Development of a Fall-Specific Impact Testing Method to Evaluate Safety Helmet Performance and Injury Risk

Despite falls accounting for the greatest number of fatal and non-fatal work-related traumatic brain injuries, current standards do not evaluate safety helmets under impact conditions representative of fall scenarios. This study's objective was to develop a test method that evaluates safety helmets under impact scenarios representative of falls. A Construction STAR rating system that quantitatively compares safety helmet performance in the context of concussion and skull fracture risk is also outlined.

A multi-step approach that combined information from previous literature, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) accident reports, and oblique impact tests were used to develop a fall-specific safety helmet test methodology. The test methodology consisting of three impact locations (front boss, rear boss, and rear), two impact velocities (5.5 and 6.8 m/s), and a 25-degree anvil was executed on a representative subset of one Type I and four Type II models. STAR scores, combining concussion and skull fracture risk, were calculated for each model and compared.

STAR scores demonstrated that Type II helmets reduced concussion risk by 32.7% and skull fracture risk by 57.5% when compared to the Type I model. Large variations in Type II performance were observed, with the top-performing Type II helmets reducing concussion risk by 28.7 and 33.2% compared to bottom-performing models.

Type II helmets offer substantial benefits in head protection compared to Type I models for oblique fall-related impacts. By including both skull fracture and concussion risk in the STAR score, the proposed methodology can differentiate high and low-performing safety helmets.