When working at construction sites and other workplace surroundings, helmets, better known as hard hats, provide protection to the head from debris, bad weather and falling objects. According to a number of tests, a hard hat can take the impact of an 8-pound object that is released from a height of five feet. It is an indispensable piece of gear and mandatory for people that work with earth moving machinery. For instance, miners, road and maintenance workers, and those in the construction industry use them. They are even used by manufacturing personnel.
A hard hat is characterized by an exterior surface made of rigid and hard plastic that is intended to protect heads from falling stones, small objects, loose rubble and even bad weather. It weighs an average of fourteen ounces and is seen in a variety of colors.
The most comfortable and protective version is the one that fits you perfectly. Hard hats are the best PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) when on the job and have been used for a number of years. In the US, the Bullard Company was the first to manufacture protective headgear, which he called as "hard boiled hats." While the first construction site that required a hard hat to be used was the 'Golden Gate Bridge' construction in 1933. Today they have evolved into better pieces of Personal Protection and are fitted with add-ons like visors, earmuffs, mirrors that enhance rear view, and are made from HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene).
The HDPE used for making the hard hat ensures that it is as lightweight as possible while providing maximum protection to the head. They have to undergo stringent quality tests to make sure that meet necessary safety standards. The types used by workers provide a characteristic profile – one that can be identified in peripheral vision. Usually, the hard hat colors symbolize the worker category like workmen wear yellow, technicians wear blue, safety administrators wear red and supervisors wear white.
For road maintenance workers, the hard hats are pasted with reflective material or fluorescent strips, which adds to their safety while on the job. Other additional safety features that are seen are the hard safety suspension system which is a simple shock absorber incase of impact with an object. Sweatbands are a requirement and this leads the hat from slipping off. As mentioned earlier, to get the maximum protection and safety make sure that these fit right.
Hard hats is classified into three classes, A, B and C. A hard hat made with insulating material that protects you from electrical shock (2,200V) and impact from a falling object is a 'Class A' hard hat. Class B are similar to A but but can withstand shocks up to 20, 000 V. The 'Class C' hard hat is meant only to protect you from impact from falling objects and not an electric shock.
