I got a call the other day from a construction worker who drilled holes in his hard hat and needed a new one. Yes, drilled holes in his hard hat. At first I could not understand why someone would do this - it seemed pretty obvious that it's not a great idea, but then he explained. He was hot and needed ventilation. Valid.
Working all day in the summer heat will make even the most in-shape person sweat like crazy. And while drilling holes in your hard hat may seem like a perfect solution for a little breather, and a very easy DIY project, it actually defeats the purpose of the hard hat.
You see, hard hats save lives. And the statistics are sobering. In July 2016, there was a total of 77 work-related fatalities in the US, and more than half are related to head injuries. Hard hats save lives because they are perfectly balanced and specially engineered to absorb shock from a blow or impact to your head. If you mess with the structure of the hard hat, it can be a game changer and the hard hat will lose its entire purpose, although it'll still look functional.
So what’s a person to do? Well, you have two options. For more comfort and breath-ability, you can wear a vented hard hat. Vented hard hats are designed with vents in the plastic of the hard hat to keep you cool, by allowing some hot air to escape while you work. Unlike drill-made vented hard hats, hard hats manufactured with vents pass all OSHA safety tests and are 100% safe. The other option is a sweat band for your hard hat. Sweatbands wick sweat and heat away from your head leaving you dry and comfortable.
And hey, if you're feeling extra swanky, you can combine the two and stay super cool.
#hardhatssavelives