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What Should You Adjust to Make Your Hard Hat Fit Properly?

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the construction industry is a high-hazard industry because of the nature of the environment and responsibilities that workers are required to see through. Hard hats are personal protective equipment pieces that protect the heads of workers in construction and other industrial environments. A hard hat can save your life, but it is only effective if the hat is worn properly.

  1. Suspensions

    • The inside of a hard hat has a harness of suspensions into which your head fits. The suspensions create a gap between the head and the top of the hat where an impact can occur. Hard hats utilize either a four-or six-point suspension system and are adjustable. To adjust a hard hat so it properly fits you, adjust the suspensions. Pull on the suspensions to make them tighter if you have a smaller head, or loosen the suspensions to make more room if you need it. You want the hat to fit snugly so it doesn't fall off, but you also don't want to make it so tight that it causes discomfort and headaches.

    Chin Straps

    • Some hard hats come with chinstraps connected to the inner sides of the hat. In conjunction with getting the hard hat to fit properly by way of the suspensions, adjust the chin straps so they are the proper length to fit snugly around your chin. This type of additional support works with the suspensions to give you extra security for your head when you are working in unusual conditions, such as windy environments, extreme heights or underground tunnels.

    Quality Control

    • Each time you put on a hard hat, check the inside suspensions for signs of tears, frays or weakening. After a couple of years of wear and tear, or after impact, the suspensions or entire suspension system may need to be replaced. The suspensions become ineffective if they are damaged, which is why you want to inspect the hat before wearing it.

    Warning

    • Do not use other material to stuff or fill in the gaps of a hard hat to make it fit better. Materials that are not part of the hat's structure can impact the hat's effectiveness. Do not make changes to the hat's suspension harness. If the harness is too big or too small after you have adjusted the suspensions to their largest or smallest capacity, do not make additional holes in the suspensions. Let a site supervisor know you need a different type of hard hat because yours doesn't fit.

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