Page 93 - Occupational Health & Safety, July/August 2019

High-Visibility Hard Hats
Utility, construction and oil workers need hard hats to stay safe on the job. PPE must be worn to help avoid the hazards that we often don’t see. Those unforeseen accidents that can happen in the blink of an eye can change our lives forever. The hard hat is still the most important PPE available to protect workers’ heads while on the job.
Today’s manufacturers are becoming even more innovative in their designs to meet workers’ demand for comfort, style, and safe- ty in their hat models. 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 hazards that may be lurking above them. Changes in hard hat suspensions and brow pads are new choices workers have when choosing the right head protection for their type of work.
Other enhancements to the hard hat include customization for branding a company’s safety message and colors to easily identify key personnel on job sites.
Workers’ hard hats also can be used to help them stay vis- ible while on the work site. Low visibility is a danger for anyone working outside from dusk to dawn. Highway construction is a common occurrence throughout America, and workers are at risk of not being seen by motorists who are traveling through construction zones. Hard hat manufacturers offer several high- visibility options for workers to choose from to stay visible
while working in these environments.
Workers can increase the visibility of their hard hat by choos-
ing a high-visibility shell color. Yellow is a common high-visibility color, as is green or orange. Hard hats that meet the non-manda- tory requirements for high visibility (ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2014) are marked “HV” by the manufacturer.
Be aware that if your hard hat is a high-visibility color, pro- longed daylight exposure can fade the cap’s color and thereby com- promise a worker’s visibility and safety. Ultraviolet rays degrade colorants, so hard hats should not be stored in direct sunlight when not in use. By using striping that is reflective and/or fluorescent in color, hard hats can provide enhanced worker visibility. To achieve improved retroreflectance, use striping with a high CPL number. To achieve 360-degree reflectivity, add striping all the way around the brim of your hard hat.
The next time you wear your hard hat, think about the many men and women before you who have benefited from this innova- tive safety product that is celebrating 100 years of safety.
Stacey Simmons is the Product Manager for Industrial Head and Face Protection Products at Bullard, a leading manufacturer of PPE and systems worldwide. Her product responsibilities include Head and Face Protection and Body Temperature Management. She also is the Product Chair of the Industrial Safety Equipment Association’s (ISEA) Head Protection Committee.
CORPORATE PROFILE
www.graceloneworker.com
800-969-6933 or 724-962-9231
Contact Information
sales@graceindustries.com
DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE WORKING ALONE?
Use an employee check-in system and a lot can happen between employee “check-in’s”.
You need an Immediate Notification System.
Grace Systems:
• DO NOT - use cellular networks
• DO NOT - Require internet connections
• INTEGRATE with SCADA/Fire/Weather Alarms
• BEST OF ALL - NO Subscription Fees
Check-Out our simple Buddy System or Supervisor’s Package. SC500 GracePointsφGPS®provides both outdoor GPS and indoor Grace Locator Beacon locations.
Forget Check-in’s — You need real-time monitoring!
www.ohsonline.com
JULY/AUGUST 2019 | Occupational Health & Safety 87
Circle 43 on card.