Is your hardhat within its expiration date?

Written By Helen Griffiths | Oct 9th, 2009 | | | Category: Featured Articles

This post was contributed by Simplified Safety Ltd

Please contact your hard hat manufacturer directly with any enquiries regarding expiry dates.

We have found an interesting discussion regarding the manufacturing / expiry date of hardhats on the
HSE & IOSH websites. It touches on some good points regarding the effects of adding stickers with regards to the adhesive and the effect of UV light on hardhats.

You can follow the discussion and join the debate on the HSE website and the IOSH website

HSE discussion on Hard Hat Life Expectancy.

Have a look at the date stamp on your hardhat you might be surprised!

As a general guide, industrial safety helmets should be replaced three years after manufacture, but always check with the manufacturer.

Here we have some example images of different date stamps. Each helmet, when manufactured, has a year and month of manufacture stamped onto the inside of the shell near the peak for easy reading. In the first image on the left the arrow in the stamp points to the month and the year overlays the arrow. So the arrow Points to 9 and the number is 04 means that the helmet was manufactured in September 2004.

In the second image on the right the 07 represents the year 2007. You then have 4 segments 2 and the top and 2 and the bottom of the year this represent the year being split in four periods. You can see from the image that the top two segments have dots in them which means it was manufactured in the second quarter of the year. Therefore manufactured in April to June 2007.

Safety Media’s PPE: One Life, One Chance DVD is a fantastic training aid for ensuring your employees understand the importance of using PPE correctly and in the workplace. The DVD highlights the important message that you don’t get a second chance with your safety. At only £99 (plus P&P and VAT) this is a really cost effective way of getting the message across. Click the link above or go to www.safetymedia.co.uk to find out more.

Please contact your hard hat manufacturer with any enquiries regarding expiry dates.