Yes you are quite correct, you can have 'new' hard hats in the stores that are out of date. This is because you probably had to many in stock antway. There is no way around this so you will need to replace them when they become out of date. The material they are made of has the potential to become unaffective over time. Sorry there is opnly one answer to this buy new ones.

If the helmets have been stored in a dark cupboard in their bag at an acceptable temperature recommended by the manufacturer then the rule of thumb is that the date is irrelevant until they are issued and begin their working life. I have always gone on the 5 year rule maximum from issue unless working conditions dictate a replacement sooner, a scratch on the shell of greater than 10% of the thickness, the helmet has been regularly stored on the back seat/ dash of the car (which most are). You will probably find that most helmets will need replacing before any of this happens.

I agree with the last two postings that the expiry date should be from the date of issue & not rely on what is stamped on the helmet.

In a previous life we withdrew every safety helmet at a given time & then re-issued one colour only; then, after 2 years we carried out the same exercise again, but this time with an entirely different colour.

This way you could tell at a glance if a "rogue" helmet was being worn - not exactly rocket science I know, but it worked for us.

Incidentally, we recycled all our old helmets & retrieved a small amount in return + doing our bit for the environment!

Perhaps instead of acting (pedantically?) on a manufacturers date (which 'could' be set to help ensure a regular turnover of hats) we should be looking at why it is such a short life and if the manufacturers can justify it.

What do you think?

Personally I would be questioning the environmental aspects of this as well.

All the above is interesting, and conflicting!

I would suggest looking at the ACoP for PPE (can be found on the HSE website) which includes the following on page 25 "As a general guide, industrial safety helmets should be replaced three years after manufacture, but always check with the manufacturer."

quote=colinreeves]All the above is interesting, and conflicting!

I would suggest looking at the ACoP for PPE (can be found on the HSE website) which includes the following on page 25 "As a general guide, industrial safety helmets should be replaced three years after manufacture, but always check with the manufacturer."

The expiry date of a hard hat is a legal compliance issue?- I don't believe it. Prove it

Hi all

Have read with interest all the posts. Are chin-straps a requirement when wearing hard-hats?? The wearing of the hats only protect the person from falling objects or banging their head, if he/she fell from a ladder the hat falls off therefore leaving the 'head' to absorb the impact.

Has anyone got any ideas on this topic please.

When I train people on construction related courses I will certainly be pushing the idea of wearing chin-straps.

cdthomas

In my view a hard hat is, as you suggest, designed to limit the damage done when something falls on your head. It is not, however, designed as a crash helmet to protect the head if you fall. While it may help minimise injury it is not designed for that purpose and may not help much if your head lands side on after a fall from height.

The wearing of a chin strap is down to risk assessment. If you are working off a rope on the side of a building or in high wind then certainly a chin strap should be worn. If working inside on a building site I would suggest it is unnecessary unless there are other factors at play that may result in the hat falling off the head. Just my view, others may differ.

Hard hats are not designed for lateral impact and have limited value in preventing damage in the event of a fall.
My experience of chin straps is that they are useful in very high winds but a properly adjusted hard hat shouldn't come off anyway.
Having discovered many old hard hats in old out of the way places, during inspections, I've yet to find one I believe would fail during use.

I'm not on about falls fro any great height i.e from a roof etc etc in which case the wearing of a hard hat either with or without a chin strap would be useless.

You rarely fall forward from a ladder or step ladder through over reaching etc so surely the use of a chin strap would minimise risk of severe head injury. I watched a video (albeit re-enacted) whilst doing my safety passport, the guy suffered from brain damage as when he fell off a step ladder he smashed his head on the concrete floor whilst the hard hat he was wearing came off as soon as he left the ladder.

With regards to the use of hard hats, if they only protect you from falling objects why do construction sites insist roofers to wear them and insist you wear them as soon as you enter the site even though the actual place could be several hundred yards away.

Surely the only people who need to wear hard hats are the guys working under the roofers???