Rating system expands to include construction helmets

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research 1:12 Rating system expands to include construction helmets

By:

Lee Friesland

19 Sep 2025 726

Known for its ratings system for sports helmets, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab turns its attention to safety helmets, finding that those with energy-absorbing materials and chin straps significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic injuries for workers.

We're looking to evaluate head protection for construction workers during falls, specifically severe but survivable events. So we're looking to simulate falls from 14 to 25 feet. When we went to develop construction helmet ratings, we had to figure out how people were getting hurt in the real world. We used accident reports, and now we're simulating those falls in the lab. Some of the main takeaways that we're seeing so far is that type two helmets, Hard hats that have some sort of energy-absorbing material in them do a great job at reducing catastrophic head injury risk. Most of them have chin straps integrated into the helmet. And that's a really important piece of all this because if the helmet doesn't stay on the head during the fall, it's not going to protect you. Occupational head protection is something we've been interested in a long time. We've been thinking about doing this for almost a decade. And the reason is that it's not just about concussions. It's about life and death. It's about debilitating injuries. So when we're looking at occupational head injuries, we're thinking about much more severe injuries where it can make a bigger impact saving lives.

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