Working at height comes with unique risks, and ensuring you have the right helmet is essential. While standard helmets protect against ground-level hazards, they often fall short when your work takes you off the ground.
Here’s why height-specific helmets matter and what to look for when choosing one.
Standard-Issue Hard Hats: Not Enough for Height
Most Australian worksites provide helmets compliant with AS/NZS 1801:1997, the standard for occupational protective helmets. These helmets are designed to protect against overhead impacts and offer some flame resistance.
However, the 1801 Standard is nearly 25 years old and was developed with ground-level safety in mind. It doesn’t address the specific risks associated with working at height, such as side impacts or the need for secure chinstraps. If you work at height, you’ll need a helmet with features designed for those unique challenges.
Three Critical Features for a Height-Safe Helmet
To ensure maximum safety when working at height, your helmet must have:
- Crown Impact Protection
- Side Impact Protection
- A Secure Chinstrap
Here’s a breakdown of why each feature is critical and the standards that support them.
1. Rated for Crown Impacts
Even at height, overhead hazards like falling tools or debris remain a concern. Your helmet must absorb and distribute the force of these impacts without transferring dangerous loads to your neck.
Testing for crown impact protection includes:
- Dropping hemispherical strikers onto the helmet to test force absorption.
- Dropping conical strikers to ensure penetration resistance.
Relevant standards for crown impacts:
- EN 14052:2012: High-performance industrial helmets.
- EN 12492:2012: Helmets for mountaineers.
- EN 397:2012: Industrial helmets.
- AS/NZS 1801:1997: Occupational protective helmets.
2. Rated for Side Impacts
At height, hazards often come from the sides—whether due to a swing during a fall or a collision with nearby structures. Helmets rated for side impacts reduce the risk of head trauma from these angles.
Relevant standards for side impacts:
- EN 14052:2012: Rated to withstand 50J of impact energy at angles up to 60° from the crown.
- EN 12492:2012: Rated to withstand 25J of impact energy at angles up to 30° from the crown.
Industrial helmets under AS/NZS 1801:1997 are not tested for side impacts, making them unsuitable for height-specific work.
3. Includes a Secure Chinstrap
A helmet is useless if it doesn’t stay on during a fall. Secure chinstraps ensure your helmet remains in place, even under significant force.
There are two types of chinstraps:
- Non-releasing chinstraps (500N) found on mountaineering helmets, which ensure the helmet stays on in big falls.
- Releasing chinstraps (150–250N), more common in industrial helmets, designed to release under lower forces to prevent strangulation hazards at ground level.
Relevant standards for chinstrap security:
- EN 12492:2012: Non-releasing chinstraps for mountaineering helmets.
- EN 14052:2012 and EN 397:2012: Releasing chinstraps for industrial helmets.
Is Your Helmet Fit-for-Purpose?
Selecting the right helmet means ensuring it addresses all your risks—not just some of them. For instance:
- Electrical work at height: Helmets must meet EN 50365, which tests for low-voltage electrical insulation, in addition to height-safety standards.
- Flame-resistance requirements: Only helmets rated under EN 397 or EN 14052 test for industrial fire hazards.
A thorough risk assessment is crucial to ensure your helmet is fit-for-purpose.
Recommended Height-Safe Helmets
If you need a new helmet, we offer a range of world-class options designed for height-specific safety:
- Petzl Vertex (Standard and Vent models)
- Skylotec Inceptor GRX (Vented and High Voltage models).
- Kask HP Plus and Zenith (Multiple designs for varied applications
Need help to choose? With over 30 years of combined experience, we can help you navigate the complex safety standards and find the perfect helmet for your needs.
Contact us today for expert advice!
