It's just another workday for Tom. The gear was loaded onto the truck and everyone piled in before driving to the morning job site. The crew had been working together for a few years, so everyone knew what their role was, and without much discussion, the process of removing the two large poplar trees began. Tom had a tough job today, dragging and chipping the brush.

As the weather warms, the cool weather in the morning quickly becomes hot and humid. The heat and humidity brought sweat to Tom's brow. He took off his helmet, felt the breeze, and wiped the sweat from his face. As Tom stood and rested for a minute, he received a call from another ground crew member asking for help refueling the saw. He walked under the trees toward the truck, forgetting to put on his helmet.

Work Briefing and Procedures

Briefings were not routine for the company, and many other procedures were ignored, such as command and response before branch cuts. The procedure is for the climber to confirm that the ground staff is safe, yell "Headache," and then proceed to climb. Climbers cut a short branch weighing about 10 pounds, which bounces in the canopy as it falls. As it accelerates downward, its trajectory intersects the path Tom was walking.

The stump hit Tom on the left side of his head. It's the sides of the stub that are in contact, not the ends, so the force is less concentrated. Tom wakes up in the hospital and discovers he has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These are disruptions in the normal functioning of the brain due to external forces. A TBI can be mild and transient or it can have lifelong effects. Tom was hospitalized for a week and suffered from depression and sleep disorders for years.

Being hit by a falling branch is one of the most common incidents among tree workers. TBI is one of the consequences of these attacks. One factor in the severity of an injury is whether the worker who was struck was wearing a helmet properly.

Head Protection History

Head protection is one of the personal protective equipment (PPE) required for tree workers in ANSI Z133 -2017 Safety Requirements for Arboriculture Operations. They protect against the impact of falling or swinging objects as well as electrical hazards. As with most personal protective equipment, a helmet is your last protection from injury. Everything else was already out of whack—traveling through the drop zone, lack of command-and-response communications, fallen stumps—so the helmet needed to do a better job. But the protection provided by a helmet is not absolute. It is important to understand this limitation - they are not a substitute for safe work practices.

Bump cap OEM embroidery logo personalized apply to automobile repair engineering

Head protection starts in the shipyard. There was always a risk of falling debris or tools, so workers wore tarred cloth caps. Head protection also became popular in other industries and evolved into leather, steel, aluminum and plastic. Traditional hard hats have given way to safety helmets. Originally used for recreational sports such as rock climbing, these helmets have evolved to suit the needs and requirements of our industry.

Modern helmets fulfill the primary function of a hard hat - protection from impact and penetration - but go far beyond this basic requirement. For example, modern helmets are better balanced and less likely to fall off when worn without a fixed chin strap. Many are ventilated, with adjustable vents on the sides. Recessed hearing protection and visor prevent ropes and branches from getting caught on the sides of the helmet. With the addition of Bluetooth communications, your helmet can do much more than just protect your head.

Helmet structure

Most of our helmets are made from non-conductive ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). They are equipped with suspensions with four to eight weight points. The suspension is usually connected to the helmet via a pin lock and has a ratchet to tighten or loosen the fit. Most helmets come with a chin strap, and some have straps that can be placed to release if they get caught on an object while working on the ground, or to stay in place during an impact, such as bouncing off a tree during a fall.

Our helmets must comply with the ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 – 2014 (R2019) U.S. National Standard for Industrial Head Protection. Helmets complying with this standard are designated by type and class. Type I helmets are designed to provide a level of protection against blunt or penetrating forces from above. Type II helmets protect against lateral forces (impacts on the sides of the helmet) as well as impacts on the top.

Since Type II helmets must provide lateral impact protection, they all must use a chin strap. The chin strap must remain attached during the impact and must not stretch more than 1 inch. Arborists are not required to wear a Type II helmet, but since we can be hit by falling or swinging objects, it may be a good idea to protect against top and side impacts.

Helmets

Helmets, whether Type I or II, are designed in one of two categories. Class C (conductive) is suitable for general tree work and is not suitable for use near live conductors. Class E (Electrical), once called Class B, is worn by casual and qualified line gap arborists who work near conductors. These helmets have dielectric properties that meet the minimum standards of withstanding 20,000 volts for three minutes after impact and not leaking more than 9 milliamps. This means that the helmet can withstand contact, but the head may not necessarily, so never violate the minimum approach distance for these helmets! Class E helmets have no vents. Also, as a reminder, do not put decals on Class E helmets. They can affect dielectric properties.

