Safety certifications are more than regulatory hurdles — they define the performance of your product, ensure compliance with international standards, and build confidence with your end users. In this post, we’ll break down the basics of safety footwear certifications, explain why they matter, and show how Alcmy Systems supports you in building certified-ready products from day one.
Why Do Safety Standards Exist?
The global workforce operates in a wide range of environments — from factories and construction sites to kitchens, hospitals, and oil rigs. Each of these settings brings its own risks. Safety footwear is designed to mitigate those risks, and certifications ensure those protective features actually perform in real-world conditions.
The goal of a certification is twofold:
- To protect the user from injury (e.g. crushing, punctures, slips).
- To provide a standardized system for comparing products, regardless of country or brand.
Without certifications, there would be no consistent baseline for what constitutes a “safe” shoe. That’s why product developers need to treat compliance as a core part of the design process — not an afterthought.
Understanding ISO 20345 and 20344
In Europe and many international markets, the primary standard governing safety footwear is EN ISO 20345. This standard outlines the performance requirements for safety shoes, which includes:
- Impact resistance of the toe cap (200 joules minimum)
- Compression resistance
- Slip resistance on ceramic and steel surfaces
- Antistatic properties
- Fuel oil resistance
- Energy absorption in the heel
- Water resistance (optional, depending on class)
- Penetration resistance from sharp objects
Meanwhile, EN ISO 20344 defines the test methods used to measure these performance indicators. These tests simulate real-world wear and are often conducted in certified third-party laboratories.
What Do the Safety Classes Mean?
Each safety class under ISO 20345 is a package of features. Here’s a simplified breakdown:
SB — Basic protection (200J toecap)
S1 — SB + antistatic properties, energy absorption, closed heel
S1P — S1 + puncture resistance
S2 — S1 + water resistance
S3 — S2 + cleated outsole and full penetration resistance
S4 / S5 — Waterproof boots (typically rubber or polymer), with similar features to S1/S3
There are also optional symbols you may see, such as:
CI (Cold insulation)
HI (Heat insulation)
HRO (Heat-resistant outsole)
SRC (Maximum slip resistance rating)
Each of these features is validated through specific testing methods to ensure the shoe meets the demands of the target use case.
How Design Affects Certification
One important point: certification is done on the final shoe, not individual components. That means a certified sole alone isn’t enough — the upper, toecap, lining, and other features must all be tested as a system.
At Alcmy Systems, we design every sole with these constraints in mind. From midsole layering and shank integration to rubber compounds and toe zone reinforcements, our tooling anticipates what it takes to meet the required safety standard.
Key design factors include:
- Shank and midsole structure for puncture resistance
- Heel construction for energy absorption ratings
- Toe box volume to accommodate compliant safety toecaps
- Outsole rubber compound and tread for SRC and HRO performance
What About Non-Safety Products?
Even if you're not developing certified safety footwear, understanding certification systems is still valuable. Many brands create hybrid styles — shoes that look and feel athletic but meet S1P or S3 standards. Others simply want to build with higher performance in mind, even for non-certified lines.
Knowing the basics allows your team to:
- Brief manufacturers more effectively
- Communicate clearly with partners and buyers
- Future-proof designs for safety use if needed
How Alcmy Helps You Navigate Certification
At Alcmy, we’ve spent decades working alongside factories, global brands, and independent designers to create soles that are both high-performance and certification-ready.
We can:
- Guide you in selecting materials and constructions aligned to the safety level you need
- Design custom sole units that meet your technical and aesthetic requirements
- Help you understand and prepare for the certification process
- Collaborate with your factory or lab partner for testing alignment
Whether you’re building a rugged S3 boot or a metal-free S1P sneaker, our experience ensures the outsole won’t be the weak link.
Final Thoughts: Certification as a Competitive Advantage
Safety certification might seem like a formality — but it’s also a tool for standing out. It’s a badge of trust and reliability. And when approached early in the design process, it doesn’t have to limit creativity or performance.
At Alcmy, we believe great footwear design and world-class protection go hand-in-hand. That’s why we don’t just follow the standards — we build to meet and exceed them.
