HEAD & FACE PROTECTION
Hard hats are designed to offer head protection from falling objects (and bumps against fixed objects) by absorbing energy.
There are 3 type of hard hat classifications for different working environments.
- Type 1 – Industrial are suitable for general industry, including construction, factories, quarrying and forestry
- Type 2 – High temperature are suitable for workplaces such as steelworks
- Type 3 – Bushfire fighting are intended to be worn by people in bushfire fighting
Helmet accessories that may be fitted include, a lamp bracket, cable clip, retaining strap (chin strap).
Branded Safety hard hats are also available. These are category Type 1, and are used where specific workers’ responsibilities need to be clear, such as fire aid attendants, chief wardens, fire wardens, area wardens, or in construction to identify the crane crew.
There is a large range of hearing protection that offer different levels of protection against harmful sound energy according to the working environments. Ranging from disposable roll down (foam) plugs, push in plugs, banded, ear muffs, or specially engineered hearing protection moulded to the individual person. Ear muffs also come with radio communications and specially designed to be fitted to hard hats and with other PPE equipment.
The safe exposure level for a worker is 85 dB (A) over an 8 hour working day, which is further reduced to 82 dB (A) over a 12 hour working day. No person should ever be exposed to sound levels exceeding the very dangerous level of 140 dB (A) for any period of time.
Good attenuation is considered to be between 75 dB (A) and 80 dB (A) in the ear. Over-protection (attenuation) should be avoided as this can lead to communication problems.
5 different classes of hearing protectors for different noise level ranges are as follows:
|
Class |
Noise Level |
Noise Reduction Required |
|
Class 1 |
Less than 90 dB (A) |
10 -13 |
|
Class 2 |
90 to less than 95 dB (A) |
14 -17 |
|
Class 3 |
95 to less than 100 dB (A) |
18 -21 |
|
Class 4 |
100 dB (A) to less than 105 dB (A) |
22 -25 |
|
Class 5 |
105 dB (A) to less than 110 dB (A) |
Greater than 26 |
|
If greater than 110 dB (A) specialist advice is required |
||
To select the correct hearing protection you must first know which workers are exposed, what their exposure levels are, and the duration of exposure, and whether or not the hearing protection is compatible with the work environment and other protective equipment that they may be using.
We can undertake noise measurements to establish hazardous noise areas and guide you in selecting the most suitable hearing protection based on this assessment. Using the correct type of hearing protection is important to ensure adequate protection is provided, and conversely that the wrong type are not used that provide too high attenuation that would lead to workers not using their hearing protection.
Safety glasses / goggles
Safety eyewear protects the eyes from a number of harmful situations, which includes:
- UV radiation
- High temperatures
- Molten metals or hot solids
- Radiant heat
- Liquid droplets or splashes
- Electric arcs
- Penetration of hot solids
- Damage by fine particles (< 5µm), and coarse particles (> 5µm)
- Low energy impact (45 m/s), medium energy impact (120 m/s), and high energy impact (190 m/s)
Lens types
Clear / translucent are suitable for indoor and low glare conditions. These provide true colour recognition making them ideal for general purpose work.
Grey / Smoke are suitable where there is direct exposure to sunlight. These lenses protects against natural glare and assist in colour recognition.
Amber Lens are suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications in low lit environments, or at dawn or dusk. These lenses enhance light and improve contrast making them ideal for low lit environments.
Mirror Lens are suitable for outdoor work. These lenses protect the eyes against natural and artificial glare whilst dissipating heat.
Brown Lens are a medium tint for outdoor work. These lenses provide the benefits of a darker, glare protective tint whist improving contrast and colour recognition.
Polarised Lens For outdoor, high glare working environments. A polarised lens significantly reduces glare. They come in blue, grey green.
Transitional Lens range between smoke and clear, depending on the light conditions making them an ideal choice for people who move in between in and outdoor work.
The frames come in many different styles from leading brands such as Uvex, Bolle, 3M, Honeywell and other brands.
Face shield
Face shields are designed to protect the face of a worker against certain harmful influences that include, mechanical and liquid splash hazards and may be used in conjunction with safety glasses to protect the eyes from increased risks such as metal debris from grinding activities, or handling hazardous chemicals.