Choosing a Hard Hat
What you should know about the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 protective hard hats.
- By Drew Thiel
- Jun 01, 2023
In the United States, according to OSHA standard number 1926.100(a), employees must be protected by protective helmets when “working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects.”
In addition, “the employer must provide each employee with head protection that meets the specifications contained in any of the following consensus standards,” noting American National Standards Institute (ANSI) “American National Standard for Industrial Head Protection.”
ANSI Z89.1-2014 “describes Types and Classes, testing and performance requirements for protective helmets. These include recommended safety requirements for authorities considering the establishment of regulations or codes concerning the use of protective helmets.”
All industrial protective hard hats are either Type 1 or Type 2, based on ANSI and CSA standards for impact resistance and direction. A hard hat can only have one designation for impact properties. There is no in-between according to these standards.
But understanding what the differences are between Type 1 and Type 2 can often be a challenge for workers, especially when taking concerns about specific applications and uses into account. Let’s start by first reviewing what the ANSI and CSA standards are.
What is the ANSI standard?
The performance and testing requirements and types and classes of protective helmets established in ANSI Z89.1-2014 provide employers with hard hat options that provide appropriate protection for hazards present in a given workplace.
ANSI Z89.1-2014 was prepared by members of the International Safety Equipment Association’s (ISEA) Head Protection Group as a revision to the 2009 edition and approved by a consensus review panel comprised of technical experts, unions, construction industry and other user groups, test labs, and certification and government agencies.
What are CSA Group Standards?
In Canada, Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) has established CSA Z94.1-15 (the “Standard”). The Standard defines the areas of the head that are to be protected and includes basic performance requirements for dielectric strength, impact attenuation, penetration resistance, passive retention (stability), shell flammability and liner ignition resistance.
This article originally appeared in the June 1, 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.