Hard hats are required when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects. In addition, hard hats designed to reduce electrical shock are required when working near exposed electrical conductors that may contact the head.
All hard hats must comply with ANSI Z89.1, American National Standard for Personal Protection – Protective Headwear for Industrial Workers – Requirements.
Types and Classes
Type 1 – Helmets intended to reduce the force of impact resulting in a blow only to the top of the head.
Type 2 – Helmets intended to reduce the force of impact resulting in a blow to the top and the side of the head
The hard hats are classified into mainly four classes:
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class D
Advantages of Hard Hats on the Construction Sites
- The hard hat is very essential to ensure the safety of the workmen working on the site.
- It helps to protect the head of workmen from injuries.
- Safety helmets help in the protection of the human brain.
- The hard hat makes the work environment safe and secure.
What Hard Hat Color Do You Need on Your Job Site?
The hard hat color code helps to understand the responsibility of the person in a particular working area. This will help the supervisors and managers to easily identify the group of workers working on a specific site.
White hard hat
Often easy to spot in a sea of other colors, white hard hats are usually worn by anyone in a supervisory position, including managers, architects, engineers and foremen.
Green hard hat
Typically worn by your site’s safety officers or inspectors, new hires and trainees can also wear green.
Yellow hard hat
Workers who operate any heavy machinery or earth movers often wear yellow, as well as employees doing general construction labor.
Brown hard hat
Workers who do any form of welding or other high-heat jobs typically wear brown.
Orange hard hat
Due to its high visibility, most road construction workers wear orange hats. They can also be given to new hires and site visitors.
Blue hard hat
Electricians and carpenters frequently wear blue hats. Interim workers and employees in a technical advisory role can also wear blue.
Red hard hat
Firefighters other employees with emergency training often wear red hats.
Grey hard hat
These are most often issued to visitors on the work site.
Pink hard hat
These hard hats tend to be most popular with female workers. Certain businesses may also try to discourage forgetfulness by issuing a pink hat to any worker who accidentally left their own hard hat at home.
