Transcript

Al:
Welcome everybody to Radio Free Tenacity, the voice of worker safety. Here today with Nate Bohmbach, longtime innovator and leader on Ergodyne's product innovation team. Nate, thank you so much for joining us today.

Nate:
Thanks for having me Al, excited to be here.

Al:
All right, all right, let's do this. Let's jump right in. The topic of the day is type two head protection. And for a little bit of context for people watching and listening right now, so it was in late 2023 when OSHA released a bulletin outlining kind of how type two safety helmets protect workers better than traditional type one hard hats was the gist of it.

Al:
And then not too long thereafter, I think maybe a month later they announced that they were going to switch for their own employees from traditional hard hats to type two safety helmets. Now, of course, none of that was meant to be interpreted as a legal obligation for employers, but it did send an obvious signal right, that you know OSHA, the top power in all of safety, that's what they thought was best for their own employees.

Al:
So with that in mind and that kind of teed up, I was wondering if you could take the audience through the main differences between a type two and a type one head protection solution?

Nate:
Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, it's likely OSHA just wanted their inspectors in that more innovative model that protects more areas of the head, not just the top. And that's what type two versus type one is all about. The requirements for testing, for penetration impact, type one focus on the top of the head. Whereas type two has evolved now for manufacturers to test at varying angles, not just the top of the head, but the crown of the head, side of the head as well.

Nate:
So it really brings that range from, you know, right here to more of a larger circumference around the helmet. And why they did that was to protect from things that aren't just going to fall right on top of your head. They might come at you from a different angle. You might be bent over.

Nate:
They might hit you, you know, at the side for instance. Or more commonly, you take a fall either on same level or to a lower level, and you hit your head as well.

Al:
So I think that's probably a thing people don't, at least speaking for myself, I don't think about that as much as I would impact, like something falling on me and hitting my head. I'm not necessarily thinking about slips, trips and falls when it comes to head protection. So that's a good point. And then I guess maybe for a little added context.

Al:
So we're saying the traditional type one hard hat is only tested for these direct strikes on the top. And that type two head protection again is really accounting for most of the rest of the head. Then again, for a little bit more context, how often are people being struck by objects or and or falling and hitting their head anywhere else besides the top?

Nate:
Yep. So, it's estimated some studies put that number as high as 85% of injuries that occur.

Al:
So most.

Nate:
Yeah, exactly. Not just from struck by from the top of the head but different areas than the top of the head. If you think about it, you got a lot more surface area, the rest of it.

Nate:
And not just directly on the top. So it really expands that coverage, that's what it's all about. In addition to that, the BLS estimates that head injuries, head trauma, that upwards of 20% of that is caused from a slip, trip or fall and the user impacting their own head rather than, you know, a flying or falling object causing that injury.

Nate:
So those numbers are pretty high.

Al:
So and then to that last point, how are the type two safety helmets addressing that, aside from just like, you know, more coverage?

Nate:
Yeah. Although it's not, specific requirement of the type two portion of the standard. You'll see the majority of these come with the chin strap system, integrated with the suspension so that, it stays retained on your head where it's supposed to be. If you take a fall, there's been a lot of high profile injuries and even fatalities that have occurred on the job site,

Nate:
from someone taking a fall, losing their hard hat on the way down, and then experiencing head trauma. So that the reason for adding that chin strap in, and they've become a lot more comfortable and a lot more adjustable than they used to be, is to avoid that.

Al:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it seems to go without saying that that's just a good idea. You think about yourself on your bike or on a snowboard or whatever it is. If you're if your helmet isn't latched, it's not going to do you much good ultimately. But an important distinction, though, that you brought up, it's not required on a type two helmet, correct?

Nate:
Per the Z89 standard.

Al:
Yeah. Okay.

Nate:
The European standards that do have that requirement,

Al:
Got it.

Nate:
in mountaineering and such.

Al:
Got it. All right. So all that said, we we know humans don't necessarily do what is in our best interest a lot of the time. And even in the face of all this evidence that type two head protection is really where it's at in terms of keeping yourself safe. There's still a decent amount of pushback, especially on your traditional construction sites with people, not really taking to the type two safety helmet style.

Al:
Mostly they're reacting to this climber style. And you know, workers kind of have a personal relationship with their hard hats. So you can see that there is a connection there. But, I'm wondering what you and your team are doing to kind of counter that resistance, that some safety managers might be experiencing.

Nate:
Yep. Absolutely. It's kind of two parts. So one is just the, you know, the surface of it, literally. It's looking at it and being like, "that's not what I'm used to, I'm not going to go with that." So we combat that a little bit by introducing, you know, styles including our full brim style, that offers a style that, construction specifically, is a little bit more used to using.

Nate:
And because of the environment they're in that they get more benefit from a full brim style protecting themselves from sun at more angles, rain, and you know, other job site elements. Compare it to, you know, a micro style brim or no brim of a traditional climbing or mountaineering helmet where need more, you know, range of visibility.

Nate:
So new styles like that people are used to, they look super cool. And the second part is they fit really, really well. And they're extremely comfortable.

Nate:
Break that down a little bit.

Nate:
Yeah. So the fit starts with our six point suspension. That six point suspension offers more adjustability when you're donning the helmet, so that you can get that really unique fit. We all have specialized domes that we got to deal with, right? So it it needs to fit really well. That six point suspension on the interior, helps a lot.

Nate:
On the back, you have a 36 point ratchet system that really dials in that fit. And that ratchets sits on a back, rotating portion of that suspension that allows different hair styles. Or if you're using a cooling bandana or something underneath, it allows it to fit that. Depending on how you're going to work and what your head is shaped like, it's really going to fit that super well.

Al:
So just, again, to put a finer point on the 36 point ratchet system. So we're talking about 36 individual sizing notches.

Nate:
You got it. That back system right here, 36 point locking ratchet system dials that in. And it's not going to slip on you throughout the day because it does lock in.

Al:
All right. Yeah. That is a very fine tuned fit.

Nate:
Yeah, I will say that only goes so far though because these type twos, the manufacturers that came to market really quickly with this, didn't take the user comfort into consideration because they stuffed this thing with foam. Ergodyne took a little bit more of a step back and say, we need to design this foam very specific so that in addition to that suspension system, and that ratcheting system, and with the class C styles, a ventilation system around the exterior, that you can open and close, you're going to get airflow across your head, even with this type two style.

Nate:
So this foam is designed very intently so that it allows all of this to work together to create almost a cooling system that makes it just as good, if not better than what you were using once upon a time.

Al:
Very clever. You guys think of everything. Yeah. What about, accessories, right? Anything from hearing protection to lighting to, how are these accepting of accessories?

Nate:
Yep. Just about anything you can think of our system has an ecosystem around it. So, different lighting you can clip in, clip out, and add to it. To increase that cooling power, we introduced a fan that clips into the system and right up under the brim. So that pushes that airflow through. You have accessory slots for your hearing protection that you can use with or without eye and face protection in the form of a visor or a shield.

Al:
Okay.

Nate:
And it all kind of comes together into a, like I said, an ecosystem of accessories for you to stay as safe as you possibly can.

Al:
Awesome. Everything I'm hearing from you says there's no reason not to go with type two head protection, specifically Ergodyne type two head protection. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining Nate. Appreciate you as always. And to everybody watching and listening, appreciate you as well.

Al:
If you do have any other questions on type two head protection, feel free to go over to ergodyne.com and search "type two".

Al:
Other than that, that's all we got for you today.

Al:
Stay safe out there people.