Customised Safety Workwear for Women in Mining

“Unisex” safety footwear for example, offered by many brands, is predominantly a male offering modified with cosmetic touches to be passed off as a female offering.

To address this inherent problem, SiSi Safety Wear, a subsidiary of the BBF Safety Group, in consultation with women in industry, developed a PPE range specific to women.  Noteworthy, SiSi Safety Wear products are unique because they are designed to suit the specific needs of women by taking functional and ergonomic requirements into account.

Efforts of mining companies to create opportunities for the participation of women in fields hitherto regarded as the preserve for men are very laudable. Considerably, women are excelling, breaking the proverbial glass ceiling in various roles, contributing to the bottom-line of mining houses.

However, lamentably, there are lingering concerns that conditions in the mining environment are inherently male-biased, which impacts on the productivity and safety of women. One area where this is conspicuous is in the designs of Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE), which, predominantly, are tailored for men. This is a challenge that Sisi Safety Wear has been consistently committed to tackling, through its wide range of safety footwear, work wear and fall arrest systems.

Sisi Safety Wear’s brand manager, Predahni Naidoo, explains the rationale behind Sisi Safety Wear’s specialty: “One size does not fit all.  There is a distinct difference in the anatomy of men and women, and so the PPE procured should reflect this.  By doing so, women can focus their full attention on the job at hand, increasing their productivity on-site.”

Informed by extensive research

From the get-go, Sisi Safety Wear’s approach has been to produce PPE informed by credible data on scenarios women face gathered from extensive research focusing on safety footwear, work wear and fall arrest systems. The company engages women in industry to get a true picture on the exact needs on the work floor.

Gaps in women’s PPE

Naidoo draws attention to three findings of research on gaps in women’s PPE, which have been gathered from over the years, that have shaped the company’s PPE designs.

• Safety footwear

Research with women in industry, in consultation with a specialist podiatrist, indicated that shoes created for men are not suited for a woman’s foot, which is naturally much narrower.  Mostly, when it comes to footwear, a shoe that does not fit may negatively impact the wearer’s productivity in the short-term, leading to injuries in the long-term, Naidoo states. “When women are made to wear poorly fitted shoes, their feet often oscillate from side to side.  Over time, the oscillation puts strain on the ankles, which leads to strain on the knees and subsequently strain on the hips. This can in turn cause back pain and other issues.”

“In the case of women with narrow heels, the potential of slipping out of the boot is a daily risk, counteracting the sole purpose of wearing safety footwear. Most women require safety footwear designed specifically for the shape of their feet to ensure they are both comfortable and secure,” she proceeds.

• Boiler suit specific to mining

Another challenging situation which women encounter is when they are on duty underground. In that environment, performing basic bodily functions whilst wearing a boiler suit holds significantly more challenges for women.

It becomes all the more complicated when it comes to using a toilet. Given that a toilet can be up to 400m away from a blast site, women often have a long walk just to reach the ablution facilities. Then, due to the nature of the boiler suit, a woman still needs to remove her safety equipment and then unzip and remove the entire boiler suit before she can use the facilities.

To make matters worse, when a woman has her period, the time taken to get to the toilet, as well as the unbleached colour of her garment can result in visible accidents, embarrassing a woman in front of her work colleagues.  Clearly, women needed a boiler suit that works to make ablutions and periods easier to deal with.

• Fall arrest systems

Besides, women encounter challenges when it comes to using fall arrest systems, as, naturally, they have a more pronounced chest area then men. Consequently, when women wear a fall arrest system designed for men, the chest strap is uncomfortable and can actually cause further injury to a fall.

“If the chest strap is placed below the bust area, polyester webbing (typically found in male harnesses) can aggressively rise up and over the bust at the end of a fall, which can result in secondary injuries to the wearer,” Naidoo demonstrates.

“There is an interesting insight that we have gained from consulting with women who wear fall arrest systems designed for men, especially those with large bust areas. It is that the chest strap often sits underneath their bust area further accentuating their breasts amongst a largely male workforce.”

Recognising that there is a huge spotlight on compliance with the mine health and safety Act in mining, Sisi Safety Wear vows to continue its quest of ensuring that mining companies have a steady supply of women’s PPE in 2021.

 Side bar

The latest Innovation: Basi Metaguard Safety Boot

With our latest innovation, Sisi Safety Wear is pleased to launch the Basi Metaguard Boot, the first locally produced metaguard safety boot for women.  The Metaguard Protector is primarily designed to protect the bridge of the foot from falling rocks and other hazards prominent in the mining industries. Naidoo regards the release as well-timed. “There is a serious lack of technical safety offerings for women, with many companies still issuing their female staff safety wear designed for males.  With the growing number of women entering the mining sector specifically, it was important to develop a solution for women against these types of hazards that can also occur in other industries.”