Head safety.

[6PTsocket]

Recently I gave myself a pretty good bump on the noggin on one off the low cross beams in my attic. Where I used to work there was a service tunnel inside some equipment, where we kept hard hats or maybe bump caps at the entrance, for the same reason. My need is definitely a bump situation but certified hard hats are practically as cheap and seem to offer more protection. I even looked at Type 2 hard hats for the extra side protection. Is there a downside to hard hats vs bump caps. I would like the opinions of those with more ppe experience. Thanks.

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[Hilltopmasonry]

Obviously hardhats provide a better level of head protection from stuff that is dropped where a bump cap is simply to protect your head from when you bumping into something like you mentioned. Usually bump caps are made for food plants and factories were stuff really isnt been dropped like on a construction site

Hardhats are heavier and more cumbersome and that’s probably the biggest drawback. I don’t really know if there is any other differences




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[rlitman]

Hard hats sit higher. So in a tight space like an attic, that extra inch might make you bump your head more.

 

[Angelfire]

Hard hats sit higher. So in a tight space like an attic, that extra inch might make you bump your head more.

This. I rarely bump my head on low hanging stuff, unless I'm wearing the hard hat
Cheers.

 

[rlitman]

The lighting in my attic puts the cross beams in shadow, so I've gone straight into them more than once. Perhaps it's time I add padding (like a strip of foam insulation tape). Or maybe paint.

 

[bwringer]

You'll definitely bonk your head and knock the damn thing off a lot more often with a hard hat.

Then you'll bend down to pick up the hat, stand up to put it on, bonk your bare head, drop the hat again... remix and repeat.

In this situation, it's not a living space so padding with some pipe foam sections would be cheap and a lot more reliable than a hard hat or bump cap.

 

[Lynden]

I have a bump cap insert in one of my baseball caps. The insert has only four ventilation holes so I drilled a bunch more. This is the cap I end up wearing most of the time. I like it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JCCKR6O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

These door jamb protectors work well on beams. Staple them on.

https://www.ramboard.com/products/ram-jamb.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=nSh66MAk4vc

 

[mjeff87]

Lynden, thanks for posting those.....I'm definitely going to pick up a couple of them. Last summer I was working in my garage and very stupidly climbed up a small ladder to adjust a hanging cable, not realizing I was right under the garage door rail. Actually the very end of the rail, where the perforated angle iron from the ceiling came down and bolted to it. Very sharp corners on that angle iron stuff....I took an actual chunk of my scalp off. It was left hanging on the corner of the angle iron with a patch of my hair still attached, and because it was a head wound it bled like crazy. In moments I looked like something from a horror movie. Ended up going to the doc-in-a-box and got 6 stitches because I couldn't get the bleeding to stop.

Both ends of the garage rails are now covered in pipe insulation elbows and wrapped with duct tape. That little insert would probably have saved me a visit to the doctor, lol.

 

[6PTsocket]

Lynden, thanks for posting those.....I'm definitely going to pick up a couple of them. Last summer I was working in my garage and very stupidly climbed up a small ladder to adjust a hanging cable, not realizing I was right under the garage door rail. Actually the very end of the rail, where the perforated angle iron from the ceiling came down and bolted to it. Very sharp corners on that angle iron stuff....I took an actual chunk of my scalp off. It was left hanging on the corner of the angle iron with a patch of my hair still attached, and because it was a head wound it bled like crazy. In moments I looked like something from a horror movie. Ended up going to the doc-in-a-box and got 6 stitches because I couldn't get the bleeding to stop.

Both ends of the garage rails are now covered in pipe insulation elbows and wrapped with duct tape[emoji38]_hitti. That little insert would probably have saved me a visit to the doctor, lol.

OUCH !!!! I'll be seeing that one for days. "Doc in a box." Never heard that one before. LOL!!

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[rlitman]

Yeah, I remember the late night trip to the doc in the box when my little one climbed out of bed, hitting his head on the night stand. He ended up with staples in his scalp, and yeah, head wounds bleed a lot.

In my case, I think that if I add the bumpers, the fact that they reduce the clearance underneath could be a problem.

I haven't added foam pipe insulation tape, because it's black, and would become invisible in silhouette (because of the lighting). I think I need to set aside some rigid white packing foam.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

A bump cap saved my head plenty of times working in a small training mockup on site at NASA. I laughed when they told me it was required to wear but we had lots of tight spaces to work in and low ceiling or bulkhead. They were much more comfortable than the previous times when I've worn hard hats all day. Always hated those. Recently when I swapped out the clutch on my Dakota I wore a bike helmet to keep me from resting my head on the ground or having to hold it up and make my neck sore, also saved me a few times.

This is the cap we wore working on site.
https://smile.amazon.com/Ergodyne-Skullerz-8950-Safety-Bump/dp/B00IZ9D140

 

[6PTsocket]

A bump cap saved my head plenty of times working in a small training mockup on site at NASA. I laughed when they told me it was required to wear but we had lots of tight spaces to work in and low ceiling or bulkhead. They were much more comfortable than the previous times when I've worn hard hats all day. Always hated those. Recently when I swapped out the clutch on my Dakota I wore a bike helmet to keep me from resting my head on the ground or having to hold it up and make my neck sore, also saved me a few times.

