How to Choose the Right Safety Helmet for Your Workplace?
Safety is important for everyone. Regardless of where you are working or what you are doing, you should always be aware of your surroundings and how they can affect you. If you are in a potentially dangerous place, you must take all the measures to stay safe and sound.
You should always stay careful and alert whenever you are. Regardless if you are on the road or in a workplace that has dangerous equipment around, you must pay attention to everything.
If you are someone who works at a place that is a factory, construction site, or anything relevant to the same, you should always have safety gear handy. These safety gears consist of jackets, safety helmets, knee caps, and so on. These gears are designed based on the amount of danger you encounter at your workplace. About 38 accidents take place on construction sites every day in India.
Helmets can be extremely useful in different situations that you are required to work on. From construction sites to hazardous places, it is a must needed safety gear. Helmets can protect you from falling objects.
If you are also working in an industry that requires you to work around dangerous objects all the time, you should have the right protective gear to keep you safe. In this article, we will walk you through the various reasons for choosing a safety helmet for yourself. It also highlights the various types of safety helmets available in the market.
Let’s start with the same:
What is a Safety Helmet?
Safety helmets are gears that protect workers from various hazards at their workplaces. It is mandatory for every worker who works at a construction site or any other manual working site. Many dangers are lurking in every corner of these places. Hence, you should always have a safety helmet at your rescue here.
The various components of a safety helmet are the outer shell, harness, and headband. They are bound together in a manner that helps you protect against all odds.
The outer shell of the helmet is the strongest element. It is usually made from polyethylene. The harness is strong as well. It is made from a series of woven bands or polyethylene. The headband is extremely flexible and adjustable. It is elastic. It is done so that the person wearing it can adjust the height according to their comfort. This provides it with more absorption and flexibility.
Why do we need safety helmets?
Many do not give a lot of importance to safety helmets on sites and do not like wearing one as well. However, we disagree with it greatly and suggest you always wear a safety helmet regardless of what you think. It is one of the greatest concepts ever invented to complete the safety gears.
There are many reasons for wearing safety helmets on sites. These are:
- Mandatory Use
It is now mandatory to wear safety helmets on sites where the chances of developing a head injury are high. It is not only important but also a rule that should be followed by you at all costs. All workers must wear a safety helmet at all times.
- Head Protection
Safety helmets are strong, sturdy, and flexible. They are built to protect you from the injury of falling objects, electric injuries, and even injuries by penetration. On a work site, many sharp objects are sticking out haphazardly. They can damage your head severely. Only a safety helmet can protect you.
- Protection from Slips
If you’re working in an industry like oil, chemicals, or any that requires water, the ground is bound to be slippery. A slippery ground can lead to a variety of accidents on site. You can slip, fall, or trip easily. While that happens, a great blow or damage will be delivered to your skull. If you wear a safety helmet, it can be easily avoided without much effort.
- Sun Protection
Most construction sites require employees to work under the strong sun for long hours. This can lead to numerous problems including headaches, dehydration, heat strokes, and even nausea. With the safety helmet, the sun rays do not directly fall on the head of the workers. It provides great protection from the unsun’says and keeps the workers healthy and active.
- Fewer Chances of Accidents
If you work at a site with dangerous equipment, accidents are likely to happen. However, the impact of an accident can be severely reduced if you are wearing a safety helmet. Chances are that you will never have any severe injuries at all.
- Employee Visibility
Whenever you wear a safety helmet, it makes you more visible in the factory or site even at night. It also helps people distinguish an ordinary person from an employee. There are different color helmets to signify the various employee positions at a site. It is extremely useful for the employer.
Where is Safety Helmets Used?
The safety helmets can be used at a variety of sites that require the employees to work manually or operate huge machines. In India, about 11, 614 to 22,080 accidents take place in ten construction sites every year. That is why wearing safety helmets is mandatory.
The construction site is the second most hazardous place to work in India. The fatal accidents per 1000 workers in the construction industry is 0.22 followed by 0.09 in factories. The coal mines are the most dangerous place to work with a fatality rate of 0.24 in the country. All these places require the necessary use of safety helmets.
The common places where safety helmets are used are:
- Construction Sites
- Oil Factories
- Chemical Factories
- Coal Mines
- Metallurgical Sites
- Manufacturing Units
- Electrical Offices
- Nuclear Power Plants
- Hydroelectric Plants
- Electrical Units
- Iron Factories
- Steel Factories
- Gas Units
These are just a few examples of the places that have explored the use of safety helmets. The use is unlimited and not restricted to just these areas of work at large.
Choosing the Right Safety Helmet
Safety helmets are an integral part of the work sites with dangers around. It should be worn on a needed basis. You must understand how and when you should wear a certain type of helmet.
If the site you’re working on is prone to head injuries, you should wear a safety helmet without fail. A risk assessment should be undertaken in your area of work to identify this carefully. If the risk is identified, you should wear the helmet regardless of the area, size, and nature of the project.
It is mandatory for an employee and visitor at such a site to be provided with a helmet by the contractor or employer. Self-employed people need to buy their safety gear.
The factors that you should consider while choosing the right safety helmet for yourself are:
- The task to be performed by you
- Risks involved with the task
- Level of protection that is required
- Area of work
- Nature of work
- Elements to be protected against
- Comfort
- Performance
- Durability
- Flexibility
After all these factors are thoroughly considered, the right helmet should be chosen by you. Only you can have enough knowledge on which helmet works best for you. You must weigh all the factors accordingly before choosing as your safety is at stake with the helmet.
What are the different types of safety helmets?
Different types of safety helmets denote their performance and who they should be worn by. They are categorized into different colors that show what they symbolize. They are as follows:
- Fiberglass Helmets – These are worn by workers who are employed in conducting activities that require welding or exposure to high heat.
- White Coloured Helmets – These helmets are worn by employees who are in official positions or guide others. They are worn by engineers, foremen, managers, or supervisors.
- Yellow Coloured Helmets – These are worn by all the laborers who do the groundwork.
- Green Coloured Helmets – These are usually worn by the workers who have recently joined the crew. It is also worn by safety inspectors.
- Orange Coloured Helmets –These are worn by new workers as well. It is also worn by the road crew or even visitors.
- Blue Coloured Helmets – These are worn by workers employed for carpentry or technical support.
This is a great yet effective system that is followed in industries to distinguish employees from each other. So far it has worked and made the work far easier for others.
Conclusion
Safety helmets are an inseparable part of any industry and they should be diligently used by every employee. It not only protects the head from any possible injury but also saves it from any damage in case an accident takes place. It protects the skull against dust, fire, water, heat, sharp objects, and so on. In most countries, it is now mandatory to wear a safety helmet to risky workplaces at all times. Regardless of whether you are a visitor or worker at such a site, wearing a safety helmet is both important and necessary.
