Head Protection
VIJAIARASAN P.A(MIIRSM)(Tech IOSH)
Environment, Health and Safety Manager at Danieli Group
Introduction:
Head injury accident is one kind of the major occupational accidents in the workplace, particularly in the construction industry. Every year many workers are injured or are even killed as a result of head injury. The main risks of head injury in the workplaces are as follows:
To effectively reduce the risks of head injury, an appropriate type of safety helmet should be provided. The safety helmet selected should satisfy certain performance requirements including shock absorption, resistance to penetration; and be adjustable to fit and make comfortable to the user. certainly, the safety helmet can never be effective unless it is properly worn for the purpose.
Legal requirements:
Each affected employee shall wear protective helmets when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects. Protective helmets designed to reduce electrical shock hazards shall be worn by each such affected employee when near exposed electrical conductors which could contact the head.
Although the OSHA standards themselves do not identify specific occupations or applications where head protection is required, there are some examples:
Some examples of occupations for which head protection should be routinely considered are: carpenters, electricians, lineman, mechanics and repairers, plumbers and pipefitters, assemblers, packers, wrappers, sawyers, welders, labours, freight handlers, timber cutting and logging, stock handlers, and warehouse labours."
The appendix also provides examples of general applications where head protection should be worn.
Helmets must comply with the performance guidelines in the ANSI Z89.1-1986, American National Standard for Personal Protection—Protective Headwear for Industrial Workers Requirements.
Special Requirements:
The legal obligation is imposed on the contractor responsible for a construction site under Regulation 48 of the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations?to provide each workman employed on the site with a suitable safety helmet and to ensure that no workman remains on the site unless he is wearing a suitable safety helmet. Besides, no person shall enter a construction site unless he is wearing a suitable safety helmet.
Similar provisions have also been laid down on Regulations (17)(1) and 36(1) of the Quarries (Safety) Regulations (Subsidiary legislation of Chapter 59) requiring proprietors to provide suitable safety helmets and workers to wear the safety helmets provided respectively.
In terms of electrical performance, ANSI Z89.1-1986 recognizes three classes:
Risk assessment:
Risk assessment should be conducted to identify the potential hazards of head injury relating to the work to be done and the working environment and assess the level of the risks associated with each hazard. After the result of risk assessment is documented, engineering or administrative controls
encompassing anticipated changes in the task or process should be considered and documented for elimination or reduction of the risks at source. Furthermore, adequate arrangements on the selection, use, care and maintenance of safety helmets should be incorporated once the need has been identified. It is important to ensure that the roles and responsibilities of individuals are properly defined and clearly spelt out.
Selection criteria and procedures:
One of the key elements of the head protection programme is the proper selection of safety helmets. Detailed procedures for selecting suitable safety helmets should therefore be documented. First of all, the design and performance criteria appropriate to the anticipated hazards should be thoroughly examined. Specifications of safety helmets should then be prepared accordingly. The selection procedures should also cover purchasing arrangements and inspection of safety helmets upon receipt.
Validation:
The procedures laid down as well as the responsibilities established throughout the organisation for the use of safety helmets should be periodically reviewed to see how and how good the programme is performing and whether adjustment or improvement is required. Particular attention should be paid to the change of any process which may render safety helmets selected ineffective and may constitute hazards for which additional control measures are required. As far as possible, feedback from workers should be sought during the review. This will certainly improve the effectiveness of the system and the users' acceptance of the safety helmets selected.
Service Life:
One common misconception is that hard hats have a predetermined service life - that is not the case. Both the 1986 and 1997 ANSI standards address service life under maintenance and care of the hard hat. All hard hat components should be inspected daily for signs of dents, cracks, penetration and any damage due to impact, rough treatment, or wear. Although it is not considered a "shelf?life", some hard hats do have "Useful Service Life Guidelines". These guidelines suggest replacing the suspension every 12 months and the hard hat after 5 years of use. Any hard hat that fails the visual inspection should be removed from service until the problem is corrected.
In addition to everyday wear and tear, ultraviolet (UV) radiation can pose a problem for hats constructed of plastic materials. Damage caused by UV radiation is easy to spot: the hat will lose its glossy finish and eventually take on a chalky appearance. Further degradation could cause the shell to actually start flaking away. Once the effects of UV radiation are detected, the hard hat shell should be immediately replaced.
Safety helmets and their accessories:
Method of protection:
A safety helmet protects against impact from overhead by absorbing energy through -
(a) partial destruction or damage of the shell;
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(b) stretching of the harness; and
(c) crushing of the protective padding if any.
The residual force of the impact is spread over the surface of the head thus lessening the chance of injury. To achieve the purpose, stringent performance/test requirements apply to safety helmets.
General Design:
A safety helmet consists of two primary components - a shell and a harness?????
The shell is a dome-shaped covering for the head and is made of hard and durable materials. The outer surface of the shell should be smoothly finished. It may include:
The harness is the assembly that provides a means of maintaining the helmet in position on the user's head and absorbing kinetic energy within the shell during an impact.
It basically includes:
It may also include:
Materials used:
The materials for safety helmets should be of durable quality having considered the effect of aging and subjected environments such as sunlight, humidity, temperature, and vibration. For those parts coming into contact with the wearer's skin, the materials used should not give rise to irritation.
For the shell, materials commonly used are:
For the harness, materials commonly used are:
For the cushioning elements, the material commonly used is:
Helmet accessories:
There is a wide range of accessories that can be fitted to a safety helmet to make it more suitable for variable working conditions. Examples of accessories are chin strap, face shield, earmuffs, and hand lamp (Figure D to G). Care should be taken to ensure that any addition of helmet accessories and their attachment should be compatible with the helmet. Use of original manufacturer's accessories is recommended. No modification or change of existing helmets should be carried out to fit accessories unless advice from the manufacturer has been sought.
International/ National standards:
Safety helmets should satisfy certain performance/test requirements, including resistance to penetration, shock absorption, electrical insulation, resistance to flame and various working temperatures, etc. Each design should have its own specifications to suit the working environment and the work to be done.
A suitable safety helmet will mean one which is conforming to international/ national standards. Some of the commonly used standards are as follows:
A safety helmet should bear appropriate marking indicating conformity to certain international/ national standards. For example, every safety helmet complying with the requirements of the European Standard (EN 397) shall carry molded or impressed marking giving the following information:
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