Selecting Head Protection for Construction Work

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  CPWR--The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Description:
  A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury that affects how the brain works. It can be caused by a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head. TBIs can be mild, but more serious TBIs can lead to disability and even death. Based on historical data, over 50,000 nonfatal work-related TBIs are treated on average annually in United States (US) emergency departments. Nonfatal TBIs can be life-altering events; 43% of hospital patients treated for a TBI did not attend ordinary work for five years after their injury, which means these individuals were receiving a social transfer payment such as sickness absence benefits, experiencing short- or long-term sickness, or had died. Among all US industries, construction has the highest number of both nonfatal and fatal work-related TBIs. Between 2003 and 2010, 2,210 construction workers died from a TBI. These deaths represented 25% of all construction fatalities and 24% of work-related TBI fatalities among all industries during the same period. More recent data show a similar pattern, with 2,297 fatal intracranial injuries in construction from 2015 to 2022. Construction workers are at higher risk for TBIs because, in their work environment, they may be struck by falling or flying objects and may experience different kinds of slips, trips, and falls - from falls on the same level to falls from ladders and equipment to falls from multi-story buildings or scaffolding dozens of feet in the air. Over a third of all nonfatal work-related TBIs are attributed to falls, and among workers 55 years and older, the majority result from same level falls. When it comes to fatal work-related TBIs, more than half are caused by falls, especially from roofs, ladders, and scaffolds. Wearing protective headgear, such as a hardhat or safety helmet, is essential for reducing the risk of a TBI. A study by Kim et al. found individuals who had a work-related fall and were wearing a safety helmet were less likely to have head injuries compared to individuals who were not wearing a safety helmet. Protective headgear should be selected based on your trade, type of work, and work environment. Rather than recommending a one-size-fits-all solution, the goal of this guidance document is to provide you with information on types of protective headgear, factors to consider, and additional resources. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Construction Industry Falling Objects Head Protective Equipment Safety Equipment Slips, Trips, And Falls STF TBI Traumatic Brain Injury
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Publisher:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Guidance
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  10 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070187
• Citation:
  Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2024 Sep; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Selecting head protection for construction work
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:51db3e1adec1a374a6985bdd7a65b4918e1395585a300b1047da512b170ded3a86ec27a543e8c839e24e0b5bd5a08bf50ba35efc2a85371f7e464c42393d2bcd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213050/cdc_213050_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 502.86 KB ]