When anyone sees a hard hat, they typically immediate associate it with construction. It’s the ultimate symbol of safety on the job site. We all know we should wear them, but it’s easy to get annoyed with the minor inconvenience that they cause and forget about the extreme consequences that could result if a falling object catches us when we aren’t wearing one.
Black & Veatch, an engineering, procurement, and construction services company, put together the powerful video below, which visually shows the catastrophic results that falling objects can have on the workers on your jobsite. Disclaimer: many watermelons were harmed in the making of this video.
The most important point made in the video, which can easily get lost, is that we should always consider PPE, including hard hats, as the last line of defense when it comes to safety. So, while we all associate safety with PPE on a daily basis, there are many more effective ways to deal with hazards on the job site. As the team in the video mentions, engineering controls, like lanyards on tools, are a much better way to reduce falling objects hazards.
As you’ll see, even with a hard hat on, the watermelon is completely destroyed by the falling wrench. While the hard hat is still important and gives you a much greater chance of survival, eliminating the hazard in the first place is always the best way to go. For more information on this, I recommend checking out NIOSH's Hierarchy of Controls.
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.