When I was a young boy my mother would tell me about the time her foot was run over by a lift truck. She was working in a steel mill operating controls that would require her to stand in one area. A lift truck swung into her workstation and ran over her foot, crushing her big toe. It's too bad this happened before steel-toe shoes were required in the steel industry, because they would have prevented this injury.
Protecting employees' feet is just one factor in a comprehensive personal protective equipment (PPE) program, but it is an important element. Similar to any piece of PPE, a risk assessment must be performed to identify the hazards in a particular task or area. Identifying when and where foot protection is needed is as simple as reviewing the task, looking at the foot hazards involved and identifying the correct footwear.