Is your hard hat about to expire?

Safety helmets play a vital role in protecting personnel, yet many people are unaware that like most products they have a shelf life.Doug Woodbridge looks at how technology is beginning to address this issue

There is an ongoing discussion and much confusion on the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) website around the issue of when a hard hat should be replaced. Obviously, this should always be after they have received a knock. However, what many people fail to realise is that safety helmets have a defined life span, which is why all safety helmets have a date stamp – usually on the underside of the peak. The general rule is that they should be replaced every three years, although it is important to check with the manufacturer first. It is common for personnel to omit check of this ‘shelf’ life, resulting in a worrying number of safety helmets in use today that require urgent replacement.

It was against this background that Draws International, Sheffield Hallam University and S3 ID began developing a new safety helmet that would overcome these issues.

Our aim was to create a product specifically designed to improve head safety, whilst highlighting user data and when shelf life had been reached. To satisfy all individual needs we developed two variants of the safety helmet.

SuperSafe for use in general industrial applications and the construction sector and UltraSafe to meet the special requirements of the Oil, Gas, Energy and Petrochemical industries, certified for use in hazardous areas. As well as incorporating technology, we felt that it was important to exceed the most stringent safety levels required by current legislation and standards for safety helmets. This involved providing enhanced side impact strength and protection to weight ratios, making it one of the lightest, most comfortable units to wear for extended periods.

We also made sure that the new safety helmets featured all the general technical specifications such as fully adjustable head strap as well as incorporating twin adjustable chin straps to ensure it stayed in place, which again exceeds minimum guidelines. We took the view that if we were going to improve safety using technology it should also offer the best physical protection for the user too.

The UltraSafe product we developed incorporates patented RFID technology, ATEX certified for use in Zone 1 Hazardous areas, which allows its ownership, history and inspection record and even its user details to be embedded.

This ensures that the most widely used piece of safety equipment will always be properly maintained and that expired units are safely withdrawn at end of life or following impact damage. A ‘Recall’ prompt is flashed and service alarms are automatically generated by the smart reader system as a helmet approaches its end of life. Alarms are also raised where a helmet is found to require immediate inspection or replacement by an RFID ‘spot check’ or ’emergency interrogation’ of its identity.

The RFID ‘identity’ built into the helmet at time of manufacture is embedded into the outer profile creating a robust, tamper resistant product. It stores pre-defined key safety related information, such as the products unique serial number, its date of manufacture and its designed service life-span – the date after which it should be mandatorily withdrawn from use. Additionally, the tag stores other data, for example its ownership (which is usually pre-set at point of manufacture) and service life user data, such as the allocated user’s name. Other pertinent information, such as emergency contact data, and the products inspection history, which can be updated during the products life using the service tools we provide.

A further benefit of incorporating this type of technology into the safety helmet is that since the users ID is recorded along with the other helmet data in the embedded RFID tag, the helmet can be used with our location, Personnel On Board (POB), tracking, mustering and personnel management solutions.

Along with the safety helmet, we developed a SmartReader system, which is a specialist PC based tool and USB reader wand. This is designed to enhance personnel safety by ensuring that only fully serviceable helmets are in use on a site.

A quick look at the HSE website gives an indication of the confusion surrounding the shelf life of safety helmets. Coupled with this is the increasing need to maintain security on site and that means ensuring the person wearing the helmet is the one that should be and here integrating safety helmet technology with existing mustering and location systems is all part of creating a much more secure facility.

Ultimately, it is personnel on site that will benefit from any improvements in safety helmets. That’s because regular inspections are not carried out even though it is the wearer’s responsibility to do so. For business owners and managers that want to eliminate this uncertainty and reduce their risk, incorporating technology into the safety helmet is an effective method of carrying out this vital process efficiently and accurately.” Doug Woodbridge is head of sales and marketing at S3 ID