A review of research relating to industrial helmet design

Abstract

Proctor, T.D., 1982. A review of research relating to industrial helmet design. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 3: 259–272. Recent research into industrial safety helmets is reviewed with regard to statistics, impact considerations and comfort/stability/acceptability. The present British and ISO (International Standards Organisation) test method, which uses the peak acceleration of a headform to assess impact absorption, is considered to be equivalent to those methods that involve humanoid headform and use average acceleration (the Severity Index) as the criterion in tests where the impact direction lies approximately normal to the impacting surface and where the impact is of short duration. Where rotation of the head may occur, as for example when a helmet is struck on the peak, a more thorough investigation of the biomechanical evidence is required before conclusions can be drawn about the benefits to be derived from extending the test procedures to cover such eventualities. The main need for research is seen to be in the area of comfort but it is also suggested that the useful life of injection-moulded plastics should be investigated in order to avoid significant reductions in impact performance from exposure to weather, chemicals, etc., so that sound advice may be provided about replacement periods.