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9th August 2012, 05:13 PM
Wax Wrote::0 Naughty Dinosaur!!!! the chemicals in marker pens, glue on stcickers etc can break down the plastic in those hard hats weakening them. I got my knuckles seriously rapped for writting on a helmet. Oil is a no no as well.
Of course someone might have been pulling my leg but I suspect not.
I bet you believe those dates they put on hardhats have some sort of health-and-safety law validity as well? (check the HSE website, there's nowt about them going out of date, one of Jack's favourite Facts ) - afraid its all a con by the manufacturers to make people keep buying the things. Hardhats are same Class 2 plastic as most bottles, and I haven't noticed supermarket shelves flowing with gloop as a result of the labels eating their way through...and b****r me, the solvents I use for cleaning paintbrushes seem to be in a hard-hat bottle! The
worst thing for those types of plastics is the UV in sunlight, so logically hardhats should only be worn in the cabin with the shutters up (as with so many things)....
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9th August 2012, 09:32 PM
Dinosaur Wrote:I bet you believe those dates they put on hardhats have some sort of health-and-safety law validity as well? (check the HSE website, there's nowt about them going out of date, one of Jack's favourite Facts ) - afraid its all a con by the manufacturers to make people keep buying the things. Hardhats are same Class 2 plastic as most bottles, and I haven't noticed supermarket shelves flowing with gloop as a result of the labels eating their way through...and b****r me, the solvents I use for cleaning paintbrushes seem to be in a hard-hat bottle! The worst thing for those types of plastics is the UV in sunlight, so logically hardhats should only be worn in the cabin with the shutters up (as with so many things)....
I bliddy well knew it! Them cabins is well dangerous though.
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9th August 2012, 09:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 9th August 2012, 09:41 PM by Wax.)
I agree UV is pretty bad for hard hats, there are many different types of plastics as there glues, adhesives and solvents. My knowledge may be very out of date but it was once on the ball and without doing the research I would still not recommend decorating your hard hat with random markers and stickers. Come on you health and safety bods and chemists out there what is the best way of looking after your helmet? Apart from sitting in the dark
I doubt your average supermarket bottle offers much protection against blows to the head and I have had ancient bottles of white spirit go very brittle and crack.
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9th August 2012, 09:45 PM
I bow to the greater knowledge of others regarding the lifespan of plastics.....however nobody should be asked to accept PPE where they don't know the history of it's previous use (or misuse).
Where precisely does the 'personal' element enter into PPE? Are there items that can be shared or should all PPE be personal to a single individual?
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9th August 2012, 09:58 PM
BAJRites might be interested in the EU directive regarding the 'age' of PPE and the minimum labelling requirements. This is incorporated into UK H&S legislation and no-one should accept PPE that isn't labelled in the manner described
2.4 PPE subject to ageing
If it is known that the design performances of new PPE may be significantly affected by ageing, the date of manufacture and/or, if possible, the date of obsolescence, must be indelibly inscribed on every PPE item or interchangeable component placed on the market in such a way as to preclude any misinterpretation; this information must also be indelibly inscribed on the packaging.
If a manufacturer is unable to give an undertaking with regard to the useful life of PPE, his notes must provide all the information necessary to enable the purchaser or user to establish a reasonable obsolescence date, bearing in mind the quality level of the model and the effective conditions of storage, use, cleaning, servicing and maintenance.
Where appreciable and rapid deterioration in PPE performance is likely to be caused by ageing resulting from the periodic use of a cleaning process recommended by the manufacturer, the latter must, if possible, affix a mark to each item of PPE placed on the market indicating the maximum number of cleaning operations that may be carried out before the equipment needs to be inspected or discarded; failing that, the manufacturer must give this information in his notes.
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10th August 2012, 07:56 AM
When it comes to sharing, I believe the 'rule' (official or otherwise) is that you should not swap items where skin-to-skin contact is an issue. This could apply to almost anything but in general, boots seem to be the main target. I definitely wouldn't want to share mine.
I also dislike the scribbling on hard hats thing, not for safety reasons but because it tends to make them look scruffy.
And redEarth is right, cabins are dangerous. Who remembers the fall out from the great cabin roll incident a couple of years ago?
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10th August 2012, 08:45 AM
Sith Wrote:And redEarth is right, cabins are dangerous. Who remembers the fall out from the great cabin roll incident a couple of years ago?
I am fascinated, how do you roll a cabin?
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10th August 2012, 12:34 PM
About ten years ago I personally had to remove a hard-hat left hanging on a fence and effectively in circulation after an incident involving a contractor getting a ton or so of steel piling (big 9m jobby) dropped on his head (he survived, his legs snapping cushioned the blow very effectively...) - it hadn't crossed the minds of any of the police, HSE, ambulance, fire brigade, the contractors' own safety people or any of the million other people that turned up that maybe this went beyond 'reasonable wear and tear' for an item of PPE and it should be removed from the system...suspect they aren't that bothered? - good helmet though, barely a mark on it despite being a cheap one, so they do actually save your life occasionally :face-approve:
...although framing bolts dropped end-on from 3 floors up go straight through....
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10th August 2012, 12:37 PM
Wax Wrote:I am fascinated, how do you roll a cabin?
If it's got wheels, quite easily if its windy enough (and it hurts!) - rule No1 with a wheeled cabin, don't stick one wheel over a soft spot like a poorly backfilled service trench, the wind rocks that wheel in, the cabin gets a big lean and then tears ensue :face-crying:
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10th August 2012, 12:48 PM
Kevin - as usual lots of 'labelling' stuff, but what's really needed is a legal requirement for the end-user to replace the things as recommended, and I assume Jack is right (he's spent enough time checking it out) that this does not actually exist. Ours (all PPE) get checked several times a year (we're forced to turf out our cars as well) and binned as soon as they're 'out of date' or damaged, even if they've never been out of the office, but how common is this in the real world? I've seen some well-ancient hard-hats in builders' mess-rooms...
