Tag Archives: Head Protection

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

MORE SAFETY INFORMATION REGARDING CONCUSSIONS (GUEST POST)

Last December, we featured an article about safety concerns in sports: http://www.blog4safety.com/2013/12/football-isnt-just-fun-and-games/.  In response to that article, we received a very interesting graphic on head injuries involving children through teens.  Because we are all involved in keeping our youngsters and workers safe from traumatic brain injuries, please see the following graph on the various types of injuries, of both girls and boys.  Our thanks to http://www.bostonheadinjurylawyer.com/youth-head-injury-prevention/ for submitting this guest infographic. 

Consider the head injuries that young boys suffer before they start playing football.  We are seeing more and more professional football players claiming dementia and other disorders as the result of repeated hits to their heads.  It is important that young persons play by the rules, and protect their head at all costs.  Training them on how to do this is very important.  Ensure that their schools provide the safest helmets possible.

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

WHAT DO FOOTBALL HELMETS AND HARDHATS HAVE IN COMMON?

The answer: protecting our hard heads!

If you have waited all summer for football season to begin, it’s here!  My husband loves this time of the year, scoping out every football game that he plans to watch, while at the same time, switching channels to Texas Rangers baseball games, and week-end golf tournaments.  His remote trigger finger has to move pretty fast.  (He prefers to surf channels rather than watching two events at once!) 

Chances are, he’s not the only one who is in a great mood, now that NCAA and NFL  football is here.  Are you wondering where the hardhats come in?  Well, most guys and gals that are required to wear hardhats in their line of work have the opportunity to sport their favorite team hardhat!  Can you think of a better way to support your team than showing off their logo for an 8-hour shift?  Chances are, you will see some fans wearing their team hardhats at the games.  

Not wanting to slight any other sports, there are hardhats that display the MLB, NHL, NBA, and NASCAR logos.  The main function of hardhats is to protect our heads, either from getting hit by falling objects or bumping into things.  Hardhats have come a long way since they were first created, being made of leather and shellac.  There are all types of attachments that hardhats can contain, such as protective neck shields from the sun, sunshield that fit around them, earmuffs, headsets, and pencil holders. 

Just as helmets and pads protect our football players from injury, hardhats serve the same purpose for workers.  It’s surprising just how many types of hardhats exist: ones that are aluminum, high visibility Glow-In-The-Dark, and even Cowboy style hardhats that furnish the same safety functions.  The key to a successful safety program is to protect employees from head injuries.  The easiest and most important way is by wearing safety hard hats.  These protect workers from the shock of a blow to the head, and penetration.  The shell should be 1 to 1 ¼” away from the head to cushion impact, and the hardhat should have instructions for proper adjustment and replacement of suspension and headband.  Proper fit is of the utmost importance. 

While your employees are wearing their hardhats to be compliant with safety requirements, allow them to support their favorite teams by wearing their logo on their hardhat.  Make compliance fun!

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

HARD HATS – WHEN DO YOU WEAR THEM? (Guest Post)

2 Comments
Some construction workers will tell you that the hard hat is one of hardest things to keep on your head but they are a necessary part of safety.  When you are on the ground and someone is working above you there is always a chance of something hitting you from above. Two of our construction workers were finishing out their day and they were lowering the buckets of tools down from a swing stage to the ground.  One of the buckets of tools flipped over while being lowered to the ground and one of tools flew out.  It did not hit the worker that was on the ground, it was, what we would call a near miss, but the hard hat would have been her protection if it had been any closer.  Why take that chance?
 
When working on roadways, on boulevards, or in ditches, the Safety hard hat is the first thing others will see when driving past. The hard hat identifies that work is going on and tells motorists to slow down.  Of course the safety vest is also to be worn on these types of jobs. It is also a crucial part of identifying the construction worker.  Even the supervisor has to wear a hard hat and a safety vest when going on the job site to set a good example. 
 
