Advancements In Head Protection

Head protection has come a long way since the day of the “Hard-Boiled Hat” which made its appearance in the early 1920s to protect members of the U.S. Navy and coastal shipyard workers from impacts to the head. At that time, hard hats were $3, which translates to $48.75 in today’s economy. In 1928 the first hard hat suspension was introduced with the intention of better displacing the force of an impact to the top of the head should one occur. We refer to this concept today as “force-displacement,” and it is part of the reason why certain hard hats have different suspensions, including 4-point, 6-point and 8-point systems. Ten years later, the standard hard hat shell evolved from leather, tar and metal to aluminum, making for a much lighter wear. This evolution increased worker productivity and reduced the chances of workers doffing their hard hats while working due to neck strain and shoulder fatigue. A few years later, the progression of the hard hat shell continued with the introduction of the fiberglass hard hat. Fiberglass was introduced as an alternative to aluminum due to its tolerance to high heat. This was a popular choice for miners, metal and glass manufacturers in the 1940s, where working with extremely hot materials in hot environments was inevitable. Finally, in 1951 injection-molded plastic hard hats became the most popular form of occupational head protection due to their inexpensive manufacturing process compared to aluminum and fiberglass.

Today HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) are two of the most popular plastics used to manufacture hard hats. Over the past 60 years, we have seen minor advancements to the hard hat, including compatibility with face shields and ear muffs via universal accessory slots as well as integrated eyewear. The primary reason for these advancements has stemmed from end-user demand for versatile protection due to the rapid evolution of hazards on the job site.

THE REALITY OF TODAY’S JOB SITE

It may be an oversimplification, but not all job sites are the same. As was the case with workers building the Golden Gate bridge and the great Empire State Building, falling objects from above remains a prevalent hazard in construction and industrial settings. The hazard that falling object present is so common that the ANSI/ISEA 121-2018 standard was developed to address the testing and performance requirements for equipment used to tether and/or contain hand tools, components, structures and other objects from falling from at-heights applications. While this standard cannot eliminate the hazards associated with dropped objects, it does help with identifying and implementing the correct tethering solutions for specific weighted tools- thus reducing the chance of improper tethering systems used at heights. Workers at lower levels or on the ground are not only subject to head injuries from dropped objects -minor falls, slips and trips have attributed to the growing number of traumatic brain injuries on the job as well. On a standard job site, many workers are required to work on ladders, scaffolding and stilts. While many of these situations do not equate to working at heights above six feet, the injury related to losing balance and falling to the ground can be traumatic. For the past few years now, safety managers have mandated hard hats with added or integrated chinstraps to hold the head protection in place at impact. This simple transition has helped avoid direct impact between the skull and the ground once gravity has taken over.

Recent statistics show that falls have led to the most fatalities in construction and are deemed one of the "fatal four" hazards that all construction companies strive to protect against every day. Surprisingly, a hazard that is often overlooked is a variation of a fatal fall from heights -we are talking about simple slips, trips and falls at ground level. These types of slips or missteps occur almost daily on treacherous job sites that feature everything from uneven terrain, pipes, rocks, cement blocks, lead wire – we can go on. Workers often find themselves rushing from one step or level to another, stepping over hazards constantly in the spirit of completing tasks quickly, efficiently and most importantly of all, on time. When workers fall, it can almost be guaranteed that a standard hard hat has a significant chance of dislodging from the worker's head. As a result, the possibility of direct contact between the ground or a nearby structure with a worker's unprotected head becomes all too real. Oftentimes, the result is a minor scrape or bump and as such, is not reported as an occupational injury, but even a "bump" can be of concern when any contact with the head is involved.