This is the cap we wore working on site.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ9D140/?tag=atomicindus08-20

They are sized S, M, L, XL. How does that translate to hat size in inches? I would hate to mail order one only to guess wrong and have to exchange it. I noticed that all the foam pad inserts go into soft hats but if you buy a hard hat style bump cap it uses a suspension like a hard hat. I wonder which protects better. That style is just a smaller lighter lower clearance hard hat.

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[tfi racing]

Maybe helmets should be mandatory for any activity at any time 24/7. Working, playing, eating, sleeping-no exceptions, helmet on every minute from birth to death, every skull is just too precious...

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

You could go "old school" and wear a bowler hat.

The Cooper Grist mill is a water powered mill in Chester NJ and the man that gives tours wears a bowler hat to add a little padding to his head.

Cheers

Jim

 

[rlitman]

You could go "old school" and wear a bowler hat.



The Cooper Grist mill is a water powered mill in Chester NJ and the man that gives tours wears a bowler hat to add a little padding to his head.



Cheers



Jim

Sure, but that’s just for self defense. He bought the hat off a retired Bond villain.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

They are sized S, M, L, XL. How does that translate to hat size in inches? I would hate to mail order one only to guess wrong and have to exchange it. I noticed that all the foam pad inserts go into soft hats but if you buy a hard hat style bump cap it uses a suspension like a hard hat. I wonder which protects better. That style is just a smaller lighter lower clearance hard hat.

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That's a good question. I am not sure what size we used but Amazon has a really good exchange policy, just make sure you buy it from them and not a 3rd party. If it's a cheap item, sometimes they just tell you to keep it and give you a refund or send the correct one.

A hard hat with suspension system is design for impacts from falling objects that would still hurt you through a bump cap. A bump cap is more comfortable and lighter but if you walk in to the corner of a sharp steel beam, the hard hat will most likely protect you better. The bump cap will still be a huge improvement over using your scalp to detect objects.

 

[swamplife]

I actually knocked myself out cold for an unknown amount of time back in December. I was running an angle grinder trying to prep the frame on my Jeep for a patch. Figured I should get up to put on some safety goggles. I'm assuming I hit my head on the hatch getting under it , but I remember thinking about getting goggles on and next thing I know I was face down on the floor against the kero heater with safety glasses on and had a bit of blood running down my forehead.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

I actually knocked myself out cold for an unknown amount of time back in December. I was running an angle grinder trying to prep the frame on my Jeep for a patch. Figured I should get up to put on some safety goggles. I'm assuming I hit my head on the hatch getting under it , but I remember thinking about getting goggles on and next thing I know I was face down on the floor against the kero heater with safety glasses on and had a bit of blood running down my forehead.

Damn, that's scary! We had a guy pass out at work and fall (still not sure why), he narrowly missed his head on the sharp corner of a desk.

 

[tarmy]

******** a bike helmet when you are up there. Light weight, cool and the profile is smaller and for the occasional bonk...works great.

 

[swamplife]

Damn, that's scary! We had a guy pass out at work and fall (still not sure why), he narrowly missed his head on the sharp corner of a desk.

Blood sugar? Ive seen low blood sugar cause people to drop out.

Ive seen stars but first time I knocked myself out. Im careful now. Ironically it was from getting safety equipment

 

[fang123]

******** a bike helmet when you are up there. Light weight, cool and the profile is smaller and for the occasional bonk...works great.

This is a great idea. I have to wear a hardhat at work, and can't wait to take that damn thing off at the end of the day.

 

[BajaScout]

It only hurts until the pain goes away!

 

[QwikKotaTx]

Blood sugar? Ive seen low blood sugar cause people to drop out.

Ive seen stars but first time I knocked myself out. Im careful now. Ironically it was from getting safety equipment

Yeah, probably. The guy is 6'2" and only eats PBJ sandwiches, very picky eater.

I have seen stars too from hitting my head on a cabinet. I have had a fork lift lowered on to my head and a gantry crane headache ball hit me but luckily both were very slowly moving and no injuries. Pissed me off to no end though. Same shop, of course. The guy who hit me with the crane ball had the nerve to get mad at me for not watching out. I was in the same spot for several minutes...

 

[redmondjp]

The lighting in my attic puts the cross beams in shadow, so I've gone straight into them more than once. Perhaps it's time I add padding (like a strip of foam insulation tape). Or maybe paint.

If it's in an area over your access path that you will travel again in the future, you could use some hot water pipe insulation - the split type, and just staple it over the edge of the beam. Bonus if you place a strip of that high-visibility yellow tape along it. You can get all the materials for this at the local box store for not much money.

 

[rlitman]

If it's in an area over your access path that you will travel again in the future, you could use some hot water pipe insulation - the split type, and just staple it over the edge of the beam. Bonus if you place a strip of that high-visibility yellow tape along it. You can get all the materials for this at the local box store for not much money.

Knowing me, I'll knock the insulation off with my head, and catch a staple the next time I pass by the spot.

Right next to the split insulation, they sell a 1/8" thick foam insulation tape made by Armaflex.

But now that I think of it, foam camper mounting tape is sold in the weather stripping section, and that comes in white. I may need to pick up some, before I decide to clean out my attic.