According to the company, the ‘electrical’ boot term generally denotes suitability for use by electricians and personnel working on, near or close to electrical installations.
It says its competitor priced its boot at a premium to other safety footwear choices already available on the Australia. Although the product complied with the recognised Safety Footwear Standard AS/NZS 2210.3, it was similar to other boots.
The boot was promoted by some retailers as ‘non-conductive’ safety footwear. However, it offered no electrical safety advantages over other standard safety footwear.
Oliver Footwear says over 80% of its range offers a certified electrical performance at least equal to, if not superior to the so-called ‘electrical’ boot. It claims the products were tested and certified by a NATA registered laboratory, and found to be capable of withstanding the application of 18,000V at 60Hz for one minute with no current flow or leakage current in excess of 1.0mA under dry conditions.
The company says it is not accusing its competition of misleading or deceptive conduct. However, it says the industry has insufficient product knowledge or understanding about terms such as ‘insulative’, ‘anti-static’ and ‘non-conductive’.
It points out electrical safety features have been incorporated as product features within existing ranges for many years already.
Standards authorities have warned electrically insulating footwear cannot guarantee 100% protection from electric shock and additional measures to avoid this risk are essential.