Not everyone likes wearing their hardhat. One reason for hardhat hesitancy is the dreaded “hardhat hair.” U.S. Army soldiers wear helmets for extended periods, yet they don’t suffer from this problem. The difference is not the hat suspension — it’s the hair length. If you want longer hair without the hardhat hair issue, ask about hair products or styling techniques the next time you get your hair cut. Just don’t use this as a reason to leave your brain unprotected by this gear.
Another reason some people don’t like their hardhat is they feel it makes their head hot. However, the opposite is true. Hot weather temperature measurements reveal that it’s often cooler inside the hat than outside of it. That’s due to a combination of reflection, shading, airflow, and evaporation.
Here are some reasons to wear to wear a hardhat:
- Protection from falling objects and from objects you might strike accidentally. While this is limited, the limit is fairly high. The energy is absorbed in the suspension and the movement of the hat. The impact protection can be dramatically reduced if you have placed paper or other things (e.g., a tucked-up pony tail) between the suspension and the shell. Or if you have not properly adjusted the suspension for a comfortably snug fit.
- Protection from arcs. Your hat bill creates some distance between your face and energized parts, and the shell of your hat is nonconductive. Be sure you don’t defeat the bill protection by wearing your hat backwards and you don’t defeat the insulating properties by applying conductive materials such as excessive stickers, paint, or metallic adornments.
- Protection from trespassers. Your hardhat helps identify you. Supervisors, coworkers, other trades, and security personnel can roughly see by hat color which trade the wearer is with and by the personnel number or other ID whose hat that is. While this isn’t foolproof (an impersonator could theoretically purchase a similar hat and enter the site wearing it), it is a good first line of defense.
Your hardhat is:
- Mechanically protective to the degree you maintain the shell integrity. So you can’t drill holes in it or use a heat gun to personalize the rim of it. Rough handling of the hat can result in microcracks or other damage that reduce its mechanical integrity. Acrylic paints dry rapidly, and they are often used to detail a hat in some way. The solvents in some acrylic paints or other types of paints may be incompatible with the shell material, so don’t use them unless you get the okay from the safety director (who should get the okay from the manufacturer of that model of hat).
- Electrically protective to the extent you maintained the insulating properties. Those properties depend mostly on the mechanical integrity of the shell. But it’s also true that paint, pencil, ink, and other materials affixed to the surface can create conductive areas or even conductive trails on the hat.
Generally, the hardhat is employer-specified and employer-provided. But not all hardhats are the same. In fact, there are two Types and three Classes of them:
- Type I hats reduce impact from a blow to the top of the head.
- Type II hats reduce impact from a wider range of blows.
- Class C hats provide no electrical protection.
- Class E hats provide protection from high voltage and are proof-tested to 20,000V.
- Class G hats provide protection from low voltage and are proof-tested to 2200V.
If you work on the premises wiring side of things, wear a Type II Class E or Type II Class G.
Hardhat care:
- Check the suspension daily. Ensure it’s adjusted correctly, there’s no fraying, and there’s no damage to the suspension pieces or connectors.
- Check the shell daily or after an impact. Ensure it doesn’t have deep scratches, dents, chips, or cracks. The existence of any of these means you replace the hat.
- Keep it out of concentrated sunlight, such as that coming through a car’s rear window.
- Clean it as the need arises. Use a mild detergent such as handsoap and a soft cloth. Rinse it thoroughly and dry it. Clean the sweatbands and cradles or replace them if needed. Do not use hand sanitizer to clean your hat. These products typically include solvents like toluene and alcohol, which can damage the hat.
- Don’t allow anyone to “play turtles” with your hat. Banging one hardhat against another might cure a case of boredom, but it can also damage both hardhats. That’s destruction of property. Worse is playing this game while you are wearing your hat. That’s horseplay, and, in most companies, termination follows.
As with any other PPE, hardhats perform an essential function. But also, as with any other PPE, they are a last line of defense. In particular with hardhats, they provide protection for your head but much of the energy of an impact may be transmitted to your neck. This means you need to avoid impact by taking other measures as much as is practical. For example, if you don’t have to walk right past an elevated work platform then don’t; if you’re not there, nothing that falls off that platform can land on your head. A similar logic applies to arc protection.
