Wearing a hard hat or safety helmet may become your daily habit when you enter the plant site. However, I guess most of us do not aware whether the hard hats you are using are still able to protect your head from hazards or not.
So I think it is very essential to remind you (maybe including myself) about hard hat safety or safety hard hats. Read the hard hat safety reminders below to ensure that you have protected your head with the right hard hat or helmet.
- Safety hard hats must be worn by workers in any workplace where such hazards as flying objects, falling objects, harmful contacts, or electric current exist.
- They are designed to protect workers through their rigid outer shell and interior suspension system. The outer shell reduces the impact force resulting from falling objects. The inner side works as a shock absorber.
- There are some types of them that can protect workers’ necks, faces,s, and shoulders from spills, drips, and splashes.
- There are also some types of them that can be adapted to put in goggles, hoods, ear protectors, or face shields.
- All the helmets must be conformed to the ANSI Z89.1-1997 standards for Industrial Protective Helmets.
- The selection of safety helmets must be based on work requirements. In another word, it means that you must consider typical hazards that exist in your work area.
- Make sure that you purchase ones with ANSI certification labels on the inside of the shell.
- Reject helmets that are not completed with the ANSI certification labels.
- Safety hard hats are classified into Type-I and Type-II. Type-I is aimed to reduce the force of impact resulting from a blow only to the top of the head. Type-II is aimed to reduce the force of impact resulting from a blow that may be received off-center or to the top of the head.
- For electrical requirements, helmets are classified into Class E, Class G, and Class C. Class E is aimed to reduce the hazard of exposure to high voltage electrical conductors, which is tested at 20,000 volts. Class G is aimed to reduce the hazard of exposure to low voltage electrical conductors, which are tested at 2,200 volts. Class C is not aimed to protect workers from an electrical conductor.
- Always ensure your helmet fits your head appropriately.
- Use only your own helmet. Do not borrow it from your friend or someone else.
- Keep them clean. Use hot water and detergent to immerse it. Then, wash it and clean it with hot water.
- Clean up any dirt, paint, sticky material, or dust from the helmets as soon as you can.
- Check it regularly. Find any sign of damage like cracks, brittle, scratch, etc. Replace immediately damaged helmets.
- Safety hard hats are similar to other personal protective equipment. They have a certain lifetime. Check it through the manufacturer’s manual.
- It is recommended that you apply safety stickers on it.
Using a hard hat is not enough to protect your head perfectly. Use only the right ones that fit your working conditions. Finally, do not put your safety at risk by using non-standard industrial helmets.
