In this quarter's H2H column, we are proud to celebrate the remarkable contributions of three member companies and their representatives—Mike Poppoff with Poppoff, Inc., Clay Fischer with Woodland Tilt-Up, and Jack Cooney with Somero Enterprises—who have generously donated to a groundbreaking study on safety helmets conducted by Virginia Tech. Their support, facilitated through the ASCC Foundation, is pivotal in advancing our industry's commitment to safety and innovation.

The Virginia Tech Helmet Study

Virginia Tech has extensive experience developing methodologies that evaluate protective headgear under real-world conditions, using their STAR Evaluation System. This system has been successfully implemented for various helmet types, including bicycle, football, and hockey helmets. The STAR Evaluation System is based on two fundamental principles: helmets that reduce head kinematics from impact lower injury risk, and real-world exposure data is used to weight testing conditions when summarizing overall performance.

The helmet ratings produced by this system serve two essential purposes:

1. Informing consumers and users of relative performance differences between helmet models.
2. Providing design criteria for helmet manufacturers to improve impact performance.

By supplementing pass/fail certification standards with real-world performance evaluations, the VT Helmet Lab STAR Ratings offer a comprehensive understanding of helmet safety.

Proposed Work and Objectives

The proposed work for this study involves developing a rating system for safety helmets, specifically focused on construction-related impacts. The study aims to complete its objectives within 18 months, focusing on the following four key objectives:

1. Characterize Head Impact Conditions: Analyzing accident reports and surveillance videos to understand real-world impact conditions, focusing on falls and struck-by-object accidents.
2. Generalize Real-World Loading Conditions: Developing laboratory test systems that recreate high-risk impact scenarios identified in the data collection phase.
3. Develop STAR Model: Creating a safety helmet-specific version of the STAR formula to compute an overall performance score representative of real-world injury rates.
4. Test and Publicize Helmet Ratings: Testing all commercially available safety helmets using the developed test methods and making the results publicly available on the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings website.

Looking Ahead

We eagerly anticipate the completion of this study and the dissemination of its findings. The results will be accessible on the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings website, providing valuable information to all stakeholders. The commitment and support from our member companies are vital in achieving these milestones and fostering a culture of safety and innovation within our industry.

A Big Thank You!

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mike Poppoff with Poppoff, Inc., Clay Fischer with Woodland Tilt-Up, and Jack Cooney with Somero Enterprises for their generous donations made through the ASCC Foundation to Virginia Tech. Their support is instrumental in making this study possible and underscores their commitment to enhancing safety standards within the construction industry.

Stay tuned for more updates and thank you to all our members for your continued dedication to safety excellence.