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HISTORICAL INDUSTRIAL USE of helmets can be traced to Polish salt mines in the early 1500s. Workers needed protection from salt blocks tumbling down from above their heads (Hanik, 1988). In addition, Cornish tin and copper miners wore hats made of leather or felt hardened with resin to protect the worker 's head (Simpson, 1996). These early helmets also helped create today's standards for head protection.
E.D. Bullard Co. received a trademark for the hard-boiled hat in 1926; the company applied for a patent for a hat crown in 1927 that was granted in early 1929. Bullard's application noted that this hat crown consisted of steamed canvas, a leather brim, glue and black paint (Bullard, 1929). The invention was inspired by the helmets soldiers wore into battle during World War I. Widespread use of the hard hat began in 1931 with the construction of the Hoover Dam (Snell, 2018).
The first use of chin straps to secure the helmet from falling off the wearer's head was cited by Simpson (1996): 'Tn battle, Homer's aristocratic tribal leaders wore bronze helmets, plumed with horsehair and secured with a leather chin strap." Helmets then became the standard for Roman soldiers around 400 BC, usually made from iron plates.
As the use of this PPE gained popularity through the early 1900s, manufacturers and companies began mandating hard hats to keep workers safe. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA, was the first big project in the U.S. that mandated hard hat use. The chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, required the Bullard hard hat to be worn when working (Snell Foundation, 2018). Use of the term "hard hat" to describe head protection may stem from Bullard's 1929 patent for the hard-boiled hat.
Since that first patent in 1929, the hard hat has advanced from its hard-boiled design. Steel was the primary material first used, as it was more protective than canvas. Afterwards, fiberglass and thermoplastics were implemented to provide more comfort for the worker without foregoing durability. The hard hat shell is usually made from a high-density polyethylene or a polycarbonate resin. Figure 1 shows an example of the modern iard hat design with a diagram of the common components. ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2014 (R2019), Industrial Head Protection, which was...