45-Year Anniversary logo

Features

Head Start

How to choose the right helmet for workplace safety
A helmet worn by a construction worker
A helmet should be worn at all times on the jobsite. Photo courtesy Mips

In the construction industry, workplace safety is at a critical juncture. The risks construction workers face on the job tend to be far greater than those faced in other fields. This is a result of the hazards (such as heights, moving vehicles) these workers are regularly exposed to on-site.1

Undoubtedly, one of the most crucial industries out there, construction is also among the most dangerous for workers.2 In the United States, the construction industry has the highest number of fatal and non-fatal workplace-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) out of any other industry. From 2003 to 2010, a total of 2,210 employee fatalities in the construction industry were due to TBIs. These represented 24 percent of all workplace-related TBI fatalities of all industries.3

For structural iron and steel workers, the risks on the job are even higher. Workers in these industries had the highest fatal TBI rate among construction workers.4

To keep employees safe while they are on the job, the use of head protection and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical. However, while many traditional helmets are developed and tested to withstand the force of linear impacts (those affecting the top of the head) most accidents do not occur in a linear fashion; instead, they happen at an angle, which heightens the risk of TBIs. Consequently, so-called rotational motion can act on the head and brain, which can lead to severe brain injuries.

Rotational motion

When a person falls and hits their head or gets struck in the head, the impact typically occurs at an angle. This combination of forces—rotational forces (angular acceleration) and rotational energy (angular velocity)—exposes the person to rotational motion, which can be serious and result in a variety of injuries, ranging in severity depending on the type of impact sustained. For the brain, exposure to rotational motion can cause movement of brain cells relative to one another, which leads to shearing, and can result in damage to the brain’s axons, the cable transmitters of neurons.

Different impacts to the head can lead to different types of injuries. Rotational motion can cause different injuries like diffuse axonal injury (dame to the axons in the brain) and subdural hematoma (bleeding between the brain and the skull bone inside the dura mater, a thin membrane made of dense irregular connective tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord). On the other hand, linear impacts to the head can potentially cause focal injuries such as fractures and contusions. These types of accidents are not always fatal, but are highly dangerous. TBIs can lead to extended employee absence, or even lifelong afflictions.

Modern technology

Neuroscience has advanced over the decades to better understand the cause and consequences of brain injuries. Despite this new knowledge, over the course of the past century, very little has changed in present-day helmet and hard hat design. Notably, helmet standards for the construction industry also are drastically lagging. While there have been promising developments for some standards in both the sports and motorcycle industries in terms of addressing the impact and consequences of rotational motion, today’s construction helmet standards do not take into account rotational motion.

When selecting helmets, construction workers may want to consider whether their protective headgear is designed to address rotational motion; for example, if the helmet is equipped with a low friction layer that is designed to help reduce rotational motion to the head during certain impacts.

Despite regulatory shortcomings, construction workers can still take steps to protect themselves from harm while they are on the job. A strong starting point is to wear a helmet at all times on the jobsite. In addition, ensure the helmet fits properly and is designed to help address rotational motion.

Workers will always continue to face risks and hazards on the job, but technology is committed to continually innovating new solutions that challenge the status quo and improve helmet safety. Although little can be done to eliminate the dangers construction workers face on a regular basis, new PPE can help the industry to be better prepared.

Joe Brandel currently serves as business development manager for North America Industrial Safety Market at Mips, a market leader in helmet-based safety. He has been in the construction and industrial safety business for over 20 years. Specializing in head protection, hand protection, fall protection, and other personal protective equipment, Brandel has provided training for large and small companies throughout the Midwest. He has also provided solutions for a variety of industries, which have helped not only reduce costs, but also create safer working environments for employees.

REFERENCES

1 See constructionnews.co.uk/health-and-safety/construction-worker-deaths-double-any-other-industry-07-07-2023/

2 See https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/industry-incidence-rates/most-dangerous-industries/

3 See https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/11/10/construction-helmets/#:~:text=Work%2Drelated%20Traumatic%20Brain%20Injury%20in%20Construction,100%2C000%20full%20time%20equivalent%20workers)

4 See https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/11/10/construction-helmets/