ASTM is a commonly heard term in plastic, metal, and other technical industries. You might have also observed it written on material data sheets as well as mentioned on products as "ASTM compliance".
The purpose of ASTM F2892-11 standard is to provide specification for certification of protective footwear. The specification covers the protection of footwear from a variety of workplace hazard apart from the protection of toe area.
First let’s learn about ASTM
ASTM is an international standards organization dedicated to developing and publishing standard material specifications for a wide range of products, systems, and services. Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, the organization has now officially changed its name to ASTM international.
As of now, ASTM International consists of more than 30,000 members, from more than 140 countries. The ASTM includes an array of technical associates, consumers, consultants, producers, and academicians as a whole.
What does ASTM do?
ASTM has seen a long journey and comes a long way from creating standard and quality railroads for consumer safety. Today, ASTM devised standards have become common in almost every industry.
ASTM develops assists, test, and publish technical standards for different industries. The sole and major purpose of assigning ASTM specification to products is for quality control. The standard is meant to address and prevent defects, damage in products so that the quality is maintained and superior products are delivered to customers.
Thus, with a goal to enhance power, performance, quality, and safety of a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services, ASTM international unifies standards methods of testing and construction on a global scale.
There are innumerous ASTM standards across the world, each with its significant importance and benefits. Each ASTM standard is distinguishable by a unique identification number to ensure easy categorization.
Each of the standards falls under a different category that is subject to:
Standard specification
Terminology standard
Standard test method
Standard Classification
Standard Practice Guide
Now that you know everything about ASTM, let us gain a detailed insight into the ASTM F2892 standard.
ASTM F2892-11
When talking about ASTM F2892-11, it is specifically a Standard Specification for the Performance requirements concerning quality and safety for Soft Toe Protective Footwear.
This is the specification that covers the minimum requirement of the footwear performance. The devised specification requirements are meant to ensure protection to the wearer against all sorts of hazards other than to the toe area that may arise at the workplace and are prone to severe injury.
There were many jobs in the workplace that did not require the impact or consideration to toe protection that is when the ASTM committee decided to develop a non-safety toe cap, precisely soft toe. This was to allow manufacturers to work and emphasize more on the performance level of soft toe footwear.
However, when talking about the ASTM standards of F2412 and F2413, these are the test methods and performance requirements for the footwear ensuring safety toe cap. Well, the primary purpose of the ASTM F2892 -11 standards is more like a certification of soft toe protective footwear.
To gain an ASTM marking on the footwear, certification must be presented and performed by an individual third-party laboratory. Only when the footwear is eligible for the marking, the standard ASTM marking will be provided considering it safe.
Scope of ASTM F2892-11 Standards:
The principle scope of this standard is the certification of being protective footwear. Certification needs to be performed by any third-party laboratory to label footwear as protection along with assigning ASTM marking. Only after this, the footwear is declared safe for the wearer.
The specification also contains requirements for footwear to ensure protection to the wearer’s feet. The footwear should imbibe the following safety measures to keep hazards at bay:
A) Conductive Properties
B) Electric hazard protection
C) Static dissipating properties
D) Puncture resistance
These are the specification, said to be the minimum requirement for the performance standard of soft toe protective footwear. The ASTM F2892-11 standard provides safety to workers from all sorts of hazards other than the toe area which can potentially result in a serious injury.
Nevertheless, this specification should not be treated as a mandatory manufacturing or purchasing specification. Rather it should be used as a reference in purchase contracts to highlight that the minimum safety and security compliance requirements have been met in the footwear.
In case of any changes in the original components of safety footwear concerning replacing or adding anything may cause failure to any or all parts of the footwear. Plus, the specification of the ASTM soft toe protective footwear is rendered invalid.
Benefits of ASTM F2892-11 Standards:
The ASTM F2892-11 standard specification provides ample benefits. The performance requirement helps protect workers' feet in several situations. Here are the top benefits this standard provides:
It has conductive properties (cd) to help reduce all possible hazards occurring as a result of the accumulation of static electricity. The possibility of hazards reduces considerably as the chances of ignition, explosion, and chemical violation tend to get controlled with the conductive properties.
Electric hazard protection is provided to the wearer against all sort of accidents that can happen if the wearer by mistakenly put their step on any electrical wire.
Static Dissipative property is incorporated in the footwear so that the chances of any hazards due to the low electrical resistance of footwear mitigate significantly.
Proper labeling of the ASTM F2892-11 Standards on the footwear ensures that the product is highly safe and good to use for industrial work environments. Plus, the footwear has met the standards and can be of great help while working in any industry prone to the risk of shocks or other hazards.
Let’s discuss EH & CD & SD in detail:
EH: Electric hazard is a sort of nonconductive, electric shock resistance footwear. Here, the outsole of the footwear provides safety from electric shock and acts as a protection against all sorts of electrical hazards which can be caused because of getting into contact with any electrically energized component at the workplace.
SD: SD is the static dissipating footwear; it is designed to protect the wearer from all sorts of hazards associated with the low footwear resistance. It is also designed to maintain seamless high-level resistance so that the wearer gains the ability to withstand or reduce the impact of electric shock.
CD: Conductive footwear is intended for the protection of the wearer from all sorts of hazards that result from static electricity buildup. The footwear is designed to flow the static electricity seamlessly from the ground and through your body without causing any shock or explosion. This results in a considerable reduction in damage due to ignition, explosive, and violating chemical.
Key Takeaway:
This guide clearly specifies the ASTM standard and ASTM F2892-11 in detail. Now that you are aware of both the terms respectively, it will be easier for you to understand its importance. This specification is crucial in the footwear industry and needs to be given importance.
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