Page 33 - OHS, November/December 2024

C O N S T R U C T I O N S A F E T Y
Ensuring Head Protection in Cold Weather
Ensuring Head Protection in Cold Weather
How to stay warm without sacrifi cing head safety when temperatures drop.
How to stay warm without sacrifi cing head safety when temperatures drop.
BY RYAN BARNES
BY RYAN BARNES
at risk of cold stress and require eff ective clothing acces-
Outdoor workers exposed to cold and windy conditions are
sories that will enable them to stay comfortable, safe, and
productive. According to the Occupational Health and
Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Cold Stress Safety and Health Guide1
,
serious cold-related illness and injuries may occur when the body can-
not warm itself, and permanent tissue damage and death may result.
Issues such as frostbite–the most common injury resulting
from exposure to severe cold, usually aff ecting fi ngers, toes, nose,
ears, cheeks, and the chin–can lead to tissue death and potentially
amputation. If caught early, workers can prevent permanent dam-
age. Th e other major consequence of cold exposure is hypother-
mia, which occurs when the body’s core temperature drops below
95 degrees F (34 degrees C). As the body temperature drops, shiv-
ering gives way to drowsiness or exhaustion, confusion, shallow
breathing, irregular heartbeat, slurred speech, loss of coordination
and, in worst-case scenarios, unconsciousness or even death.
As a result, employers have a duty to protect workers from rec-
ognized hazards, including cold weather stress; however, it’s im-
portant that workers do not jeopardize the eff ectiveness of existing
PPE in the process. When the temperature drops, outdoor workers
must layer up, including their heads, where up to 10 percent of
body heat is lost. Head layers may include beanies, stocking caps,
balaclavas, or a hooded sweatshirt that is pulled up over the head
before placing the hard hat or safety helmet.
While such materials can keep the worker comfortable in cold
and windy weather, they may also inadvertently increase the likeli-
hood of a head injury in the event of a slip, trip, or fall, assuming
the gear is not purpose-built for a safety helmet. Workers need gear
that will mitigate the eff ects of cold stress without sacrifi cing the
eff ectiveness of their safety helmet. Th e before-mentioned hood-
under-a-safety-helmet example may keep a worker warm, but it
will more than likely reduce the eff ectiveness of a safety helmet
during a job site incident, thus increasing the risk of serious injury.
Purpose-Built Headgear for Defeating Cold Weather Stress
To ensure that workers can stay comfortable without sacrifi cing
workplace safety, it’s imperative to provide workers with garments
that are purpose-built for the required PPE, especially hard hats
and safety helmets.
Many hard hat and safety helmet suppliers are now providing
specially designed helmet liners, skull caps, and other accessories
that are designed to be worn in tandem with the specifi c headgear in
question. Th is way, workers can reduce the impacts of cold exposure
without sacrifi cing the eff ectiveness of the safety helmet. Properly
fi tted cold-weather accessories ensure that the safety helmet is less
likely to slip out of place or slip off entirely during a slip, trip, or fall.
For example, STUDSON’s helmet liners for its SHK-1 Type II safety
helmets prevent slippage and help maintain a better fi t compared to
generic products that may not ensure the same fi t or comfort.
Especially in sub-zero temperatures, workers may become ex-
posed to additional surface challenges that may not otherwise be
present in temperatures above freezing. OSHA’s Surfaces Standard2
specifi cally requires employers to keep all walking-working sur-
faces clean, dry, and free of hazardous conditions. In cold tempera-
tures, excess water can quickly freeze, causing previously clear sur-
face areas to become slick and dangerous for workers who might
not perceive the ice or frost buildup. Th is is especially true if the
worker becomes distracted by an ill-fi tting safety helmet and/or
their visibility is reduced by poorly fi tted headwear accessories that
do not conform with the wearer’s safety helmet.
Designing Head Protection with Cold Weather in Mind
With the use of additional clothing for protection from the ele-
ments, workers may need to make adjustments to their respective
safety helmets to ensure proper fi t. Safety helmets especially can
become distracting, uncomfortable, and unsafe when not properly
fi tted. Th ose issues can be exacerbated during cold weather. Wear-
ing heavy gloves especially can make critical safety helmet adjust-
ments diffi cult in the moment. Th erefore, PPE providers are look-
ing to make safety helmets easier to adjust and fi t.
HighBar Systems has created a new mono-strap system for
safety helmets that is buckle-free and originally developed for ac-
tion sports. Compared to the traditional four-point, y-shaped ny-
lon harness found on most type II safety helmets today, if at all, the
HighBar polymer strap arms off er a more proper fi t system that can
be easily rotated up for storage and then quickly rotated down below
the chin when in use. Th e malleable HighBar system can also be eas-
ily adjusted with a twist dial on the bottom to tighten or loosen the
mono-strap with one hand, even when wearing heavy winter gloves.
Twist dials compatible with heavy gloves are also eff ective
for quickly adjusting the helmet fi t around the head. Wearing a
fl eece skullcap might require the worker to widen the helmet’s fi t
to accommodate the additional layer. Th erefore, it’s important for
workers to actively adjust their respective safety helmets whenever
a new accessory or garment is worn under the helmet. Conversely,
if the temperature should warm and the fl eece liner is no longer
necessary, the worker will need to adjust the helmet once more to
maintain proper fi t aft er the fl eece liner is removed.
Protecting Workers from Temperature Extremes
With the changing climate, both hot and cold temperature ex-
tremes are on the rise. Th erefore, it’s important for organizations
to prepare for not only heat stress but also cold stress as the seasons
change and the air turns crisp and cold. Th anks to a growing num-
ber of purpose-built clothing options for specifi c PPE, especially
safety helmets, workers can stay comfortable without sacrifi cing
protection for other common safety issues, especially slips, trips,
and falls.
REFERENCES
1. tinyurl.com/bdf5t4zh
2. tinyurl.com/yc7zjr92
Ryan Barnes, founder and CEO, STUD-
SON, Inc. For more about STUDSON’s
above-the-neck safety accessories, visit
studson.com/collections/accessories.
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