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Preventing Head Injuries

Each year, thousands of construction workers suffer head injuries on the job.  Some common causes of head injuries include:

  • Being struck by a falling tool or material or a moving object, such as materials being moved by a crane or another worker.
  • Falling and coming in contact with an object or surface, such as equipment, a wall, or the ground.
  • Coming in contact with overhead hazards, such as equipment or electrical wires – the latter can result in a worker being electrocuted.

In 2018 alone, almost 8,000 construction workers suffered a head injury and 230 construction workers died from their injury. These deaths and injuries take a significant human and financial toll on the injured workers, their families, and their employers.

The following research and resources can help raise awareness of the risks and ways to prevent head injuries.

Information and Resources to Prevent Head Injuries

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Resources
Standards and Requirements
  • The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
  • (ANSI) Z89.1-2009, Z89.1-2003, and Z89.1-2003
OSHA Resources
  • Quick Card
NIOSH Articles and Research
  • Video:
  • NIOSH Science Blog: ;
  • Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., Cobb, C., Moorehead, A., Kau, T.Y., & Wimer, B.M. (2022). Evaluation of the Fall Protection of Type I Industrial Helmets. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 50(11), 1565–1578.
  • Pan, C.S., Wimer, B.M., Welcome, D.E., & Wu, J.Z. (2021). An Approach to Characterize the Impact Absorption Performance of Construction Helmets in Top Impact. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 49(3), 2162-2174.
  • Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., Ronaghi, M., Wimer, B.M., & Reischl, U. (2021). Application of polyethylene air-bubble cushions to improve the shock absorption performance of Type I construction helmets for repeated impacts. Bio-medical materials and engineering, 32(1), 1–14.
  • Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., & Wimer, B.M. (2019). Evaluation of the shock absorption performance of construction helmets under repeated top impacts. Engineering failure analysis, 96, 330–339.
  • Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., Wimer, B.M., & Rosen, C.L. (2017). An improved finite element modeling of the cerebrospinal fluid layer in the head impact analysis. Bio-medical materials and engineering, 28(2), 187–199.
  • Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., Wimer, B.M., & Rosen, C.L. (2017). Finite element simulations of the head-brain responses to the top impacts of a construction helmet: Effects of the neck and body mass. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of Engineering in Medicine, 231(1), 58–68.
  • Headgear systems with Air-Bubble Cushioning Liner for Improved Shock Absorption Performance, Pan, C.S., Wu, J.Z., and Reischl, U., .U.S. Patent Application No. 17/160,177. Washington, DC: U.S. Bibliographic Data – Application – Patent Center – USPTO. (2021).
  • , Wu, J.Z., Pan, C.S., Cobb, C., Moorehead, A., and Wimer, B., presented in the 33rd Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference, September 16-17 and was published in the Proceedings, December 2021, pages 121-125. ISBN: 97819384965-9-2.
  • , Dr. John Howard, Director, NIOSH, From the Director’s Desk, Volume 17, Number 8 (December 2019)
  • Shock Absorption Performance of Construction Helmets under Repeated Top Impacts Dr. Chris Pan, NORA Construction Sector Council Meeting (November 2019)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proceedings of the XXXIst Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference (June 2019)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, “Proceedings of the XXXI Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference (June 2019)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proceedings of the American Society of Biomechanics annual meeting (August 2018)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proceedings of 5th International Conference on Computational and Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (April 2017)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Bio-Med Mater Eng, Volume 28, Number 2 (March 2017)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence Workshops (January 2017)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proc Inst Mech Eng, Volume: 231, Number 1 (January 2017)
  • Dr. Chris Pan, Proceedings of the Sixth American Conference on Human Vibration (June 2016)
Additional Research
  • Industrial helmet injury protection from falls – Study highlight from Liberty Mutual Insurance (2022)
  • ** Bottlang, M., Hodgdon, M., Tsai, S., & Madey, S. (2023). Climbing style safety helmets do not improve impact protection over type II hard hats. Safety Science, 168, 106296.
  • ** Bottlang, M., DiGiacomo, G., Tsai, S., & Madey, S. (2022). Effect of Helmet Design on Impact Performance of Industrial Safety Helmets. Heliyon, 8(8), e09962.

** Some of the authors are affiliated with a head protection manufacturer.

Other Resources
  • Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. (2009)
  • , The Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (2001)