Safety Helmet Injury Prevention

Working in building, construction or other industrial environments presents employees with many health and safety risks. One of these risks includes injury or death from falling objects. People generally don't consider how even small objects falling from low heights can cause catastrophic injuries.An inexpensive, effective tool for protecting your head and face from such injuries is the safety helmet. These are often referred to as "hard hats."

Myths And Realities

• Require your employees to wear hard hats when the job environment necessitates it. When you do so, expect to hear some very common complaints or myths related to hard hat use until your employees get acclimated to your safety policies. Though hard hats are only a slightly heavier than a standard baseball cap, complaints will come that hard hats are too heavy and uncomfortable to wear. When employees complain that wearing a hard hat makes them feel too hot, confront them with the reality that temperature measurements taken under a hard hat very often show that the head is cooler under a hard hat than without one. Some employees may complain that wearing a hard hat gives them a headache. Remind them of the significant damage that can be caused by a falling brick, tool or piece of lumber. Whatever the complaint, prepare yourself with a meaningful reply to demonstrate the need for safety headgear. They may be saving their own life by doing so.

Characteristics

• Hard hats are commonly made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Other materials include fiberglass and aluminum hard hats, though the metal helmets should not be used for electrical work due to the shock hazards. Hard hats aren't simply for head protection. hey can protect against impacts to your entire upper body area such as the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, neck, shoulders, upper chest and upper back. One class of hard hat protects you against electrical shock. The basic features of the common hard hat is its hard outer shell, which is impact resistant. A suspension system within the helmet absorbs the blow when an object strikes the hard hat.

Classes of Hard Hat

• Class "A" hard hats are for general industrial applications, including manufacturing, construction, and mining. They do not provide significant protection against electrical hazards.

  Class "B" hard hats affords you all the protection of the Class A hard hat with the additional protection against hazardous energy electrical shocks. You will often see these in use by employees of power companies who work with high voltage and overhead wiring.

  Class "C" hard hats aren't actually hard hats at all. They're commonly known as "bump caps" and offer only the slightest protection against falling objects and no protection from shocks and burns. These are not recommended for industrial applications for Class A or B hard hats. They are deployed to protect against bumping into fixed objects such as storage racks or pipes. Class A and B helmets offer the same protection without the risk that employees would use bump caps for more dangerous applications.

Replacement

• You should replace a hard hat anytime someone has suffered a strike from a heavy object or is otherwise damaged. Do not attempt to repair, alter or otherwise compromise the integrity of the safety helmet.