Hard Hats – A Brief History Of Head Safety
Hard hats are common place nowadays; from construction sites to factories, they adorn the heads of workers throughout all ranks. Although not much to look at they offer invaluable protection. They haven’t always been so common within the work place though, this is a brief history of the hard hat and how it has evolved over time.
The First Hard Hat
Rumor has it that Franz Kafka during his time at the Worker’s Accident Insurance Institute came up with the ingenious hard hat. However, this has been widely discredited and unverified. But, in the United States, a company in California was paving the way for the introduction of the hard hat. The E.D. Bullard Company created the “Hard-Boiled Hat” which is known as the first non military hard hat.
The First Hard Hat
Although the concept of a hard hat was not completely nonexistent they were mostly featured in military combat. The Bullard Company did use leather protective hats on their sites to protect workers. That all changed when E.W. Bullard returned home from World War I with his steel helmet. After his arrival home in 1919 the company soon patented the “Hard-Boiled Hat”. Different from its leather prototype this hat featured steamed canvas, black paint, and glue.
Military Inspiration
Shortly after the Hard Boiled Hat the military M1917 “Brodie” helmet inspired a new design. After seeing the Hard Boiled Hat that Bullard had created, the United States navy hired Bullard to design a shipyard protective hat to safeguard the workers from falling debris. From there, Bullard came up with an internal suspension mechanism that had advanced safety features.
Mandatory
Even with the constant revamping of the hard hat the safety clothing still weren’t required at construction sites. Until 1933, only one other site had mandated the use of safety hats. When construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge all workers were required to wear hard hats, only the second ever site to require such a precaution. The first site was the Hoover Dam project which began in 1931. By this time Bullard was working on a hardhat design that would protect those workers who dealt with sandblasting. This design entailed a hard hat with a face covering that allowed for a window with a view and a hose for air from an air compressor.
Materials
Since 1933 the hard hat has gone through mass renovations, aluminum eventually became the main component, minus those conducting electrical maintenance. In the 1940’s fiberglass was introduced, only to last about 10 years. Thermoplastics lead the way in the 1950’s and is still featured in many hard hates today, as most are made of high density polyethylene, also known as HDPE.
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