Posted By jon hammond Hi Gary I dont know the answer to your question but why would rigger boots be outlawed. What would site management do if they wernt allowed to buy the most expensive pair of boots to ponce about in regards

Posted By paul georgeson PPE regulations will change from the 6th december along with the introduction of the new rule book. If you are interested Gary, yes rigger boots will be banned, all boots must have insole protection, Hi Vis must meet class 2 requirements along with the name of the sponsor on the back,Hard hats will be worn at all times, I belive there will be a 3 month bedding in period after that it is enforcable. hope this is of interest.

Posted By paul georgeson I believe they are bieng banned due to the ankle support as if you work within the railway you will know that you walk on uneven Ballast and can be doing this at anytime night and day over a long distance. The midsole protection bieng introduced is protection against "sharps" littered around the railway infrastructure, and the possibility of them piercing the boot.

Posted By peter gotch Gary According to a Network Rail newsletter the dates have been put back as follows: Changes to personal protective equipment policy The introduction of the new national policy on personal protective equipment (PPE) will coincide with the launch of the new Rule Book, on 6 December 2003. The new policy covers the wearing of PPE by Network Rail employees and our contractors on or near the line and lineside. It will be detailed in Section 6 of the new Personal Track Safety Handbook that will also be issued in December. The basic PPE requirements will become as follows: On authorised walking routes on or near the line or on the lineside, at a minimum, an orange high visibility mini-vest (Class 1, which covers the chest, front and back, but ends above waist level with reflective tape) must be worn. Anywhere else on or near the line or lineside, the minimum requirement will be: · High visibility orange upper body clothing with reflective tape (Class 2). This may be a full-length waistcoat, a long sleeved jacket or similar garment that complies with the standard. This should be marked on the back in black with the name or logo of the “Sentinel” sponsor; · Safety footwear that provides protection by means of ankle support, covered steel toecaps and mid-sole protection; and · A safety helmet (not a bump-cap) There will be exemptions from this policy for specific groups of people and for specific tasks. These exemptions will be based on a full risk assessment and may apply to one or more items of PPE but not high visibility clothing. In addition, Sikhs wearing turbans will not have to wear helmets. The full list of exemptions is currently being compiled and will be published before the policy is fully implemented. The requirement for helmets will be mandatory from Monday 31 May 2004 and the remainder of the requirements will be mandatory from 31 December 2004. This will allow time for PPE that is not to the required standards to be replaced during 2004. The new national PPE policy can be found on Connect, via the Safety and Compliance home page. Click on ‘People, Operations and Processes’, ‘Safety and Compliance’, and select the link on the right-hand side. Regards, Peter