It’s amazing how the simplest precautions can sometimes offer the best defenses; but it’s even more incredible that, in many cases, they’re also the most overlooked – or downright ignored. Strapping oneself into a car seat, for example, takes just a quick click of a safety belt; yet the neglect of that two-second action accounts for thousands of traffic deaths and injuries each year.

Hard hats provide a similar illustration; but there’s an ironic twist, because, while the jobs that require them typically demand good physical strength, donning their hard hats often seems too strenuous a chore for the workers whose lives may, literally, depend upon them.

Indeed, the swift, easy motion that it takes to put on a hard hat can be the difference between life and death. Moreover, as head injuries are among the most serious of all, even a non-fatal blow can have devastating consequences, as evidenced by the number of professional athletes whose careers have been jeopardized – or ended – by a single concussion. Furthermore, the neck and spine can sustain horrible injuries from intense head trauma, including permanent paralysis, which can require lifelong medical care.

Truly, there is no understating – or underestimating – the importance of wearing hard hats, which, according to the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA), can prevent over 90 percent of the head injuries sustained by workers each year. In addition, a hard hat can actually reduce the force of a 570-pound impact to a 127-pound shock.

Of course, there’s no doubt that those who work in jobs that require hard hats understand their significance. After all, OSHA monitors, requires, and strictly regulates their use under specified workplace conditions. So, virtually every employer of hard-hat workers not only provides rigorous safety training, but has numerous signs posted prominently in the areas where head protection must be worn.

Still, every day, at any given time, in hazardous workplaces everywhere, employees can be found milling about – or standing around – without their hard hats on. If asked why, workers will often say that they were doing something easy that “just took a few seconds,” so they didn’t think it was dangerous.

However, it’s crucial for workers to be aware that, even if they’re on break in their areas, and there are no perceived threats, others nearby may be doing things that, with the tiniest errors, can have dreadful domino effects. So, if you’re in a designated “hard-hat zone,” keep your head protected, because it takes only one second for tragedy to strike.

It’s also important to remember that not wearing the proper safety gear, of any kind, can hurt employers as well. Bound by OSHA safety regulations, they can (and every year, do) incur serious penalties and astronomical health care and insurance costs when accidents happen on the job, even if they result from workers’ negligence. Besides that, employers really just do not want to see anyone get hurt.

Certainly, everyone realizes that hard hats can be uncomfortable; and the level of unpleasantness depends upon the time of year, whether you’re working indoors or outside, and whatever other types of clothing or protective gear you’re wearing. Luckily, though, there are ways to alleviate any discomfort.

For instance, even when you’re working in cold weather, once you get going, perhaps you can take off your gloves. Then, you may warm up enough that you can take off your coat. Also, in the summer, if you’re a guy, you may even be able to take off your shirt.

But you must leave your hat on!

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Ambridge Regional Center
2301 Duss Avenue, Suite 1
Ambridge, PA 15003
Phone: (724) 266-4661

https://www.ambridgeregional.com

Ambridge Regional Center
2301 Duss Avenue, Suite 1
Ambridge, PA 15003

Phone: (724) 266-4661
Toll Free: (800) 371-5606
Fax: (724) 266-7311

Contact Us Today

 

Our space is very nice, and the entire complex is extremely well-organized and maintained, which makes a good impression on our customers when they come for pick-ups. Management is also very attentive to our needs at all times.

Hiram Ball

Owner, Ball Consulting, Ltd