Personal protection measures which belong to the category of head protective equipment provide a very important type of protection. The head is a body part which is most likely to suffer damage in most professions.

The fundamental aims of safety helmets which play a highly important role in the personal protection are:

• protection against puncture to provide efficient protection of the skull,
• shock absorption thanks to a shell and harness which absorb the impact energy of a falling object,
• change of fall path of a falling object from perpendicular direction to the top of the head to reduce the effect of an impact.

The EN397 standard which specifies the protective qualities of safety helmets lays down many requirements concerning specific industrial properties of safety helmets, such as requirements associated with:

• Materials used for the production
• Construction parameters
• Resistance to puncture
• Resistance to high temperature and open fire
• Shock absorption degree etc.

Moreover, specialist helmets may meet the requirements for resistance to lateral deformation (LD mark), resistance to molten metal (MM mark) and electro-insulation properties (440V AC mark) etc.

A correct choice of a safety helmet ensures efficient head protection. This is why when selecting a helmet one should take into consideration the following factors:

Adjustment range of the harness and adjustment of the position of a helmet to a head size,

Range of temperatures occurring at a given work position on the basis of which safety helmets are divided into the following categories:

• basic – temperature range of -10 to +50°C. It does not require special marking of the helmet,
• to be used in low temperatures – temperature range from -20°C. The helmet is marked with “-20°C” symbol,
• to be used in very low temperatures – temperature range from -30°C. The helmet is marked with “-30°C” symbol,
• to be used in very high temperatures – temperature range of up to +150°C. The helmet is marked with “+150°C” symbol.

Efficient protection is also influenced by other operational factors which play a significant role in the protection of the health and safety of users.

List of standards

EN397

Industrial safety helmets.

The standard specifies requirements concerning the properties and marking of industrial safety helmets. It determines construction requirements, obligatory and optional requirements for protective properties. It provides test methods of obligatory and optional tests of industrial safety helmets.

According to the guidelines presented in the standard, each helmet has to be labeled with embossed or printed mark containing the following information:

• The number of this standard,
• Name or identification number of the producer,
• Year and quarter of production,
• Helmet type,
• Size or size range,
• Abbreviation for material of the shell.

Additional information such as instructions and recommendations for adjustment, installation, cleaning, disinfection, maintenance, technical inspections and storage are provided in the manual instruction.

EN812

Industrial light safety helmets.

The standard specifies physical requirements for protective parameters, test methods and marking rules concerning industrial light safety helmets.

Such helmets are supposed to protect user’s head against hitting hard and still objects with a force which could cause skin tears and other flesh wounds. The use of these helmets is usually limited to the use inside buildings.

Light safety helmets are not suitable for protection against the effect of impacts, falling objects or hanging and moving loads.

Light safety helmets should not be confused with safety helmets for industrial use referred to in EN397 standard.

EN14052

High performance industrial safety helmets.

The standard defines the requirements for physical and protective properties, tests and marking concerning high performance industrial safety helmets. According to this standard high performance industrial helmets are designed to protect the user against brain damage, skull fracture or neck injuries which can be caused by falling or hitting objects. This standard contains obligatory requirements which apply to all high performance safety helmets and optional requirements which concern protective parameters and are applied when indicated by the producer.

EN50365

Insulating helmets for use on low voltage installations.

This standard describes the requirements for electric and non-electric properties of helmets made of electro-insulation materials used in live work or in the proximity of elements of active AC electrical installations with up to 1000 V or DC installations with up to 1500 V.

The standard describes non-electric tests e.g. a visual inspection and verification of the measurements and construction. It also describes electric tests of the helmets. Specimen collection procedure, manual instruction and requirements for marking and packaging are also provided.

Hazardous zone

ATEX (from fr. Atmosphères Explosibles) – directive European Union (the act), defining basic requirements which have to be met by every product intended to use in hazardous zones.

Hazardous zone is the zone where in the result explosive mixture explosive risk can occur. In a hazardous zone employees have to wear proper personal protective equipment.

Places, where is a hazardous zone, are especially dangerous considering potencial hazards for the employee. Electrostatics can be critical ignitation source in a hazardous zone, which can cause many dangerous accidents in work, including death.

Personal protective equipment intended to use in a hazardous zone shell be such designed and produced not to be a source of a spark or an electric arc made by electrostatics or a hit and which can cause ignitation of explosive mixture.

There is the following classification of rooms and external space endangered with an explosion: