When I teach OSHA 10-hour or 30-hour
classes for construction and general industry, we inevitably talk about head
protection; and that means we discuss hard hats. Over the years I’ve noticed there
are five questions about hard hats that are repeatedly asked by trainees during
that section of the class. However, the Federal OSHA standards on head protection do not
directly address these five questions (although some of the state OSHA programs
might). And if you’ve ever researched the Federal OSHA letters of interpretation about hard
hat use in construction (see list) or general industry (see list),
you’ve found they generally defer to the hard hat manufacturers on issues
about proper use and care, recommending employers follow their guidance.
So I thought I’d list these five questions that often come up about hard hats, and provide the answers that are
provided by three of the major manufacturers of hard hats on their web sites. And
you may be surprised (or maybe not) to find that the manufacturers are not
always in agreement on the answers . . .
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