Hard hats in the machine shop.

a.j. · Jul 18, 2011

Hello all.

Our safety director approached me today. He informed me that hard hats are going to be required in the machine shop. I gave a couple of reasons why this was a bad idea.
I would like to hear from some you to see if you do or do not wear hard hats in your machine shop, and the reasons why.

Thanks.
A.J.

rj newbould · Jul 18, 2011

Unless you have overhead activities going on, I can't see the benefit of a hard had. Does your shop have that?

a.j. · Jul 18, 2011

Only the occasional use of the overhead crane, so I can see wearing a hard hat unless we are using the overhead crane.

rj newbould · Jul 18, 2011

If anyone is doing anything overhead, a hard hat could be a good idea. If they make exceptions for the crane operator, that's a slippery slope.

FishTaco · Jul 18, 2011

I would say the use of a hard had is only warranted when lifting any object over the shoulder height or conversely when you are using the crane or driving a fork lift.

UsedMachine · Jul 18, 2011

I bought an assortment of hard hats and bump caps just to test them. The main idea was to try and find a way to keep the women operators' hair safe from entanglement in a spindle. I turned out that routing a ponytail out thru the back of a gimme cap was about as effective as anything, so that's what we use. We didn't find any hard hats with that provision. Plus, all hard hats seem to be elevated several inches and make everybody look like a new OCS graduate circa 1967.

metalboy · Jul 18, 2011

UsedMachine said:
I bought an assortment of hard hats and bump caps just to test them. The main idea was to try and find a way to keep the women operators' hair safe from entanglement in a spindle. I turned out that routing a ponytail out thru the back of a gimme cap was about as effective as anything, so that's what we use. We didn't find any hard hats with that provision. Plus, all hard hats seem to be elevated several inches and make everybody look like a new OCS graduate circa 1967.

Better to look like a dork with a dumb hat than a dork with a flat head. Hardhats anytime anything is lifted above shoulder height. If you don't do overhead work you don't need to wear them, obviously.

And crack down mercilessly on people who are too cool for their hats.

cash · Jul 18, 2011

At P&H in town they use overhead cranes allt he time.

They do not use hard hats.

The thinking is if somthing drops the hard hat is not helping you.

Hard hats for construction is fine. Maybe somtbody working above you and a small items gets dropped.

metalboy · Jul 18, 2011

I would wager that the things that fall off of cranes the most are hooks, straps, and the operator's coffee cup. Hard hat.

guyprattii · Jul 18, 2011

hard hats suck

I have to where hard hats at the machine shop that I work. I hate them. We do have cranes but seldomly use them in the machine shop. The bosses give insurance as them main reason that we have to where them. Also they are required in the rest of the shop where they use cranes all the time. They don't want to make exceptions for one area and not the other. The people in charge aren't machinist and don't realize what a hassle and how dangerous hard hats can be. We are having one of the worst hot spells in quite a while in the Midwest. I have to wipe sweet off my glasses so many times a night that I feel that's all I'm doing. Sweet dripping in your eyes and on your glasses is very distracting and I think dangerous. The shop I work in is not air conditioned but they do have large fan that make it bearable. That is except for my head. I really wish they'd make exceptions for our area.

Guy

HuFlungDung · Jul 18, 2011

Hard hats are passe. We each now carry a 2 foot diameter shield strapped on our forearm

USMCPOP · Jul 18, 2011

HuFlungDung said:
Hard hats are passe. We each now carry a 2 foot diameter shield strapped on our forearm

Peter. · Jul 18, 2011

guyprattii said:
I have to where hard hats at the machine shop that I work. I hate them. We do have cranes but seldomly use them in the machine shop. The bosses give insurance as them main reason that we have to where them. Also they are required in the rest of the shop where they use cranes all the time. They don't want to make exceptions for one area and not the other. The people in charge aren't machinist and don't realize what a hassle and how dangerous hard hats can be. We are having one of the worst hot spells in quite a while in the Midwest. I have to wipe sweet off my glasses so many times a night that I feel that's all I'm doing. Sweet dripping in your eyes and on your glasses is very distracting and I think dangerous. The shop I work in is not air conditioned but they do have large fan that make it bearable. That is except for my head. I really wish they'd make exceptions for our area.

Guy

It does make good sense to require them in a shop which has an adjacent area with overhead cranes, because with all the will in the world you are not going to get everyone who moves from one area to the other without finding, then donning a hat. You could put hats at the entrance but then you are relying on them being returned by the wearer who might leave at another exit.

Other than that - hard hats don't have much benefit if there's nothing to fall on you - and they do change the shape of your skull with prolonged use not to mention causing the wearer to go bald at the front.

j king · Jul 18, 2011

I have to wear one at all times except for in the mobile shop. I absolutly hate wearing it when nothing is overhead. Heavy and hot. Gives you a bad hair day and pulls them out..totally sucks but required.

sealark37 · Jul 18, 2011

I never had any luck getting the shop guys to wear hard hats until I allowed the cost of a hat to go against the purchase of a hard hat of each man's choosing. It became something of a game. You would be amazed at the variety of conforming models available. Regards, Clark

autofrite · Jul 18, 2011

after my incident 3-1/2 weeks ago,i will never dispute the effectiveness of a hard hat ever again.when 80 pound grate hit me square on top of the hard hat.rang my bell and i fell off the 3rd step of the ladder flat on my back.i am sore,but walking and talking.off work til today,now back on 1/2 days.in a shop with any overhead action,i would agree with the policy.operators,and those in the path of the crane must be required to wear them.

"put on your hard hat or clear the area"

the crane should have a warning device while in operation.

cncbrit · Jul 18, 2011

USMCPOP said:

And chip brushes strapped to our heads .......

metalboy · Jul 18, 2011

I look at that picture and think about how literally every piece of it is incredibly wrong, but I still recognize it as "roman legionnaire." Brains are strange things.

hydrodiesel · Jul 18, 2011

No hard hats, thank you

Another “Government regulation”, mandated by the insurance companies to protect you from yourself.

They are miserable things to wear. Fine on an outside construction job, but in a shop ?

If you’re that stupid to walk under an overhead crane, or during a lift, it’s your own damn fault !

Myrmidon · Jul 18, 2011

If its heavy enough to lift with an overhead crane... Its heavy enough to kill you should it drop. Not that there isn't a reason for Hard hats, but an overhead crane ain't it.

Where I work if something "light" were to fall off the crane, your still talking at the very very minimum a ton... If it were to drop from a height high enough to clonk your head. It would most certainly turn you into pancake.

If the overhead crane activity is the only reason, I'd call bullshit on him and have him point out an OSHA mandated regulation where its called out that an overhead crane demands a hard hat.

Hard hats in the machine shop.

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