Virginia Tech’s Helmet Lab has been studying and providing safety ratings for athletic helmets for nearly two decades and now will begin developing a grading system for construction helmets, according to Construction Dive.
The 18-month study aims to better understand the types of head impacts workers experience on job sites and which helmets best protect them.
Researchers first will record information about head trauma on the job site from injury reports and studies from groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They then will attempt to recreate those collisions in the lab before analyzing which helmets best protect against the most common types of head injury.
Barry Miller, director of outreach and business development for the Helmet Lab, says data collected by researchers from sensors in Virginia Tech athletes have helped the lab understand how they hit their heads and develop ratings for which helmets best protect athletes from those collisions.
The Virginia Tech research is concerned with the head trauma someone can encounter day to day and the best ways to protect a worker’s head from multiple types of injury. Miller said the lab is working to collect data about head collisions on the job, but the type of information—or lack thereof—in the available data can be a challenge.
“Injury reports say: ‘I fell and I hit my head.’ OK. Well, where? How hard? Did you hit your back first?” Miller said.
Miller said the best type of information the lab can use to recreate head injuries is video. Contractors can help by supplying visual aids to indicate how workers fall and hit their heads, which can inform researchers regarding how to better test helmets in the lab.
Check out this Professional Roofing article about choosing the proper head protection.
