The wearing of hard hats has been made compulsory in my workplace which is a manufacturing factory. This is a directive from senior management of our parent group and applies to all sites. They are quoting that ' where there are overhead cranes in operation then it is Industry Best Practice to wear safety helmets'. We have already done risk assessments about this which have shown, apart from a couple of specific areas, that it is not a significant risk and not necessary factory wide. No hierarchy of control measures have been looked at, such as collective measures eg canopies over the work stations etc and it is proving to be very unpopular amongst the workforce. No accidents have ever occurred due to items falling off our fully inspected and maintained overhead cranes and I am concerned that these hats may act as a distraction when doing physical work, especially during hot weather. I realise that this is Industry Best Practice for the Construction industry but can anyone advise as to where I can find Industry Best Practice for the wearing of hard hats in the manufacturing/engineering industry please? Thanks.

I agree with Alan. Managemnet can make deisions about where to wear hats, equally they can make decisions where not to wear hard hats (based or risk assessments). You quote your management policy says: "They are quoting that ' where there are overhead cranes in operation then it is Industry Best Practice to wear safety helmets' " So, have you tried preparing a map indicating those precise areas where the cranes ARE operating, and equally those areas where they are not? If such a separation led to staff continually putting on hats, then taking them off, say ten times a day, then a blanket rule of always wearing hard hats would indeed be a reasonable policy.

Hi Agree with all the above posts - I work in a warehouse like you where senior management have decided on a blanket approach to hard hats in several sites. If that is what they want then not much point arguing. Not heard of best practice guidance I (Touch wood - head!) have not experienced near miss issues caused by the hats during the 3 years they have been in use in all locations of the warehouse and that includes a lot of overhead crane use. Yes, everyone complained that they will be warm in the summer but we have not had anyone keel over with heat exhaustion as long as sensible precautions are put in place - fans where possible, extra breaks, plenty of water intake, leave the doors open for ventilation if possible etc. I wouldn't bother with bump caps - not much protection against nothing falling! Regards SW

Thanks to all who have responded so far. It is a multi national company and the decision was made in Germany (HO). However it was Industry Best Practice that was quoted by MD and I am unsure as to what he means or is referring to in regards to a manufacturing industry. What I am looking to do is see whether some form of canopy to cover the work stations would appease both the MD and the workers. Nothing has ever fell from a crane, there have been no accidents, no near misses, nothing. Our own in-house RA only found two small areas where the risk was slightly higher so instigated the use of a hard hat in those areas. Also there are other areas of concern where the money could be better spent. Regardless of all this the reason given to me was Industry Best Practice and I was wondering whether anyone knew what they were referring to as I am not aware of this being so in manufacturing? Anyone else heard of this and if so, from where? Thanks.

Just an aside - it's not 'industry best practice' in construction, it's statute - The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989, "Every employer shall ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that each of his employees who is at work on operations or works to which these Regulations apply wears suitable head protection, unless there is no foreseeable risk of injury to his head other than by his falling." I don't like 'best practice' as a term anyway. Any one person anywhere in the industry can decide something and that instantly becomes 'best' practice whether it's sensible, practicable or commensurate with the hazard. 'Good practice' or 'recognised good practice' is OK if applied sensibly, but some arbitrary 'best' practice treated across a whole industry as if all workplaces were identical is nonsense.

I understand the hackles rising when someone quotes best practice without a reference to it. But imagine the hoohar should the hard hat policy be relaxed and someone receives a head injury.....

I know. That's why: 1: I explicitly said it was an aside - because it is not directly relevant to his query 2: I said "it's not 'industry best practice' IN CONSTRUCTION" (emphasis added this time round, though I think it was clear enough last time round)