EN ISO 20344:2021

Personal protective equipment – Test methods for footwear

EN ISO 20344:2021 supersedes EN ISO 20344:2011.

EN ISO 20344 specifies methods for testing footwear designed as personal protective equipment.

EN ISO 20344 provides test methods necessary to ensure the essential safety requirements, test pieces shall be taken from the whole footwear. These test methods recreate field conditions that shoes might endure in their lifecycle. With the test methods given in EN ISO 20344 you can identify performance and physical aspects of the safety shoes like shock absorption capacity, seam strength, and ankle protection etc.

EN ISO 20344:2021 includes some technical changes with respect to EN ISO 20344:2011. These include:

• For each test same organization (1 principle 2 test equipment’s 3 sampling and conditioning 4 test method 5 test report).
• Systematic inclusion of a clause test report in all the test methods.
• Changes in minimum number of samples and test pieces.
• Several tests are not described anymore in this standard, reference is made to specific standards.
• New standards are taken into account (ISO 17075-1and ISO 17075-2, ISO 22568-1 to ISO 22568-4).
• Conditioning changed from 48 h to 24 h.
• Slip resistance, new test condition.
• Non-metallic perforation resistant insert.
• New drawing for impact test.
• New detection of water resistance.
• New detection of water resistance.
• Clarification in the position and the dimension of the ankle protection.
• New tests for scuff caps.
• New tests for seam strength.
• Determination of the area for non-water vapour permeable material.
• New measurement of cleats height in the waist area.
• New Annexes with new drawings of footwear degradations and with new system of sizing.

The standard will continue to improve and strengthen workplace safety footwear against slips and trips.

Safety shoes approved according to EN 20344:2011 may be sold until the current certificate for the product expires. This means that safety shoes under both norms are permitted until 2027.

EU type certificates have a validity of 5 years.