Just like the importance of using protective equipment to protect products, for example using a carpet protection film when carrying out work inside a client’s home, with the risk of head injuries being high, wearing a hard hat on a construction site is also an essential piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) that workers need to wear. It is vital that everyone working on a site understands when you need to wear them and what the hard hat colour code means.
The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 meant that workers needed to wear a hard hat on a construction site, and as of January 2017, Build UK, who represent many of the UK's biggest contractors and trade associations, directed colour codes for construction hard hats.
This guide explains the hard hat colour codes and gives you an insight into what colour should be worn and what they mean as well as looking at why they were introduced.
Why were the colours for a construction hat changed?
The colours for hard hats in the UK were introduced to identify construction workers by their safety qualifications. So, essentially each colour on a hard hat has a different meaning and the intention for this change in regulations is to reduce the on-site dangers by making clear the experience and expertise of each person working on a construction site.
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What do the different hard hat colours mean?
There are so many different colour hats that it is easy to forget what they all mean. In this section, we take you through the different hard hat colour meanings and what construction sites should adhere to.
· Black hard hats
· White hard hats
· Orange hard hats
· Blue hard hats
· Green hard hats
· Red hard hats
Black hard hats
A black hard hat is worn by supervisors or foreman ad if there are any problems you need help with or issues you want to highlight on a construction site, then these are the people you need to approach and speak to.
White hard hats
The site manager wears a white hard hat to identify that he or she is in charge, but any construction worker who is skilled in their trade would also wear a white hard hat as well as a vehicle marshall.
If you are getting confused on a construction site that you are working, then generally you can tell the difference as site managers generally wear a suit, whilst others will still be wearing their work uniform or hi-vis clothing.
Orange hard hats
An orange hat is worn by a slinger or a signaller. Workers with this hat on are trained, qualified and authorised to move heavy material such as a ton of bricks or if a joist needs lifting into place.
Slinging is not an easy job as you need to ensure that the weights of what is being moved are evenly distributed. Crane operators will generally need hand signals to know when something is safe to lift, and people working on a site who are wearing an orange construction helmet are qualified to help them.
This isn’t their only skill as these workers could be a joiner, electrician or be working in any construction trade.
Blue hard hats
If you see someone wearing a blue hard hat on a construction site, this generally means that they are either an apprentice, architect or a visitor.
People wearing this coloured hard hat should not be left unsupervised on a building site, and if anyone sees somebody wandering around a site alone with this type of hat on, then a supervisor or foreman (wearing a black hard hat) should be made aware.
Green hard hats
Whether someone has cut their finger, is concussed or had had a more serious accident whilst working on a construction site, it is a first aider who you will need to look for.
A first aider should wear a green hard hat so they can be identified quickly, and they will have undergone a first aid course to help anyone who is in need of help.
Red hard hats
If a fire breaks out on a construction site, then everyone should be looking for employees wearing a red hat as they will be in charge of directing you and telling you what to do in an emergency.
People who are wearing a red hard hat are known as fire marshals and they will have undergone extensive training, and quite often their helmet will also have a sticker on it to identify them as a Fire Marshall.
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What happens if hard hat colour codes are not followed?
If companies do not comply and wear the correct coloured hard hats, then the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have the power to halt a construction project as it is seen as breaking health and safety regulations.
How much do coloured hard hats cost?
Firstly, the most important thing is to ensure that you and your colleagues are safe on a site, which is why wearing a construction helmet is essential. If a worker was to get injured due to an injury that could have been avoided, the construction firm in charge of the site could get fined.
Hard hats are not massively expensive and can range from just a few pounds to more than £50. Hard hats do have a shelf life, however, meaning that they will need to be replaced, but they usually have a ‘best before’ date on them.
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At Proguard, we understand the importance of hard hat colour codes and to ensure that all employees are wearing the correct colours whilst on a site.
Whilst it is important that construction workers are wearing protective equipment like a hard hat, it is also vital that temporary protection products are used to safeguard materials, houses and equipment. Here at Proguard, we are a leader in supplying protection products for the construction industry, you can purchase products like Correx floor protection on our website.
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