Get Covered With The Right Kind Of Construction Hard Hats

On the construction site, personal safety equipment is key to keeping yourself out of harm’s way. Construction hard hats are essential to protecting you from falling debris or moving objects on the job. Make sure the construction hard hats you wear are best for the task at hand. There are two main types of construction hard hats categorized by type of impact and based on the American National Standard for Head Protection. The first type of construction hard hat is a top impact or Type I hard hat. A top impact construction hard hat helps to protect you from an object that may come from above, directly onto the top of your head. The second type of construction hard hat is a top and lateral impact or Type II hard hat. The top and lateral hard hat does double duty by reducing the impact of an object that may directly hit the top or an off-center part of your head.

OSHA Regulations On Hardhats

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces standards to ensure the safety of workers throughout the United States. OSHA has jurisdiction in just about every sector of the working group of American citizens from construction workers to office workers. OSHA maintains several guidelines in regards to the use of hardhats.

• Any area where there is a hazard of falling objects that may injure a person’s head is an area where employers should require that employees wear protective headgear, such as hardhats.

• In areas where electrical hazards are present, the hardhats should reduce the hazard of electrical shock.

• Any hardhats purchased after July 5, 1994 need to comply with American National Standard for Personnel Protection-Protective Headwear for Industrial Workers-Requirements or should be equally effective at providing head protection.

Brief History of Hard Hats

World famous author and professor, Peter Drucker, believes that equally famous writer Franz Kafka was the first civilian person to develop hard head protection while he was employed at the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute in Bohemia around 1912. This may be the first recorded instance of a third party requiring this protection in construction areas. The E.D. Bullard Company, a mining equipment manufacturer in California, generally gets credit for producing the first U.S. labor head protection, producing hats, first in leather, then in steel, for civilians in America. Bullard hardhats became the best known in the construction industry.

The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, begun in 1933, is the first construction site wherein workers were required to wear hard hats. Around 1938, aluminum replaced steel in hard hats (except for workers dealing with electricity for obvious reasons), and by the mid 1940’s, fiberglass became the material of choice. Now, hardhats are usually made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), often with a foam inner liner made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) for comfort and added safety.

As industrial head protection has evolved from leather helmets to hardhats, creative manufacturers now offer custom hard hats with company logos, NFL hard hats to support your favorite team, and even pink hardhats for female construction workers. About 10 years ago, the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) issued new recommendations for construction hard hats, which, while not mandatory, outline the quality of hardhats and most manufacturers now comply with these standards.

Types of Hard Hats

There are many types of hard hats used in the work place today. Type 1 hats are designed to protect you from objects that might fall from above or into which you might collide. Type 2 hats protect you from both vertical and horizontal threats. The manufacture and protection standards for these general categories are published by both the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), giving you a trusted guide when you want to buy hard hats.

There are three basic categories of hardhats, the important distinction is their resistance to electrical shocks and jolts, as all provide basic falling object protection:

• Class A – provides protection up to 2,200 volts of electricity.
• Class B – gives you maximum electrical protection, up to 20,000 volts.
• Class C – protects you from objects like the prior two classes, but no measurable electrical protection.

There are now hardhats that include face/sun shields, radio connections, ear muffs, and mounted lights. As you might expect, your choices of “styles” is amazing. There are many hard hat logo designs, including NFL hard hats, NASCAR hardhats, cowboy hard hats, and even pink hardhats. All other basic colors are available from a number of OSHA- and ANSI-compliant manufacturers. Most have widely adjustable head bands to keep you comfortable as well as safe while you work.

Those Required to Wear A Hard Hat

The first recorded building project that required the use of hardhats occurred in 1933, when construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Chief engineer, Joe Strauss, wanted workers to be safe and required regular hard hats for all workers and those with a face shield to protect the many sand blasters.

OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) produced a booklet in 2003 that outlines all personal protection equipment (PPE) standards for both employees and employers. In this publication, OSHA states that “employers must ensure that their employees wear head protection if any of the following apply:

• Objects might fall from above and strike them on the head;
• They might bump their heads against fixed objects, such as exposed pipes or beams; or
• There is a possibility of accidental head contact with electrical hazards."

The basic rule of thumb indicates that hard hats should be worn in all situations where there is a danger of objects falling from work being done above you. OSHA also strongly recommends that hardhats should be worn with the bill facing forward to achieve maximum protection. If you are a construction worker, carpenter, linemen, pipe fitter, plumber, electrician, timber or log worker, or welder, you should wear an approved hard hat while on the job. If you work in any function, even management, but frequent worksites with either moving or stationery objects that might prove dangerous, a hard hat is required.

OSHA and ANSI Recommended Hard Hats

OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has issued regulation 1910.135, which outlines what personal protective equipment (PPE) should encompass. Their recommendations follow those of ANSI (American National Standards Institute), which sets standards for a variety of items, including safety hard hats. OSHA has also published a “Personal Protective Equipment Training Guide,” which covers construction hard hats and other protective items (goggles, gloves, etc.).

An MSA Hard Hat, as an example, is a source for a wide variety of hard hats ANSI approved in many colors and designs, including cowboy hard hats. There are designs that have full brims, hats with sunshields, and female-oriented hard hats, MSA has head protection that fits both your work and your personality. Jackson Hard Hats also produce high tech and high “fashion” head protection for both men and women workers. Since ANSI updated their standards in 1997, most manufacturers make both type 1 and type 2 (protects against both vertical and horizontal object problems) hard hats per these recommendations. North Hard Hats is another respected manufacturer of quality head protection and offers many choices of styles and colors.

When you buy hard hats, look for any statements that ensure those you consider are “OSHA-compliant” and/or comply with current ANSI standards of manufacture and protection. Once you are satisfied your choices meet these recommendations, you can pick out the style and color that fits your requirements and preferences.

Hat check time

What with work, weather, and every day use, a hard hat can get old before its time. You'll know when it is time to get a new hard hat when:

• Cracks appear in the shell.
• Shiny surface appears dull or chalky.
• Shell becomes brittle.

While you're at it, check your suspension. You'll know when you need a fresh one if:

• The suspensions become brittle
• One or more of the mounts break off
• The suspension will no longer hold securely to the head
• The cradling straps break or become worn

It is generally a good idea to inspect your hard hat before and after each use. Although there is no set service life for hard hats, manufacturers recommend replacement after no more than 5 years.

The ABCs of head protection

Yes. Hard hats are divided into three industrial classes:

Class G hard hats provide good impact protection but limited voltage protection. They are best for use in mining, building construction, shipbuilding, lumbering, and manufacturing.

Class E helmets provide excellent protection for electrical workers in that they protect against falling objects and high-voltage shock and burns.

Class C light-weight helmets offer limited protection. They protect workers from bumping against fixed objects but do not protect against falling objects or electric shock.

Most hard hat hard hats today offer all 3 categories and called a type 1 hard hat class C,E, & G.

Hard Hat Maintenance

Hard hats should be cleaned regularly in order to improve their length of service. Cleaning your hard hat and suspensions is pretty simple. The hard hats with or without logos can be cleaned with simple soap and water, or by using a damp towel. The plastic suspensions can be cleaned similarly; however, most modern suspensions some with a sweatband in the front or back of the hat. These sweatbands can be gently washed by hand, but they probably won´t last as long as the hard hat. Several universal brow pads are available at an economical price.

Replace your hard hat when:
*Cracks appear in the shell.
*Shiny surface appears dull or chalky.
*Shell becomes brittle.


Replace your Suspension when:
*The suspensions become brittle
*One or more of the mounts break off
*The suspension will no longer hold securely to the head
*The cradling straps break or become worn

Inspect your hard hats before and after each use. Although there is no set service life for hard hats, manufacturers recommend replacement after no more than 5 years.

Heads up!

