This weekend, we witnessed football helmets failing upon impact due to the frigid temperatures. Sadly, these failures were accepted, and play continued! But this brings about the logical question:
How cold can it get before my hard hat (HH) fails when struck by a falling object?
Most HH manufacturers will advertise the maximum temperature at which their HH will provide protection, but they often times do NOT provide a low temperature. There is some data we can learn from; the “temperature testing parameters”…
NOTE: We should NOT rely on a safety device when it is used OUTSIDE of its testing/prooving parameters.
ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2014 Temperature Test Parameters
- All testing shall be performed at room temperature 73.4°F
- HOT test samples shall be placed in a forced air circulating oven maintained at 120°F for at least two (2) hours.
- COLD test samples shall be placed in an environmental chamber maintained at 0°F for at least two (2) hours.
- Higher Temperature test samples shall be placed in a forced air circulating oven maintained at 140°F for at least four (4) hours.
- Lower Temperature test samples shall be placed in an environmental chamber maintained at -22°F for at least four (4) hours.
- All hot, cold, and low-temperature samples shall be tested for impact and penetration within 30 seconds after removal from the conditioned environment.
So, the coldest temperature our HHs are tested to (based on the ANSI approval requirements) is -22°F. That is brutally cold for most workers; however, some workers in the food industry work in –35°F freezers for hours at a time. I am not a plastics engineer, but I also wonder what happens to the strength of the HH when it is in those frigid temps for hours and then is in 68-72°F when the worker stores their HH in their locker in the heated locker room. I have to suspect that these temp swings impact their performance, but I can not say for sure.
What say you? Comment Below…