Wearing a safety helmet at work has become a norm for most workers around the globe. From warehouses to construction sites, they are wearing special head protection gear.

In most industrial working environments like power, construction, forestry and mining, the risks of head injuries are ever-growing. The most serious risks are physical injuries that can often lead to loss of life or permanent disabilities. Such incidents are normally a result of a sudden impact of falling objects or collusion with fixed objects at the workplace. However, due to the nature of such work activities, it is always possible to eliminate many work-related injuries and risks with proper protective equipment. And the only way to ensure the head safety of worker at work is to use proper safety helmets. This article will provide some information about these essential head protection gear and how to buy one.

A definitive guide to safety helmets

It was the year 1933 when the workers at the golden gate bridge had an idea about the risk of falling rivets hitting the head. The danger made them opt for safety helmets for protecting their heads. These helmets were made of aluminium that later became a standard except hardhats used in electrical operations. A few more years passed, and fibreglass replaced aluminium as the most popular material in security helmets. This is because it became more handy, durable, useful and adaptable. Today, most protective head accessories are made of thermoplastic, for it is easier to mould and shape using heat.

Working on a protective helmet

One major question any novice person comes up with is how these special helmets can protect the head. In simple words, these helmets are designed with special types of durable material to protect the head from any sudden hit. Most modern head protective gears are designed with a solid plastic exterior and padded foam or a special type of harness interior to keep the head away from the plastic exterior. This inner harness or foam serves as a shock absorption system. Besides, most head protections are designed with a chip strap that helps secure the safety helmet on the head. Other prominent features include chin strap padding, detachable visors, and sweatbands.

Importance of safety helmets

The core function of a safety helmet is to reduce the impact of falling objects or sudden hits from surroundings. For instance, the industry sectors like construction and mining use these items for added safety off workers by offering them shock absorption and protection against lateral shocks. Most of the modern helmets also come with stickers and colour properties. Such features help identify the level of workers, the company they belong to and other such features. Whereas the name tags also help the supervisors to identify workers and their skill or job type with the help of the colour of the helmet or tag on it.

The colour scheme of protective helmets

The colour scheme of protective helmets is of great importance. It will be wrong to say that it is more a norm throughout the workspaces. These safety headwear adopt a general colour scheme on-site in the UK. Here the black helmets are assigned to supervisors, and the white one is for site managers. The Signaller wears orange whereas the staff and visitors wear blue. But yellow is the most common and widely used by the workforce across industries. Yellow is a standard colour when we speak of safety helmets and is often easier to find in any online or brick and mortar store.

Importance of care and maintenance

Protective helmets need proper care and maintenance in terms of both cleanliness and ensuring effectiveness. Like most companies sharing PPE is commonplace and sharing a safety helmet is no different. However, when cleaning is really easier, and you can use normal soap or cleaning chemicals to sanitize and wash it, other maintenance might need a bit of time and money. For instance, a helmet will be less effective if the chin strap is broken or loosened (it occurs with time). So it would help if you looked to ensure all items like straps or internal foam are working at their best. This is the only way it can actually save your head from any impact or injury. Once the helmet reaches its working age, make a hasty decision to buy a new one.

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