Technical

How are they made?

Workmaster™ boots are manufactured at our automated state of the art footwear factory based in Crawley (in the United Kingdom). The injection moulding manufacturing process guarantees a seamless leak-free construction. This modern high-volume production facility enables the manufacture of different types and styles of boots within the same operating run, giving the flexibility to meet rapidly changing market demands.

All our boots are REACH compliant and both boots and insoles are machine washable at up to 40°C with a shelf life in excess of 10 years.

Boot Features

1. Slip-resistant vulcanised rubber sole
2. Steel toe cap
3. Stainless steel mid-sole
4. Comfort insole
5. Cushioned heel
6. Kick-off lug
7. Adjustable height
8. Single piece injection moulded construction
9. Non-wicking polyester lining Not all features are present on all boots - please check the product page for the specific boot you are interested in.

Benefits of a Vulcanised Rubber Sole

Over 30% of industrial accidents result from slips, trips and falls - as Workmaster™ boots are frequently used in environments where there are liquids present a slip resistant sole is crucial, which is why we fit a high-performance vulcanised rubber sole to our boots.

This provides a number of important benefits:      

• Slip resistance is twice that required by EN 13287 SRA and SATRA TM144 standards      
• Grip is 30% better than with a conventional safety boot sole      
• Wear resistance is two to three times that of conventional soles      
• The sole is resistant to fuel and oil      
• Greater cut resistance than conventional soles      
• Resistant to hot contact for 60 seconds at 300°C      
• Cold insulation

There are two slip resistance tests specified in EN ISO 20345:2011 (with the method described in EN13287); the first is soapy water (Sodium Lauryl Suphate solution) on a ceramic tile. If the footwear passes this test then the boot can be marked SRA. The second is oil (Glycerol) on a steel plate, if the boot passes this test then it can be marked SRB. If a boot passes both the SRA and SRB test then it can be marked SRC.

There is a common misunderstanding that SRC is the best for slip resistance - this is not the case!  Since the introduction of slip testing, accidents caused by slips have not reduced; this is because to pass the slip requirements on oily steel manufacturers have to sacrifice some slip performance in water, but most slip accidents occur where water is the contaminant (over 95%).

The Workmaster™ vulcanised rubber sole produces very high levels of slip resistance with soapy water on a ceramic tile, and these test results have been confirmed during customer wear tests. Due to the performance characteristics of the sole material, boots with our vulcanised rubber sole also achieve a pass on the SRB (oil on steel test), without compromising SRA performance and are marked SRC

Boot Compounds

We have six compound families we use in our Workmaster™ boots that enable us to provide solutions for a wide range of industries and applications:

Hazmax™ Widely used and highly effective chemical protection

Dielectric Protection for high voltage workers

Cryotuff Extremely durable providing protection against oils, common cleaning agents and solvents

Cryolite Lightweight and environmentally friendly with excellent low temperature performance

ISOTEC Heat and flame resistant

Solestar A cost effective PVC based compound for general purpose footwear

PHYSICAL & MECHANICAL TESTING

We test every element of our boots to ensure their safety, performance and comfort. Some testing is carried out at our factory while some is undertaken for us at specialist accredited testing laboratories. Our factory can conduct, high-voltage testing, deformation testing on toecaps, flex cracking and low temperature flex cracking on boot compounds. Boots are also extensively trialled by users to check for comfort, wear and durability during development.

Chemical Permeation Testing

We thoroughly test our compounds materials for their chemical resistance at an independent UKAS accredited laboratory for chemical permeation testing and for testing the physical properties of materials. We regularly re-test our fabrics and seams to ensure quality. 

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HIGH VOLTAGE (DIELECTRIC) TESTING

Every pair of Workmaster™ Dielectric boots is electrically tested to EN 50321:2000 prior to dispatch. The test involves filling the boot with water and submerging it in a water bath, an electrode is placed inside the boot, with a second electrode connected to the metal frame of the bath. A test voltage is then applied. Boots are tested at 5kV for leakage current and are then submitted to a withstand test at 10kV for three minutes.

We regularly test samples from production at 20kV (which requires a slightly different setup for the test rig), and customers can specify boots are tested at this higher voltage if required.

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