The essentials of standard CSA Z94.1 on security helmets

Since the last revisions in 2016, the standard CSA Z94.1 ensures that all workers using head protection equipment are always compliant and use gear adapted to their work environment. Our experts answer your most frequent questions about safety and construction hard hats as well as welding helmets.

About standard CSA Z94.1

The standard CSA Z94.1 applies to many activity sectors, such as industry, construction, mining, public services and forestry.

Overview of specific points:

• The parts of the head that need to be protected;
• The performance requirements for dielectric strength;
• The impact attenuation;
• The penetration resistance;
• The stability;
• The flammability.

Equipment excluded from the standard:

Several types of hard hats as:

• Safety caps
• Firefighter helmets
• Paramedic helmets
• Sport helmets
• Riot helmets
• Collision helmets

How to choose the right security helmet?

When selecting the appropriate head protection equipment, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the risks and hazards found in the work environment. Did you know that SPI offers evaluations tailored to the risks found in your organization?

The choice of a hard hat is based on a risk analysis performed depending on the work environment and compliance with other equipment (for example, hearing protection devices). Moreover, it is important to divide hard hats into two distinct types:

• Type 1 – Crown only headwear – recommended where it can be shown that there is no hazard related to lateral impact. A reversible headwear should be selected if the procedure requires wearing the headwear backward (i.e., welding). Where high-visibility headwear is needed, refer to CAN/CSA-Z96 for color and retro-reflective tape requirements.
• Type 2 – Crown and lateral headwear - designed for potential crown and lateral impacts, where moving objects are present, such as manufacturing operations, construction and demolition sites, when the hazard assessment cannot determine the type.

Where the hazards are unknown for a task, a Type 2 hard hat shall be selected because it has the highest level of dielectric (20,000 V), crown (55 j) and lateral (30 j) protection.

The two types of hard hats fall under three distinct categories:

• Class C – Not intended to provide dielectric protection.
• Class E – Ensures protection against applied voltage increasing at a uniform rate of 1,000 ± 50 V/s to the maximum of 20,000 V ± 3%, which is maintained for 3 minutes.
• Class G – Ensures protection against a maximum voltage of 2200 V ± 3% for 1 minute.

This article summarizes several excerpts taken from the standard CSA Z94.1 and does not represent the entirety of the prescribed standard.

For all detailed requirements or to get an evaluation of your equipment, don’t hesitate to contact one of our specialists.