b'You do everything you can to avoid hitting your Virginia Tech Unveils Hard Hat, Helmet Rating Systemhead first, Miller said. That meant 14-foot to 25-foot falls create impacts similar to plunging from 5 to 7.5 feet.Thats a lot higher than the industry standard After more than a year of research, the universitysof testing 2-foot drops, Miller said.Helmet Lab ranks how different kinds of headwear best protect I think were better at simulating real-worldworkers from falls. accident scenarios, he added. Dive Brief:The result is a one to five star ranking for 17helmets, both Type I and Type II. The scale includes Virginia Techs Helmet Lab has released a first- ratings for predicted incidence of skull fractures and of-its-kind rating system for construction hardconcussions compared to the average Type 1 helmet. hats and helmets that mirrors rankings used forMiller says the lab intends to continue to do more sport helmets.research on more kinds of headgear, too. The findings, shared publicly Monday, indicate that Type II helmetsor those with interior The rankings signal a clear winner between hard hats energy-absorbing materials and protection for thetypes in effectiveness. Out of nine Type II helmets top and sides of the headbetter protect on the list, only two dont have five starsthey workers from severe injury. Results show theeach have three. On the other hand, the highest-shift to Type II reduces risk, on average, by 34%ranked Type I helmet has four stars, but the majority for fall-related concussion and by 65% for skullhave either one or two stars. fracture.The research, which began in 2024 with fundingMiller said the Helmet Labs ranking system is the from industry partners, simulated real-world first to definitively show one kind of protective gear collisions in an attempt to accurately assess howis safer than another. a helmet or hard hat protects a worker.Its the first real data set that says somethingDive Brief: Scott Greenhaus, a 40-plus-year construction concrete. Type II saves lives, he said. veteran, was working on the Florida International University bridge in Miami when it collapsed inBy: Zachary Phillips - Editor2018.When we got to the site, we noticed their hard hats were all lying on the ground where the structure came to rest, Greenhaus said in the Monday news release. So we looked into it and said, Wow, weve got to change the way we do business from here. Greenhaus, who co-founded the advocacy group Hard Hats to Helmets, believes the Helmet Labs rat-ing system is a step in the right direction to keeping workers safe and improving awareness aroundheadgear.Assessing construction gear differs greatly from studying football and bike helmets, Barry Miller,director of outreach for the Helmet Lab, toldConstruction Dive. The team attempted to recreate 14-foot to 25-foot falls.But the methodology isnt as simple as dropping the personal protective equipment from height. 16'