Safety Helmet Standards (UK)
Safety Helmet Standards (UK)
Safety helmets come in different shapes, sizes, brands, and material. However, when it comes to selecting the right helmet, there must be no compromise to the fact that the helmet must satisfy specific UK standards.
To save you the time and cost of dealing with the consequences of choosing a helmet that does not adhere to standards, we have put together a blog post to educate you about some of the British standards governing the safety levels of helmets.
EN397 – British Performance and Physical Standards for Industrial Safety Helmets
The EN397 standard governs the design and manufacturing process of industrial helmets to ensure they protect industrial works from falling and sharp objects.
If you work within an industrial setting, you should have an EN397 tested helmet to safeguard your head against accidents that may lead to serious injury.
Every industrial helmet must fulfill the following requirements to be EN397 certified:
- It must be shock absorbent all round.
- It must be penetration-resistant, protecting you from blunt, sharp, or pointed objects.
- It must be flame resistant.
- At a minimum force of 150N and a maximum of 250N, the strap of the helmet should loosen.
EN 50365 – Standards for Electrical Insulating Helmets
When working with electricity, you are also required to wear a protective helmet to secure against electrical surges and shocks.
The requirements for an electrical insulating helmet to pass the EN50365 standard include:
- The helmet must first satisfy the EN397 standards to ensure it protects against falling debris and objects.
- The helmet must not allow direct voltage measures of about 1500 V or alternating voltage measures of up to 1000 V through. Most of the helmets are made of superior thermoplastic material like high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to protect against such voltage measures.
- If the helmet has air vents to allow for proper air flow, the vents must not be large enough to allow a live wire through.
- All electrical insulating helmets must not be manufactured using electrically conductive material of any sort. All the parts and components making up the helmet must be poor-conductors of electricity.
EN 12492 – Mountaineers’ Helmets
When planning for a rock climbing, hiking, expedition climbing, or ice climbing adventure, it also important to note that there are standards your safety helmet should satisfy.
Here are the requirements that all mountaineering helmets must fulfill:
- The helmet must be built with penetration resistant material such as Kevlar and polyethylene. Such materials ensure your head is protected from sharp falling stones or icicles.
- The helmet must be able to absorb lateral, frontal, dorsal, and vertical shocks. The shock absorbance evaluation standard is referred to as EN 12492. The test involves striking the helmet from the side, rear, and front using hemispherical or flat strikers of varied mass.
- The chin strap should only let go when a minimum of a 500N (Newton) force is applied.
- The chin strap must hold in place strongly and allow a maximum stretch of about 25mm in case force is applied on the helmet.
- The helmet must fit properly and not slide off after being strapped on.
EN 812 – Standard Governing the Manufacture of Bump Caps
All bump caps must undergo the tests outlined under the EN 812 standard. While they offer the lowest level of security to your head, standard tests including penetration tests, breakage tests, and more ensure that they keep your head protected during lighter knocks.
With a light outer shell, the bump cap is also fitted with inner protection padding designed to absorb the knock waves. Bump caps are also fitted with chin straps to ensure the helmet does not slide from your head.
Bump caps are used especially when undertaking warehousing, loft insulation, plumbing, and vehicle maintenance tasks.
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