Several years ago, before a lot of the safety rules which are in place now, a supervisor on a job site had his hard hat save his life in a very unusual way.    That supervisor was my Dad.  He was always in the site trailer doing his job but on this particular day he had been called out to the job site where  work was in progress.  Like always as leaving the trailer, he grabbed his hard hat and put it on.  When he got to the work site, one of the workers who had been causing problems and been warned before, was again causing havoc on the job.  He had no choice but to fire him.  After solving the problem, my Dad started walking back to his site trailer but still oddly enough kept his hard hat on.   The worker that had just been fired came up behind him with a small sledge hammer in hand and hit my Dad on the head.  His hard hat saved him from a major head injury and as I said before, possibly his life.  Mind you, my Dad had a pretty hard head.   The company he worked for at the time awarded him the golden hard hat award for his safety diligence.
 
Moral of this story is:  When on a job site, wear your hard hat all the time.  This includes workers, foreman, supervisors, safety officers and any visitors to the site.  You never know what is going to happen.  When attending one of our job sites you must have a hard hat, steel toed boots and safety vest where warranted.  Where is that?  Everywhere, you are on our jobsites.  As you can tell, I was taught these rules early in life.  As a child if I visited my Dad’s sites, you had to have steel toed boots on your feet and a hard hat on your head, to go anywhere on one of his sites.   Remember this was before there was a Safety Association to tell us the right way, or any kind of safety rules like there are in place today.  It was called common sense, and that is what safety is.
Susan Schwabl
nascon.ca
safetyequipment.shopbuynenjoy.com/
770-7478
Fall Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Respiratory Safety

PROTECTING WORKERS’ SAFETY & HEALTH DURING RESCUE AND RECOVERY, PART II

1 Comment

Rescue workers and emergency responders never know what type of hazards they may face, depending on the particular type of disaster that occurs.  We began listing general precautions that they should take in Part I of this article.  Although we know that they are prepared for all types of emergencies, we want to share this information in hopes that it will be of assistance. 

Rescue workers and emergency responders will more than likely be exposed to blood or body fluids, or pathogens from sewer system breakage.  It is very important that they wear gloves, other protective clothing, and respiratory protection.  Decontamination of workers and equipment (P.P.E.),  before leaving the site is very important to prevent adverse health effects, contain any hazards to the site, and prevent secondary contamination of off-site facilities (e.g., fire stations, or workers’ homes) or additional equipment, such as ambulances.  Slips, trips and fall hazards from holes or protruding rebar may exist.  Fall protection equipment, with lifelines tied off to suitable anchorage points (e.g., bucket trucks) should be used whenever possible.  Hardhats should be worn when working around unstable structures where there is a potential for secondary collapse.  Also, there could be types of over-hanging debris that could fall on workers. 

In Part I, the use of respiratory protection was mentioned.  N-95 or greater respiratory protection is acceptable for most activities with dust exposure, including silica and cement dust.  Use full-face respirators with P-100 organic vapor-acid gas combination cartridges if airborne contaminants are causing eye irritation.  

Workers should be monitored for signs of heat/cold stress, such as altered vital signs, confusion, excessive sweating, and fatigue.  Work schedules should be adjusted to rotate personnel, and additional workers should be added to work teams.  Everyone should refrain from food and beverages in areas exposed to toxic materials. 

Because so many disasters have already occurred this year, it is important to know that when large-scale disasters overwhelm State and local assets, the National Response Framework (NRF) Worker Safety and Health Support Annex can provide technical assistance needed to help protect Federal, State, Tribal, and local organizations’ response and recovery workers.  According to OSHA, depending on the scope, complexity, and hazards associated with the incident services of the NRF include the following: 

  1. Identifying and assessing worker health and safety hazards present at the site and in the environment.
  2. Assessing the resources needed to protect workers and identifying sources available to meet those needs.
  3. Providing technical expertise in industrial hygiene, occupational safety and health, structural collapse engineering, safety engineering, radiation safety, biological and chemical agent response, and occupational medicine.
  4. Managing the creation and implementation of a site-specific health and safety plan (HASP).
  5. Monitoring and managing worker safety and health hazards through on-site identification, evaluation, analysis, and mitigation, including personal exposure monitoring.
  6. Providing assistance with developing, implementing, and monitoring the personal protective equipment (PPE) program, including the selection, use and decontamination of PPE.
  7. Coordinating the collection and management of exposure and accident/injury data to identify trends and facilitate data sharing.
  8. Coordinating and providing incident-specific response and recovery worker training.
  9. Assisting with the development and distribution of educational materials on preventing and mitigating hazards. 

