Making the right decision for your employees
BY NICOLE NEEDLES
When you think of construction, a few things likely come to mind: heavy machinery, road work, buildings or tools. The most iconic construction symbol, however, is the hard hat.
It is an inherent object associated with the construction industry, so ingrained that there has been no revisit to the hard hat design itself until the last several years. Although traditional hard hats and safety helmets are only slightly different in look, safety helmets are making an appearance on construction professionals’ heads.
What’s the Difference?
Hard hats and safety helmets may look similar, but significant design and functional differences exist. Helmets are modeled after activities prone to head injuries, such as working at heights, ladder use, elevated equipment use, etc. These safety helmets have a chin strap to hold them in place during work or in the event of a fall and an impact-absorbing liner typically made of EPS for extra protection. Hard hats have no strap and only provide protection on the crown of the head. Hard hats are also the more widely used and lesser-expensive headgear.
There are also some discrepancies between the two, such as accessories or parts needed, internal temperature and service life.
Scott Greenhaus, EVP at Structural Technologies, notes how a safety helmet reacts after a fall. “Safety helmets can protect not only from side impact but also mitigate the rotational forces that act on the brain during a fall. When you fall, you generally don’t fall straight up and down; you fall at an oblique angle, and this causes a rotation of your head, creating a differential movement between your brain and your skull,” he said. “This shearing action is a primary cause of TBIs (traumatic brain injuries). There is new technology available that is incorporated into a variety of helmets that protects the brain from these rotational forces.”
Why Are Safety Helmets Becoming More Popular?
In the past few years, the design of hard hats has been reevaluated and examined. Many construction companies are implementing safety helmets and making the switch, but some are slow to make the change. Making such a widespread change can be difficult throughout the industry, and it may be costly. According to the Hard Hats to Helmets website (https://www.hardhat- stohelmets.org), helmets are commonplace in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Greenhaus says his workplace began implementing safety helmets after an onsite accident seriously injured one of their workers.
“We don’t know for sure whether better head protection would have saved a life or prevented a serious TBI from occurring, but we did note that the affected workers’ hard hats were on the ground after the incident, which led us to question if there is something we could do differently or better to protect our people,” Greenhaus said. “Construction workers are suffering too many traumatic brain injuries. We know how it affects somebody’s life in a permanent way: their family, coworkers and friends, and their ability to function and lead a full life. There’s got to be something better. So we launched into our process of really understanding it, understanding these issues, understanding what’s out there that’s better.”
From there, Greenhaus and the Structural Technologies team did the testing and took steps to implement safety helmet use on their projects, and they have been using them ever since.
Knowing the Numbers
Between 2003-2010 traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) accounted for 25% of construction fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2020, there were 341 deaths from falls attributed to head trauma. In addition to the tragic loss of life from head injuries, there’s a financial cost as well. In 2018, 60% of head injuries in workers’ compensation claims across all industries involved a TBI, as reported by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Active TBI claims between 2013 and 2018 averaged about $136,000 in total incurred costs. Reducing the number of injuries and deaths, as well as workers’ comp costs due to TBIs is the goal.
Implementing safety helmets on job- sites may help with that.
A recent study (“Effect of helmet design on impact performance of industrial safety helmets”) examined six different types of safety helmets to compare performance: two traditional hard hats (Types 1 and 2), two climbing style helmets and two safety helmets with dedicated rotation- damping technologies. All were evaluated by observing the impact of falling objects on the head gear and simulating a fall by dropping a helmeted head-neck surrogate. According to the study, 52-62% of impacts occur to the front and sides of the helmet and only a quarter to a third occur on the helmet crown. Therefore, helmets with a dedicated rotation-damping technology demonstrated the “potential to improve protection from side impacts and falls.”
Safety Helmet Use on the Jobsite
While OSHA requires that construction workers wear head protection, the agency doesn’t address performance standards for hard hats and helmets, leaving that to the International Safety Equipment Association and the American National Standard Institute (ANSI is currently working on incorporating safety helmets into a standard update projected to be released by 2024). Researching resources such as Hard Hats to Helmets (www.hard- hatstohelmets.org) and getting the proper information are great starts for contractors considering making a change.
Hard Hats to Helmets is a website intended to provide information, communication and awareness of the benefits of providing construction workers the most effective head protection available. “The purpose is to create a one-stop-shop to gain information,” Greenhaus said.
