Abrasion resistance (5.7.4)
Non-leather insole - To and fro abrasion with no damage worse than reference sample
after 400 cycles
Insock - Martindale abrasion with no holes after 25,600 revs dry and 12,800 wet

 

---

 

OUTSOLE

Thickness (5.8.1.1)
6mm minimum for non-cleated outsole (from lasted margin to street surface)

Cleated outsoles – optional but this required for S3 (5.8.1.2)
Cleated area - with the exception of the area beneath the flange of the toecap, the shaded area in the diagram below must be covered by cleats that open to the side of the outsole.

 

 

Base thickness – thickness from the lasted margin to the base of the cleats (including midsole if present) must be at least 4mm

Cleat height – minimum 2.5m

Tear strength - Non-leather (5.8.2)
8 kN/m for materials with a density higher than 0.9 g/cm3
5 kN/m for materials with a density lower or equal to 0.9 g/ cm3

Abrasion resistance (5.8.3)
150mm3 maximum for materials with a density higher than 0.9 g/cm3
250mm3 maximum for materials with a density lower or equal to 0.9 g/cm3

Flexing resistance (5.8.4)
If footwear is not classed as rigid (less than 30N to cause 45 degree flex) then the outsole is cut at its centre and must then withstand 30,000 flexes with no more than 4 millimeters cut growth. Spontaneous cracks are permitted provided they are no deepe
than 1.5mm and no longer than 4mm in length, and no more than 5 in total number.
Cracks in the toecap zone can be ignored
Note: If steel penetration plates are used – and the footwear is ‘flexible’ as determine by the longitudinal stiffness measurement, then Wolverine require that there is no cracking of the plate in the outsole flexing test.

Hydrolysis - PU outsoles only (5.8.5)
Cut growth after hydrolysis treatment shall be less than 6mm before 150,000 flexes
Interlayer bond strength - if the outsole consists of 2 or more layers (5.8.6)
4.0 N/mm minimum (if there is tearing of any part of the outsole then 3.0 N/mm
minimum)
All the test methods, performance standards and the number of specimens required are given in EN ISO 20344.
In addition, all materials must be shown to be free of Azo dyes, PCP, Nickel, and other restricted substances as covered by relevant EU legislation.

 

---

 

OPTIONAL (ADDITIONAL) SAFETY FEATURES

Penetration resistance (marking P) (6.2.1)
Penetration resistance (6.2.1.1) – the finished footwear bottom is tested and the minimum nail penetration force through the outsole should be 1100 N (approximately
112 kgf). If non-metallic penetration resistant materials is used as the insole (strobel) then the nail must not penetrate the material under a load of 1100N.

Construction (6.2.1.2) - it must not be possible to remove the insert without damaging the footwear and in addition, the insert must not sit above the toecap flange or be attached to it. A non-metallic penetration resistant material that is used as the insole may sit above the toecap flange.

Dimensional conformity (6.2.1.3) – see diagram below, maximum 6.5mm between
edge of plate and feather edge of last around perimeter except in heel where the distance can be a maximum 15mm – a maximum of 3 holes of max diameter 3mm are allowed to facilitate attachment to the bottom of the footwear.

 

 

 

Flex resistance (6.2.1.4) – high speed flex test and the inserts must show no visible
cracking after 1 million flexes

Corrosion resistance of metal inserts - 1% sodium chloride exposure (6.2.1.5.1) –
inserts should have no more than 5 areas of corrosion exceeding 2.5mm² in area

Behavior of non-metallic inserts (6.2.1.5.2) – Nail penetration testing after acid, alkali, solvent, low temperature and high temperature exposure as specified in EN 12568:1998

Electrical protection (6.2.2)

Conductive (marking C) (6.2.2.1) – Electrical resistance maximum of 100 kΩ

Antistatic (marking A) (6.2.2.2) – Electrical resistance between 100 kΩ and 1,000MΩ - Note: the footwear outsole is first painted with conductive lacquer to provide the shortest possible electrical path to ground and then footwear is conditioned for 7 days in a dry atmosphere and tested and also conditioned for 7 days in a wet atmosphere and tested.

Insulating footwear (Class II only) (6.2.2.3) – testing and marking according to EN 50321.

 

---

 

Resistance to inimical environments: (6.2.3)

Insulation against cold through outsole (marking CI) (6.2.3.1) – 10°C maximum temperature drop on surface of sock insert (or insole if no insert) in ball region over a 30 minute period with footwear stored at minus 17°C on a pre-chilled copper plate.
Note footwear is filled with steel shot so upper vents will cause increased temperature drop.

