Hard Hats

A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock.

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Hard Hat Accessories:

-A visor

-An extra-wide brim attachment for additional shade.

-Ear protectors.

-Mirrors for increased rear field-of-view.

-A small device that is used to mount a headlamp or flashlight to a hard hat.

-A chinstrap to keep the helmet from falling off if the wearer leans over.

-Thick insulating side pads to keep sides of the head warm.

-Silicone bands stretched around the brim for color worker ID and Hi Viz night retro-reflectivity.

Hard Hat Specifications

  • ANSI Type I / CSA Type 1 hard hats meet stringent vertical impact and penetration requirements.
  • ANSI Type II / CSA Type 2 hard hats meet both vertical and lateral impact and penetration requirements and have a foam inner liner made of expanded polystyrene (EPS).

Classes:

  • Class E (Electrical) provides dielectric protection up to 20,000 volts.
  • Class G (General) provides dielectric protection up to 2,200 volts.
  • Class C (Conductive) provides no dielectric protection.

A hard hat is specified by both Type and Class; for example: Type I Class G.

ANSI standards for hard hats set combustibility or flammability criteria. ANSI Z89 standard was significantly revised in 1986, 1997 and 2003. The current American standard for hard hats is ISEA Z89.1-2009, by the International Safety Equipment Association that took over publication of the Z89 standard from ANSI. The ISO standard for industrial protective headgear is ISO 3873, first published in 1977.

Hard Hat Features

A suspension provides space of approximately 30 mm (1.2 inches) between the helmet’s shell and the wearer’s head, so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Some helmet shells have a mid-line reinforcement ridge to improve impact resistance.

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