Visitors will find research, academic papers, articles and general information and experiences from those in the industry.
The next step, Greenhaus says, is to order samples of the helmets and use a test group of workers to get their feedback. From there, if the input is positive, several helmet manufacturers can provide helmets and the necessary accessories.
“Any change takes an adjustment period,” said Cindy DePrater, senior vice president and chief environment, health and safety officer at Turner Construction, a member of multiple AGC chapters. “Our decision in 2013 to embark on a research project with NIOSH/CDC to optimize helmet design and reduce traumatic brain injury and their severity at construction worksites has led to many positive changes across the industry.”
This process may take some time and commitment, however.
“Prior to implementing our policy to require helmets with the four-point chin strap, we conducted pilots and received feedback from our colleagues and workers,” she said. “This process helped us select the safety helmets that we would adopt and engaged those closest to the work to become advocates for the change.”
Beyond the Helmet and Hard Hat
Whether a craft professional uses a hard hat or a safety helmet, it is not the only thing needed to prevent head injuries. Other forms of head protection that may be used on construction sites include safety goggles, face shields and ear protection. It is crucial for construction workers to wear the appropriate head protection for the task at hand and to ensure that it is adequately maintained and replaced when necessary. It’s also essential to post proper caution signage throughout the construction site and to ensure that they are followed. Harnesses and other fall protection gear used at heights should always be incorporated and kept up to date.
“We continually strive to raise the bar on worker safety and invest a tremendous number of resources in purposeful innovations — innovations that help people overcome challenges in safety, make hard work easier and ultimately help make meaningful change,” said DePrater.
Two policies that Turner Construction has implemented are working to prevent serious head injuries. The first one requires workers to wear fall protection when working at or above six feet. The second is the Ladders Last Program.
“The Ladders Last program reduces or eliminates ladders, said DePrater. “Ladder use on Turner projects will be allowed only when it has been determined there is no other feasible/safer option to complete the task. If determined a ladder is the only means of performing a job at an elevated height, a ladder permit and safety checklist must be submitted prior to starting work. Use of job-built ladders is prohibited on Turner projects. Temporary stair towers or prefabricated stairs with rails are used to access different building levels.”
Head injuries do not only occur from falling debris or falling from heights. Something as simple as tripping and falling has led to significant injuries. That’s why it’s essential to have a clear workspace and to regularly clear waste or debris from the ground. Also, properly marking uneven, slippery, or unfinished areas will help construction workers exercise caution and pre- vent any falls.
Takeaways
Construction technology and equipment have evolved but can continually be improved. Helmets are making a new appearance as more industry experts are researching and testing them. Overall, using hard hats and helmets is vital on a construction site.
Greenhaus believes it is important to “eliminate unnecessary suffering and damage due to traumatic brain injury because it’s irreversible. If we can avoid it, we should do everything in our power to make sure that [a traumatic brain injury] doesn’t happen.”
Any safety measures or programs that can be implemented on a construction site are worth the work put in, whether it is regarding head safety or otherwise.
“If you have a program that examines, evaluates and looks for ways to continuously improve safety performance, you will find many opportunities to improve and — whether it’s incremental or radical — you’ve got to make the change,” said DePrater.
“It’s simply the right thing to do for worker safety. Our approach is focused on just that: risk-mitigation, how to improve worker safety, and is integrated with our Building L.I.F.E. ® program that focuses on upstream identification and elimination of risk and engagement of those closest to the risk. Hearing their voice makes a difference in the lives of people on our projects. In addition, the Building L.I.F.E.® program focuses on creating the right environment, active caring, and empowering workers to stop work if something is unsafe. This holistic approach proactively and positively engages workers, improves safety and more importantly than any metric, workers go home safely to their family and friends. That’s the most important thing we should all be striving for.
For more information about helmets, visit https://www.hardhatstohelmets.org/.
CONSTRUCTORCAST
COMING TO A JOBSITE NEAR YOU: HARDHATS TO HELMETS
Traumatic brain injuries are responsible for 25% of all construction fatalities, and many life-altering injuries. With this information and emerging technology, many contractors are considering the transition from the traditional brim hardhat to a chin-strap safety helmet. Seth Randall of Clark Construction and Jamie Dabbs of TD Industries talk about their respective companies’ journeys in this transition on a recent ConstructorCast episode. Listen at http://bit.ly/3HBzack