First-ever ratings for construction helmets released

The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has developed the first rating system for safety helmets and recently released results of its testing on multiple brands and types of construction helmets.

Testing analyzed information from falls in worksite environments and showed a clear distinction between traditional “hard hats,” known as Type I helmets, and Type II helmets that include interior energy-absorbing materials. Shifting to Type II helmets on average will reduce fall-related concussion risk by 34% and the risk of skull fracture by 65%, with the lab’s top-rated helmets showing risk reductions of 48% and 77%, respectively.

“Our findings show that choosing a Type II helmet can save lives,” said Steve Rowson, the lab's director. “The difference in protection during a fall is dramatic.”

Falls cause 60% of the industry’s traumatic brain injury fatalities and tests for the existing helmet standards, set by the American National Standards Institute, don’t accurately reflect the force of real-world falls, Rowson says. For instance, current hard hat standards only perform impacts at about a third of the energy that the Helmet Lab does in its jobsite falls tests.

Beginning in summer 2024, the Helmet Lab focused on “severe but survivable” jobsite falls and worked to translate falls from 14 feet and 25 feet to laboratory tests to evaluate concussion and skull fracture risk.