Hard Hat Information
A hard hat is a necessary piece of safety gear that almost all industrial workers will need, from construction workers to miners. Any work environment that could cause workers injury by falling objects or electrical conductors requires a hard hat according to OSHA regulations. When purchasing a hard hat, however, a few types of hard hats exist for workers, some offering more protection than others, but, essentially, hard hats are divided into two different types in terms of protection. From aluminum hard hats to carbon fiber hard hats, all hard hats by all manufacturers have to follow certain safety regulations so that workers are protected in their respective environments.
Hard hats come as type I or II in terms of safety. Type I, in terms of an actual hard hat and not a bump cap, specifies hats that are designed to reduce the force and impact resulting from a blow to the top of the head. Type II, on the other hand, specifies hard hats that provide both side and top protection from blows. If you need a type II hard hat, an employer should specify it. In addition, hard hat designs are also classified by how much they protect from voltage. Most hard hats are at least labeled “G,” or general, for protecting the wearer up to 2,200 volts. The highest type of protection is electrical, or “E,” which protects up to 20,000 volts. Hats that don’t offer significant protection are labeled “C” for conductive. According to OSHA 1910.135 for head protections, employers need to make sure that all employees wear protective head gear in work situations that could potentially result in head injuries from falling objects or exposed electrical conductors. In addition, all hard hats purchased after July 1994 need to comply with ANSI Z89.1-1986 in terms of protection regulations.
Most hard hats are designed with a baseball cap style from polyethylene, although some hard hat types are exceptions. One exception in design is a full brim hard hats. Full brim hard hats offer the wearer additional protection for the neck and ears from the sun and other elements and, in some cases, the full brim on the hat can act as a rain trough. Some other designs include cowboy hard hats, which are standard hard hats designed like cowboy hats and each hard hat has the same type of protection as a standard hard hat. For head protection in less strenuous work environments, bump caps are an option as light head gear, although a bump cap itself doesn’t protect against blows to the top or sides of the head. All hard hats are typically made out of polyethylene shells, although some hats can be made to order with aluminum or fiber glass, or carbon fiber, hat shells instead. In addition, many hard hats can be purchased as custom hard hats in a number of designs from sports teams to Harley Davidson hat decals.
The hat by itself doesn’t do all of the protection. To hold a hard hat in place, a four or six point suspension is needed. Hard hat suspensions attach the hat to the user’s head and lock it in place. Safety hard hats can have one of two suspension mechanisms, a pin-lock or a ratchet suspension. Ratchet suspensions allow the suspension to be adjusted by a knob, while pin-lock suspensions need the suspension strap to be removed manually to be adjusted. Also, most hard hats have accessory slots allowing wearers to put other headgear, like earmuffs, cooling packs, or a head warmer, underneath or attached to the helmet.
Regardless of whether the head protection is an MSA, Bullard, or Fibre Metal hard hat, a hard hat should be replaced every five years. However, a hard hat should be replaced if the shell cracks, the surface becomes dull or chalky, or the shell becomes brittle. Similarly, the suspension needs to be replaced for all of the same reasons in addition to not holding the hat in place securely. A hard hat and the suspension can be cleaned easily with soap and water, although some suspensions are protected naturally by a sweatband inside the hat, which can be washed and will need to be replaced eventually, as well.
