More than 12,500 attendees were at the 13^th annual Grainger Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. to see a variety of industrial solutions for safety, inventory management, eCommerce and energy management.

More than 700 suppliers were included on the 450,000 square ft. trade show floor space. During the show, seminars, workshops and networking sessions were offered on a variety of topics, such as sustainability, operational efficiency, food safety regulations and the Industrial Internet of Things.

Grainger, a supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products, also highlighted its solutions at the show, such as its safety footwear program.

Recently, the company has expanded its online program to include a growing line of soft-toe, slip-resistant footwear options for its customers. For 2017, Grainger more than doubled this line of footwear to offer 19 varieties for women and 28 for men.

"Slips, trips and falls are some of the leading causes of workplace injuries, and we want our customers to rely on Grainger for a comprehensive safety footwear program, no matter what their work environment," says Parris Devine, Grainger senior director of services.

Grainger's online safety footwear program offers customers the ability to manage their safety footwear programs through a “benefit management system.”

The system allows employers to set up footwear selection based on work environments, and Grainger provides a customized invoice that works with the employer’s needs. The system can track employee purchases, administer payroll deductions, apply company contribution subsidies and generate reports that can be sorted by employee name, social security number, company ID or department.

Customers can purchase safety footwear through Grainger's catalog and at its website, Grainger.com. Additionally, Grainger also operates a fleet of Shoemobile trucks available coast-to-coast that delivers a mobile shoe-store experience onsite at plants.

The modern, air-conditioned trucks can carry close to 2,000 shoes, with a wide variety of options, and are staffed with footwear professionals to answer questions and measure employees' foot sizes to help ensure a proper fit.

“Footwear is a personal piece of equipment for the plant workers,” says Devine. “They need to get the right fit and the right shoe.”

He adds that the Shoemobile is a fun experience for workers, and the styles that are carried keep up with the trends in industrial footwear, such as using lighter material and having styles that don’t look like a traditional safety shoe. 

For more information on Grainger's safety footwear solutions, visit http://www.grainger.com/footwear.