In the safety game, we all know too well that the safest equipment, such as a safety helmet, is the one your team is willing to wear. Despite hard hats being a critical component of keeping your employees safe from harm, a recent survey we commissioned unveiled that nearly 50 per cent of workers “don’t ever” or “rarely” wore a hard hat.[i] Just 17 per cent of respondents said that they wear a hard hat most of the time.
When asked what put people off from wearing a safety helmet (such as a hard hat):
- 26% of respondents said they were uncomfortable,
- 18% said that they stopped them from doing their jobs properly,
- 10% said they made them feel too hot
- 6% said that hard hats don’t fit properly.
Taking the lead in changing behaviour
It should come as little surprise, given these issues cited, that many workers end up running the risk of not wearing a safety helmet.
Uncomfortable, bulky and ill-fitting helmets hinder a worker’s ability to do their job properly and contribute to them spending more time worrying about their hard hat than the job at hand – which is dangerous in its own right.
It’s the responsibility of the safety industry to change this behaviour. While, of course, hard hats need to be safe, they also need to be comfortable and well-fitting so that people actually want to wear them.
Taking pride in your appearance
Providing workers with a helmet they can be proud of is so important. When a manager provides a workforce with a quality safety helmet that has a low-profile and modern design, it represents a certain level of investment in them and their safety.
Heads come in all shapes and sizes, and workers need the ability to re-size hard hats to a secure and comfortable fit. While customising hard hats with company logos and messaging can also help to foster a sense of pride and belonging to a team.
At MSA, we understand that hard hat comfort and fit aren’t nice-to-haves but essential to safe site operation. That’s because we’ve been protecting lives for over 100 years.
MSA Safety is the designer, manufacturer and supplier of industry-leading safety products, such as a safety helmet – including its iconic V-Gard® head protection range, used by millions of workers in the toughest environments.
Our team are here to help make purchasing high-quality, customised hard hats quick and hassle-free. And, if you’re using a safety helmet from another brand for a limited time, we are offering a free front logo if you make the switch to us.
Visit msasafety.com/customhardhats to experience the benefits of hard-hat customisation for yourself.
[i] https://skill-builder.uk/msa-reveals-industry-insights-from-hard-hat-survey