It goes without saying that our head is worth protecting. It contains our brain and other important stuff that we need to do things like see, talk, hear and eat. That's why wearing a hard hat on construction sites and other places where things can fall without notice out of the sky is a no-brainer. A single head injury can handicap a person for life or even be fatal. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, injuries to workers not wearing hard hats can come from virtually every angle. More than one-half of the workers got knocked on the noggin while they were looking down. About three-tenths were just looking straight ahead minding their own business. While a third of the unprotected workers were injured when they bumped into stationary objects. The moral of the story? Keep your head up, eyes open and hard hat on.

Classes and Types Of Hard Hats

Based on the revisions to ANSI Z89.1-1997 and ANSI Z89.1-2003, hard hats can be further grouped based on voltage. In the ANSI Z89.1-1997 revision, hard hats are classified according to Classes E, G, and C:

· Class E or Electrical – hard hats within this class are able to endure 20,000 volts.
· Class G or General – hard hats within this category protect against 2,200 volts.
· Class C or Conductive – hard hats which cannot protect against electrical voltage fall into this category.

The classes from 1997 were retained in the 2003 revision, but hard hats were further classified by “Type” in the 2003 revision:

· Type I hard hats are used to protect the top of the head only.
· Type II hard hats provide ability to protect the sides of the head as well.

Inside information

It's easy. You don't have to call OSHA or send a letter to your Congressman. Just look at the inside of any protective helmet you are considering for your employees. You should see a label with the manufacturer's name, the ANSI standard it meets, and its class. Most hard hat hard hats today are a type 1 hard hat class C,E, & G. And, most of todays hard hats should meet the ANSI Z89.1-1997 standards. Don't forget to leave the tags in the hat just in case of an inspection.

The suspension story

A for real hard hat is more than just a hard polyethylene shell. Inside each one you'll find a system for securing the hard hat to your head. There are two basic ways this is done:

Pin-lock suspension is basically like a man's belt that attaches to the users head with a locking mechanism. If you want to adjust your hard hat, you have to take it off and remove the suspension.

Ratchet suspension features a quick ratchet adjusting knob. If you want to loosen or tighten the hard hat "on the go" you simply turn the knob.

The typical hard hat will have either four point suspension/six point suspension. This is the actual number of clips that mounts the cradle suspension to the shell of the hard hat.
Manufacturers such as MSA and others offer "V-guard" protection, a large embossed V designed into the hat for added protection. And that is probably all you will ever want to know about hard hat suspension systems.

More about Hard Hats

Unlike a Cuban cigar, a good hard hat is not hard to find. Protective helmets or hard hats must have a hard outer shell and a shock-absorbing lining. The lining should incorporate a head band and straps that suspend the shell from 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.54 cm to 3.18 cm) away from the user's head. This design provides shock absorption during impact and ventilation during wear. Also, hard hats should resist penetration by objects, absorb the shock of a blow, be water-resistant and slow burning and come with instructions explaining proper adjustment and replacement of the suspension and headband.

Protective Headwear of Industrial Workers

ANSI Z89.1-2003 is entitled, “Protective Requirements For Protective Headwear of Industrial Workers,” and is a revision to the previous standard ANSI Z89.1-1997. This standard written by the American National Standard Institute outlines the classes of hard hats based on the risk of danger to the person.

ANSI Z89.1-1997 was a revision of an earlier standard to include guidelines for hard hats in case of blows to the lateral side of the head, or blows to the top of the head.

There was only a small revision of ANSI Z89.1 from 1997 to 2003. The purpose of the 2003 revision was to state only the guidelines, making hard hats more effective to the user.

Clean and jerk

Cleaning your hard hat and suspensions:

The hard hats with or without logos can be cleaned with simple soap and water, or by using a damp towel. The plastic suspensions can be cleaned similarly; however, most modern suspensions come with a sweatband in the front or back of the hat. These sweatbands can be gently washed by hand, but they probably won't last as long as the hard hat. Several universal brow pads are available at an economical price.