Page 70 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2018

HEAD PROTECTION
Avoiding Hazards
I have heard so many stories from workers who have credited wearing a hard hat with saving their lives. BY STACEY SIMMONS
64 Occupational Health & Safety | JULY 2018
www.ohsonline.com
Afew months ago I was watching the nightly news and a reporter was covering a tragic story on a construction site where a super- visor had been struck in the head by a ham- mer that had fallen off a beam almost 30 feet above him. The supervisor on the work site was not wearing head protection and died from his injuries.
The first step in helping workers stay safe on a job site is wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Job sites across the United States require workers to wear head protection when there is the possibility of worker injury from falling or flying objects.
Why, then, do workers sometimes fail to wear head protection on the job site? Comfort is the number one reason. Workers want to be comfortable, especially when they are working in high heat temperatures and wearing a hard hat can be extremely uncomfortable and hot. However, comfort is not a valid reason to forego head protection. What’s more important than protecting your head? OSHA and ANSI regulations require workers to wear head protection when the work site has the potential for falling objects.
Our knowledge about head injuries has grown considerably over the years, particularly with the at- tention the NFL has received regarding concussions. Head trauma can have lasting effects on a profession-
al athlete. The same applies to workers on job sites. There’s no excuse why head protection is not worn on every work site across America.
The best way to protect your head while on the job is by wearing a hard hat. I have heard so many stories from workers who have credited wearing a hard hat with saving their lives. One recent story was shared with me from a highway construction worker who was wearing a hard hat when he was struck by a truck’s side view mirror. The driver of the truck swerved to miss hitting the worker, but the truck’s side view mirror extension struck the worker in the head. Thank goodness this worker was wearing a hard hat that saved his life.
New head protection models that offer a see-through visor on the bill of a hard hat is one way of allowing workers to see the hazards that may be lurking above them.
Head Protection Innovations
PPE manufacturers are becoming more innova- tive in their hard hat designs because workers are demanding comfort, style, and safety in their hat models. Hard hats are designed to meet or exceed the requirements of ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 standard. New model hard hats have recently been introduced by manufacturers who are designing for the way workers perform their jobs. For instance, new head protection models that offer a see-through visor on the bill of a hard hat is one way of allowing workers to see the hazards that may be lurking above them. Changes in hard hat suspensions and brow pads are all new choices workers have when choosing the right head protection for their type of work.
Utility, construction, and oil workers need to see the dangers above them to stay safe on the job. High- way workers need to be seen on the job. My story about the highway worker who was struck in the head by a truck’s side view mirror happened because the worker was not visible to the driver. The truck driver didn’t see the highway worker until he was right on top of him, forcing the driver to swerve to avoid hit- ting the worker head on.
As highway drivers, we have become so accus- tomed to road construction projects that we often
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