Head Protection

How Hard Hats Protect You

Hard hats protect you by providing the following features:

1) A rigid shell that resists and deflects blows to the head.
2) A suspension system inside the hat that acts as a shock absorber.
3) Some hats serve as an insulator against electrical shocks.
4) Shields your scalp, face, neck, and shoulders against splashes, spills, and drips.
5) Some hard hats can be modified so you can add face shields, goggles, hoods, or hearing protection to them.

Why Head Protection is Important

Your head is a very delicate part of your body. In and around your head are:

Your eyes, with which you see.
Your ears, with which you hear
Your nose, with which you smell
Your mouth, with which you eat and speak
Your brain, with which you think.

Injuries to the head are very serious so use your Head and wear your hard hat. It might just save your life today...

HEAD PROTECTION SURVEY

Prevention of head injuries is an important factor in every safety program. A single injury can handicap an employee for life, or it can be fatal. A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of accidents and injuries noted that most workers who suffered impact injuries to the head were not wearing head protection. The majority of workers were injured while performing their normal jobs at their regular worksites.

The survey showed that in most instances where head injuries occurred employers had not required their employees to wear head protection. Of those workers wearing hard hats, all but five percent indicated that they were required by their employers to wear them. It was found that the vast majority of those who wore hard hats all or most of the time at work believed that hard hats were practical for their jobs. According to the report, In almost half of the accidents involving head injuries, employees knew of no actions taken by employers to prevent such injuries from recurring.

The BLS survey noted that more than one-half of the workers were struck on the head while they were looking down and almost three-tenths were looking straight ahead. While a third of the unprotected workers were injured when bumping into stationary objects, such actions injured only one-eighth of hard hat wearers. Elimination or control of a hazard leading to an accident should, of course, be given first consideration, but many accident-causing head injuries are of a type difficult to anticipate and control. Where these conditions exist, Head protection must be worn to eliminate injury!

Safety helmets for head protection on construction sites

Wearing a safety helmet on a construction site may prevent or lessen a head injury from falling objects or a person hitting their head against something.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1983:

1) Employers have a "Duty of Care" to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of employees and others.
2) Employers must take all practicable measures to control risks against injuries in the workplace.
3) Employees have an obligation to co-operate with their employers on health and safety matters.
4) Failing to comply with the "Duty of Care" provisions of the Act is an offence.

Duty of Care

There is a legal requirement for industry to be responsible for managing - workplace health and safety. This requirement, expressed as the "Duty of Care" principle, is the basis of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1983. Implementing the Duty of Care principle means planning for prevention of workplace accidents, injuries and illness.

Responsibilities

The need for safety helmets to be worn on construction sites should be established by the person in control, conducting a hazard assessment.

1. Employers are responsible for ensuring that a safety helmet is worn on a construction site where:

There is a possibility that a person may be struck on the head by a falling object.
A person may strike their head against a fixed or protruding object.
Accidental head contact may be made with electrical hazards.

2. Every person on a construction site should wear a safety helmet:

Where there is a risk of a head injury.
If required to do so by an employer and/or the person in control of the workplace.

NOTE: It is Compulsory to Wear a Safety Helmet When Carrying Out Demolition Work. Construction Safety Regulation 84(32).

All safety helmets worn on construction sites should conform with the requirements of AS1801 - Industrial Safety Helmets and be maintained in accordance with AS1800 - The Selection, Care and Use of Industrial Safety Helmets