Head Protection
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Head Protection Articles
Below is a list of articles that have been published on this topic.
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Head Protection
Prevention of head injuries is an important factor in every safety programme. A single injury can handicap an employee for life, or it can be fatal. In a survey of accidents and injuries by the American Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), it was 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.
Use Your Head - Wear that Hard Hat
No one can predict objects falling from above. When we were kids, our teachers told us to put on our ‘thinking caps’. Now that we are all grown up, those who work in industrial settings need to use their thinking caps to remember to always wear head protection anytime hazards are present. The key to keeping yourself out of harm’s way is personal protective equipment, of all types.
Ergonomics of PPE - Ensuring Acceptable Above the Neck Protection
Although it is widely recognised that reduction of any risk at source is to be preferred, in many workplaces Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is used, either as the only form of protection or as an additional defence. Taking just one form of protection as an example, research has established that 5.5 million workers are exposed to respiratory hazards in the workplace. Of these, approximately 50% wear respiratory protective equipment (RPE). However, it is also estimated that only 50% of these wear equipment that is correctly selected and fitted. It can be calculated from this that only 25% of those at risk are adequately protected which suggests that the remaining 75% could be at risk from respiratory ill health.
Above the Neck - Protection of the head, face, vision and hearing
It really goes without saying that the protection of the head, face, vision and hearing in many working environments is of paramount importance. This is due to the importance and sensitivity of these areas and the potential consequences should any of these areas be damaged. Many of the required protective equipment can be fitted into one device - the helmet. However sometimes it is impractical, uncomfortable or just unavailable to the user.
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Racing to Improve Head Protection
An accident in July in which a young man's life was saved by a safety helmet was witnessed on TV by millions of people. Felipe Massa was driving in the Hungarian Grand Prix when a spring from another car impacted the side of his helmet and fractured his skull. A new helmet regulation issued five years earlier that introduced a combination of new design and materials to improve protection levels by 50 per cent, had spared his life.
Can You Keep A Cool Head
In a previous HSI article (October 2006 - “If you want to keep your head, wear the right hat”) I wrote about head protection. The topics covered included causes of head injury, how and when helmets protect you, regulations and standards, types of helmet and SUCAM (Selection, Use, Care And Maintenance). This article provides a selection of some more useful and (hopefully) interesting points about head protection not covered in my previous article.
Keeping Your Head - Intact
The whole point of protective headwear is that it is just that - a protection, a safeguard, something that is designed to lessen the effect of certain incidents.
Protect Your Head
This article gives an overview, including some of the aspects of head protection that are not so well known. The same principles of head protection apply wherever you are in the world, but I have used examples of European standards. As with any PPE, you can get detailed advice from manufacturers, suppliers and safety organizations and regulators; HSE in the UK1.
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Above the Neck Protection
To prevent ourselves coming to injury or harm while going about our jobs, we are nowadays accustomed to using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to minimise exposure to hazardous substances and offer protection in case of an accident. However, personal protective equipment is not the only route that offers protection as good work practices and organisational controls can also be used as valid risk reduction techniques.
Safety Helmets
Austin Simmons, head of SATRA's safety product test centre, explains helmet safety and his organisation's capabilities to test to the most stringent standards. Safety helmets are worn in a variety of industrial, sports and leisure activities. Industrial applications, include workers on construction sites and in the fire service. Common sporting activities include horse riding, rock climbing, canoeing as well as helmets being worn on vulnerable types of transport such as cycles and motorcycles.
Head Protection Equipment
Every year many workers are killed or seriously injured in the construction industry as a result of head injuries. Wearing an appropriate safety helmet significantly reduces the risk of injury or even death. Protective headwear could save your life.
Do I Have to Carry Out Fit Testing?
Legislative background to the use of Qualitative Fit Testing in the UK
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Industrial Safety Helmets
Certification and testing
Keeping Your Head
Helmets today are well designed and can offer significant protection if carefully selected, used, and maintained. Improved helmets are on the way, but there is no need to wait; increased use of existing helmets would greatly reduce the number of head injuries.
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