Although we wish that this year’s disasters were over, it is only May, and there are seven months left in this year.  We know that thunderstorm season is here, as well as flooding disasters, with hurricane season not too far behind.  We owe our thanks to those emergency workers who stand by, prepared to serve whenever and wherever needed. 

Source: OSHA

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

USE YOUR HEAD – WEAR THAT HARDHAT!

1 Comment

The key to a successful safety program is to protect employees from head injuries.  The easiest and most important way is by wearing safety hard hats.

These protect workers from the shock of a blow to the head, and penetration.  The shell should be 1 to 1 ¼” away from the head to cushion impact, and the hardhat should have instructions for proper adjustment and replacement of suspension and headband.  Proper fit is of the utmost importance.

Most hard hats have slots to accommodate safety glasses, face shields, mounted lights, and/or earmuffs.

Three industrial classes of hardhats are:

  • Class A – Impact and penetration resistant and limited voltage protection – up to 2,200 volts.
  • Class B – Highest level of high-voltage shock and burn protection – up to 20,000 volts.  These protect from impact and penetration hazards such as falling/flying objects.
  • Class C – Lightweight comfort and important protection but not electrical hazard protected.

There are some important facts one should know about their hard hats:

  • Hard hats won’t last forever.
  • Hard hats should be replaced after no more than 5 years of use.
  • The suspension of a hard hat should be replaced after no more than 12 months of use.
  • Hard hats must meet ANSI Z89.1-2003 requirements.
  • Hard hat suspensions should not be interchanged with other manufacturers’ suspensions.
  • The service life of a hard hat starts when it is placed in use, not when it is manufactured.  This date should be placed inside the helmet.

Personal protective equipment such as hard hats, should be maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition.  It can only be effective if used properly and the user understands its care, maintenance, and limitations, according to OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132.

There was a time when hard hats were pretty “Plain Jane”, but no longer.  Workers can choose from NCAA/TEAM/NASCAR, World War II themes, Patriotic, Glow-In-The-Dark, customized ones with logos, and even Cowboy styles!  Different types of hard hats allow persons to reflect their personalities, as well as be safety compliant.

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

PPE: Head Protection

2 Comments

The key to a successful safety program is to protect employees from head injuries.  The easiest and most important way is by wearing safety helmets/hard hats.  These protect workers from the shock of a blow to the head, and penetration.  The shell should be 1 to 1 ¼” away from the head to cushion impact, and the hardhat should have instructions for proper adjustment and replacement of suspension and headband.  Proper fit is of the utmost importance.
Most hard hats have slots to accommodate safety glasses, face shields, mounted lights, and/or earmuffs.

Three industrial classes of hardhats are:

  • Class A – Impact and penetration resistant and limited voltage protection – up to 2,200 volts.
  • Class B – Highest level of high-voltage shock and burn protection – up to 20,000 volts.  These protect from impact and penetration hazards such as falling/flying objects.
  • Class C – Lightweight comfort and important protection but not electrical hazard protected.

Bump Caps are for low head clearance areas where hard hats are not required.  Made to protect from bumps and bruises, bump caps are constructed from polyethylene.

Baseball Cap/Bump Caps have a PE lining inside the cap to protect from bumps and lacerations, as well, and are intended for workers who are not mandated to wear hard hats.

Safety is important, but just because you need to be safe, doesn’t mean you can’t have some style.  There are many different hard hat styles that are all ANSII approved.  Full brim and cap style hats are available in a variety of solid colors.  You can also find hats with different patterns on them, including flames, camouflage and flags for various countries.  You can even purchase hard hats displaying your favorite team. NFL, NCAA, NHL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR styles are all available.

Source: OSHA