Helmet features

Some helmets are marked by two arrows curving in opposite directions. This means reverse wear, meaning the helmet can be worn in either direction, forward or backward. Reverse fit is found on some Type I helmets, but is rare on Type II helmets.

Many hard hats are full brim. Most safety helmets have no brim, or at most have a small front brim. There is no requirement for the brim, but the front brim can prevent rainwater from entering the eyes. Most importantly, the front brim is a barrier that prevents long, swinging objects (perhaps tree branches or chain poles) from hitting your face.

Helmet color choices used to be limited. Most are white. White helmets have some disadvantages. First, it is difficult to determine if it has been stored correctly. Has it faded or not? Users can more easily inspect colored helmet shells for UV degradation. Second, since discoloration often occurs on lighter helmets, damage can be more easily identified during a visual inspection. Finally, if you have necessary PPE in an industry where impact injuries occur frequently, why not place the PPE in a visible location?

A helmet consists of more than just a shell. Some come with polypropylene or polystyrene liners that act as shock absorbers. The helmet also has a suspension that supports the outer shell. Suspension is often forgotten - unless it's squeezing the forehead. But it's part of many helmets' shock-absorbing systems that spread impact forces over a larger area and period of time.

ANSI requirements

Section 3.1.2 of ANSI Z133-2017 states: “Employers shall instruct their employees on the proper use, inspection, and maintenance of personal protective equipment (PPE).” Putting a helmet on someone on the first day and simply instructing “put it on” The era is over. When issuing PPE to employees, employers must train employees on when to put it on, how to put it on, how to take it off, and the care and maintenance of the equipment. Understanding PPE considerations is a "must," which in ANSI terms means must.

Anything designed to protect you deserves caution. Helmets should be cleaned regularly with mild, non-film-forming soap and warm water, then rinsed and dried. If the helmet has a liner, it can be removed and cleaned. Same with the suspension. How often you clean depends on your tolerance for dirt, but no matter the frequency, be sure to follow the manufacturer's cleaning recommendations. Solvents and degreasers can weaken the shell.

When to retire your helmet

When will the helmet be retired? You only have one head, so you may want to make sure the helmet works properly when you need it. There is no set time for helmets to be retired because there is no way to know how well the helmet has been used. Is it sitting on top of a dark cabinet in an air-conditioned office and worn only occasionally? Or being out in the field every day, with the weather changing with the seasons, from cloudy, dry, 20-degree days to sunny, humid, 95-degree days?

Effective service life

A useful lifespan guideline for many helmets is five years. Even when stored on the shelf, the maximum service life after manufacture is 10 years. But most helmets are used every work day. Working means that the helmet will be affected by the environment (heat, cold, sun, rain), as well as forces including minor impacts (such as dropping the helmet you are carrying).

Helmets, like other personal protective equipment, should be inspected daily. Wearers should inspect the case for cracks, even hairline cracks or a network of tiny cracks, and note that stickers can hide cracks. Also check the casing for blistering and warping. All of which points to the need for new helmets. The bottom line is that if the helmet is hit or penetrated, it must be replaced.

Most helmets will be replaced within 10 years. That's when they get sloppy. But there are always some helmets forgotten in cupboards – and if you find one, how old is it? If you need to know how old your helmet is, check the serial number. The manufacturer must mark the production date. The manufacturer's website usually explains how to read the label numbers and letters to determine when a particular helmet was manufactured.

Suspension and retirement date

What people often forget is that the suspension's retirement date may be different from the helmet's retirement date. Suspension, as the name suggests, suspends the helmet from the head. It acts as a shock absorber for many helmets, cushioning impact and working in conjunction with the outer shell, which is designed to deform upon impact. If the pin lock or slot becomes brittle, the suspension may fail during impact. Check the suspension for cracks or missing pin grooves. Also check to see if the strap is worn or the ratchet is damaged. Any of these defects are good reason to replace the suspension. Even without these defects, it's a good idea to replace your suspension every year.

The price of a new helmet ranges from $90 to $400. That's not a lot of money for the one thing that might end up saving your life when everything else goes wrong.