Overview of Safety Helmets in Detail

Even the slightest delay intending to an injured person may result in his death. With head injuries, however, there is no scope for even an infinitesimal amount of delay. Such is the fragility of the human head, that even the slightest blow to it, at times, can result in on-the-spot death, without even leaving any room for first-aid and subsequent treatment by the doctors.

A recent survey conducted across all the major hospitals in the city indicates that of all the accident-induced fatalities reported every year, a thumping majority of them are caused only because of multifarious injuries to the head. People riding bikes and other two-wheeler’s, people indulging in adventure sports and construction workers are very vulnerable to suffering from head injuries.

Of all the people at risk of dying from head injuries, construction workers are, perhaps, at the greatest risk. Construction workers spend entire days on high-risk sites, week after week, where they can injure their heads in more ways than one. A few of the most common ways in which construction workers can injure their heads are from being hit on the head by an object that is falling or flying past; from being injured by accidentally banging their heads against protruded objects and from projectile related injuries that result from swinging objects.

This is where the importance of a hard hat and a safety helmet is realized. A safety helmet is a helmet that is worn in order to prevent injuries to the head, wherever possible, and to reduce the impact of the blow delivered to the head in most other cases. The capability to tame down the severity of the head injury makes a safety helmet nothing short of a ‘lifesaver’.

A large number of safety helmets are available in the brick and mortar store for construction workers to choose from. As a matter of fact, workers may even buy safety helmets online these days. A worker working in a life-threatening and high-risk environment, must not forget to ensure that the safety helmet he is using or is being allotted by his employer is indeed of good quality and that it will actually save his life in case he has a near-death experience at his workplace.

List of Key Points to Keep in Mind While Buying Right Top Rated Safety Helmets and Making Yourself Safe & Secure

Read on to know a few things all construction workers must keep in mind before they buy safety helmets for themselves and set out to work:-

1. The kind of hazards a worker is at risk of

It is not just injuries from falling objects that safety helmets protect workers from, safety helmets protect workers against a lot of other untoward accidents as well. Thus depending on the type of environment, a worker is engaged in, he must make sure that his safety helmet is well-equipped to provide that extra layer of environment-specific protection as well.

For instance, a worker working in a construction site must make sure that his safety helmet can provide equal resistance against shocks tendered laterally as well; a worker working around live wires must make sure that his helmet provides adequate resistance to electric shocks & worker working in sub-zero temperatures must ensure that his helmet prevents the biting cold from setting in the ears, forehead.

2. The type of helmet

The type of helmet and its built is also of great importance to workers. Whether it is a hard helmet, a helmet with a torch, a ratchet helmet or a ventilated hard helmet, the choice must be made appropriately and in accordance with the environment, the helmet is to be worn in.

A helmet that resembles a cap has a peak which protects the eyes from the direct glare of the sun; this is of exquisite importance to workers working in outdoor settings by enabling them to see properly and not be blinded by the glare of the sun. The cap style helmet also makes room for attaching other helmet accessories such as earmuffs and face shields.

3. The Colour of the helmet

The colour of a safety helmet may seem to be nothing but a fancy superfluousness to many, but in reality, the colour plays a very important role in actual worksite settings. A light-coloured helmet, especially white-coloured safety helmet, is better equipped to reflect heat than is a helmet that is dark in colour. Moreover, another advantage to using a light coloured helmet is that it makes sighting co-worker very easy in conditions that are not that well-lit.

Many safety helmets are affixed with retro-reflective adhesive tapes so as to make the worker stand out in a poorly lit environment. However, prior to doing any such thing, the manufacturer manual must be consulted so as to make sure that the quality of the shell material of the helmet is not compromised as a result of that.

4. Availability of accessories, if required

A safety helmet should be selected keeping in mind the additional appendages that might need to be affixed to it. Take, for instance, a worker engaged in a windy site where his helmet is always at a risk of being blown away; this can be tackled by using a safety helmet that has a chin strap to secure it firmly in place. A helmet must have a headlamp where the worksite is not lit. A mine or even working outdoors in the night mandates that safety helmets be used with headlamps to avoid meeting with any accidents.

5. The comfort level and fit of the safety helmet

Comfort is the key to being able to use any product successfully so that it meets its intended purpose. This is applicable to safety helmets as well. Workers must make sure that they are comfortable with wearing the safety helmet for prolonged workday duration’s.

Final Conclusion about the Use of Safety Helmets

Buying a substandard safety helmet is as good as digging your own grave. It goes without saying that workers must buy safety helmets only from reputed manufacturers and not from unheard-of manufacturers selling the helmets at enticingly low price.  A few manufacturers that construction workers can bank on for high-quality safety helmets are Udyogi, Aktion, Metro, Karam, Windsor, Headpro, Safetech, Turbo, Alko Plus and Safari Pro, to name a few.