The traditional hard hat is suitable for protection from falling objects, but what if you’re the falling object? Unless you get extremely lucky, that hard hat is probably falling off your head the moment you get horizontal. That’s the same conclusion UK contractor A-one+ reached when they decided to go a different route with respect to head safety, Construction Enquirer reports.
After analyzing injuries caused by slips, trips, and falls on their jobsites, the highway contractor decided to try out a different style of hard hat, one that looks more like a mountaineer’s helmet than a construction hard hat.
At first glance, the benefits are obvious: it has photo-luminescent strips that glow at night for additional visibility, it straps to the wearer’s head so it won’t fall off when it’s needed most, and it had added protection from polycarbonate on the sides of the helmet. It can even be upgraded to include an attachable visor for eye safety.
The Manta SAR, made by British company Future Safety, does come with an added cost though, as it appears to retail for around $140 US (£110).
Full story: Safer hard hats use car bumper technology | Construction Enquirer
Last summer, Hilti announced that they had developed their first exoskeleton designed for construction tradespeople in a partnership with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider. Earlier this month, Hilti officially released the exoskeleton, announced more details, and published its retail price on their website.