OSHA Looks To Shift From Hard Hats to Safety Helmets (2024)

FAQs

OSHA Looks To Shift From Hard Hats to Safety Helmets? ›

Made of rigid materials such as high-density polyethylene, traditional hard hats provide a basic level of protection. However, as technology and scientific understanding of head injuries have advanced, safety helmets now provide further improvements to enhance worker safety and reduce the risk of severe head trauma.

To better protect workers in at-risk professions, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new safety and health bulletin advising workers to swap out the conventional hard hat for a safety helmet.

29 CFR 1926.100 – Head Protection: This standard generally requires that “Employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets.” 29 CFR 1926.100(a).

Industries most affected include construction, oil and gas, and electrical work. While traditional hard hats may still be suitable in low-risk environments, for high-risk settings or specific regulatory requirements, safety helmets are now the recommended choice.

To better protect its workers from head injuries, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in a late-November press release that the agency is replacing traditional hard hats with more-modern safety helmets for agency employees.

Type I hard hats, designed to protect workers from blows directly to the top of the head, are increasingly being phased out for Type II. While Type I hard hats protect against certain impacts, Type II safety helmets are intended to protect workers from lateral impacts to the front, back, side and top of the head.

A western hard hat complies with the 29 CFR 1926.100 standard for protection against falling and flying objects as long as it meets the requirements of ANSI Z89.

As per the HSE, industrial safety helmets must meet the EN 397 standard, which includes rigorous tests for impact resistance, electrical hazards, and other dangers commonly encountered in construction work.

Both have the suspension system under the helmet. A safety helmet is oftentimes going to have a few more features than a hard hat. Features such as a flip down eye protection, clip in ear protection and adjustable vents are some of the extra features a safety helmet has that a hard hat does not.

Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act states that individuals who ride a bike (even a pillion rider) older than four year must wear "protective headgear". However, the Act has undergone various amendments to ensure it covers all the aspects related to bike riding on highways or other public roads in India.

Is helmets to hardhats legit? ›

Helmets to Hardhats is a national, nonprofit program that connects National Guard, Reserve, retired and transitioning active-duty military service members with skilled training and quality career opportunities in the construction industry.

While OSHA has no specific provision for an expiration date, manufacturers are allowed to determine if their equipment expires on a specific calendar date. In lieu of an expiration date, a generally accepted rule is to replace the support strap yearly and to replace the hard hat every five years.

Helmets to Hardhats began in 2002 and was established as a 501(c)3 in 2003. The program is designed to help military service members successfully transition back into civilian life by offering them the means to secure a quality career in the construction industry.

OSHA would consider painting or placing adhesive stickers acceptable if the manufacturer authorizes the alteration or the employer can demonstrate that the reliability of the helmet is not affected by the paint or the adhesive on the stickers; and the paint or placement of stickers would not reduce the ability to ...

Employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets.

Although the ANSI Z89. 1-1969 standard gives specifications for testing the hard hats with the bill to the front but not the rear, OSHA issued a letter of interpretation¹ in 1992 allowing the use of hard hats worn with the bill to the rear, so long as the manufacturer certifies that their tests meet ANSI Z89.

The most common service life guideline states that hard hat shells need to be replaced after no more than two years of regular use or five years from the date of manufacture—whichever comes first. The life for suspensions is shorter, with replacement needed after no more than twelve months.

However, even where there may not be an OSHA requirement to wear head protection, numerous employers require 100 percent hard hat use as a company policy. A universal hard hat policy is common on construction sites where workers work on roofs as well as other areas of the jobsite.