Insulation against heat through outsole (marking HI) (6.2.3.2) - 22°C maximum
temperature rise on surface of sock insert (or insole if no insert) in ball region over a 30 minute period with footwear stored in a sandbath heated to 150°C. The footwear is also assessed following the heat treatment to ensure it has not degraded.
· No cracks on the outsole longer than 10mm and 3mm deep
· No upper/outsole separation more than 15mm long and 5mm deep
· No pronounced deformation or cracking of the insole and insock more than
10mm long and deeper than half the thickness of the material
· No pronounced deformation of the outsole when it has cooled

Heel energy absorption (marking E) (6.2.4)
Minimum 20J energy absorption in the seat region when a test punch (heel section of last) is pressed into the bottom of the footwear

Water resistance - whole footwear (marking WR) (6.2.5)
Two water resistance tests are specified, walking up and down a trough filled with 30mm depth of water for 100 lengths (1000 steps) or machine flexing (22.5 degree flex angle, 60 fpm, with water level 20mm above the feather edge of the last) for 80 minutes

Metatarsal impact protection (marking M) (6.2.6)
Impact testing at the metatarsal position after inserting a wax ‘foot’ inside the footwear. Minimum clearances (thickness of wax foot after impact) are specified depending on footwear size.

 

Euro sizes	Minimum internal length (mm)
36 and below	37
37 and 38	38
39 and 40	39
41 and 42	40
43 and 44	40.5
45 and above	41

 

 

---

 

Ankle impact protection (marking AN) (6.2.7)
10kN maximum mean value for transmitted energy following a 10J impact, no single value above 15kN.

 

 

Cut resistance - not design A (marking CR) (6.2.8)
The bottom 30mm up from the feather edge shall be covered with a cut resistant material that extends over the toe cap by at least 10mm. The material shall have a cut resistance Index of not less than 2.5
Note for CR marking the footwear must also be Penetration resistant (P)

Water penetration resistant uppers (coding WRU) (6.3)
No decorative stitching is allowed in the upper of the footwear unless the footwear meets the whole footwear water resistance test (WR marking). All upper materials must exhibit less than 0.2g water transmission and less than 30% water absorption after 60 minute water resistance flex testing

Outsole resistance to hot contact (marking HRO) (6.4.1)
Outsole must withstand 300°C for 60 seconds without melting or cracking when subsequently bent around 10mm diameter mandrel

Resistance to fuel oil (marking FO) (6.4.2)
12% maximum increase in volume (swell). If the specimens shrink by more than 1.0% or if there is more than 10 degrees change in Shore A hardness then additional flex testing requirements following oil immersion apply.

MARKING REQUIREMENTS (7)
The PPE regulation requires that the product is marked with the ‘CE mark’ in addition the product standard requires the footwear to be marked with the following information, in the majority of cases we choose to do this on a tongue label, see example overleaf:

 

a) Footwear size
b) Manufacturers identification mark
c) Manufacturer’s type designation
d) Year of manufacture and at least quarter
e) Number and year of the European International Standard (EN ISO20345:2011)
f) Type classification (example – SB, & S1- S5) and additional property code(s) for example - HRO

Note: Items e) and f) must appear adjacent to one another.

It is also mandatory to supply a User Information booklet in the language of each member state in which the footwear is sold.

 

---

 

ABBREVIATED CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS FOR CLASS I FOOTWEAR

 

Marking	Expanded Marking/requirements (see below for explanation of optional features)
SB	Basic safety boot-no additional properties (Design Requirements & Ergonomics, Sole & Interlayer Bonds, Impact, Compression, & Slip Resistance)
S1	Safety boot with closed seat region, antistatic, energy absorption in seat region and resistance to fuel oil - expanded marking codes SB A E FO
S2	As S1 plus water penetration resistant uppers-expanded marking codes SB A E FO WRU
S3	As S2 plus penetration resistance and cleated outsole expanded marking codes SB A E FO WRU P

 

 

ABBREVIATED CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS FOR CLASS II FOOTWEAR

 

 

 

Marking	Expanded Marking/requirements (see below for explanation of optional features)
SB	Basic safety boot-no additional properties (Design Requirements & Ergonomics, Sole & Interlayer Bonds, Impact, Compression, & Slip Resistance)
S4	Safety boot with closed seat region, antistatic, energy absorption in seat region and resistance to fuel oil - expanded marking codes SB A E FO
S5	As S4 plus penetration resistance and cleated outsole expanded marking codes SB A E FO P