Are You Using Your Construction Safety Helmet Correctly?

Summary: Recently, at a petrochemical company construction site, a worker wearing a safety helmet was accidentally knocked down by a cement block, suffering a head injury. After testing by relevant departments, it was found that the safety helmet the worker was wearing had long exceeded its service life; the outer shell material had become brittle and lacked sufficient impact resistance.

Construction safety helmets are protective tools for labor and production, and also personal safety helmets. Their protective function, such as protecting against impacts, cannot be ignored. However, we are now seeing hidden dangers in safety helmets meant to protect people's lives. Many companies generally only focus on whether workers wear safety helmets, rarely paying attention to their lifespan. During interviews at the grassroots level, reporters also found that most employees were unaware that safety helmets also have an expiration date. Some even said that wearing a safety helmet is just a formality to pass inspections and will be useless in a critical situation.

According to the mandatory national standards for safety helmets, the maximum service life of plastic safety helmets is 2.5 years from the date of manufacture, and that of fiberglass safety helmets is 3 years. After the expiration of the service life, employers must have the helmets inspected by relevant departments. Only helmets that pass the inspection can continue to be used; otherwise, they should be scrapped immediately. However, in reality, the use of safety helmets beyond their service life on work sites is very common. One company has used helmets for nearly 10 years and continues to use them indefinitely, without the company taking any action.

If a helmet is used for a long time, its outer shell material is prone to aging and cracking. Its impact resistance, puncture resistance, lateral rigidity, electrical insulation, and flame retardancy will all decrease, rendering it unable to provide the necessary protection for workers. It is understood that numerous safety accidents, both minor and major, occur every year due to the failure of aging safety helmets.

This tragic lesson warns us that the problem of using safety helmets beyond their service life cannot be ignored and should be given sufficient attention. In particular, safety supervision departments should conduct routine safety inspections of helmets that have exceeded their service life, carry out a comprehensive safety inspection of helmets every year, order unqualified helmets to be removed from service, eliminate safety hazards caused by helmets that have exceeded their service life, and ensure that helmets can truly play their due role in safety protection.