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Loss Control Corner:

Since the dawn of time, humans have found ways to protect themselves- whether for survival, play, work, or war. On the latter, helmets were a crucial part of warfare for thousands of years. However, it wasn’t until WWI when a doughboy with the U.S. Cavalry, Lt. Edward Wheatley Bullard, climbed out of a French trench with an idea that would spark an industrial safety movement: the hard hat.

He reasoned that the metal helmets used by doughboys to deflect the hail of bullets raining down on them could be redesigned to protect workers from falling rocks, tools, or falling rivets dropped by others working higher up on a plane like when building a bridge. When he returned from the war, his rejoined his family’s company named Bullard for his father, Edward Dickinson Bullard, who founded the company in 1898 in San Francisco (today they are the leading manufacturer of safety headwear and personal protection equipment- PPE) .

And Bullard was very focused and understood line workers wouldn’t be able to afford metal helmets, and he knew metal was heavy, so he invented the Hard-Boiled Hat, which was made with steamed, or hard-boiled, canvass, leather, glue, and a very elementary suspension. It retailed for $3- nearly $45 today when adjusted for inflation. It was shellacked with black paint in 1919. In those days, workers, not their employers, were responsible for their own safety. OSHA didn’t come around until the early 1970s, so those first Hard-Boiled Hat customers in the 1920s were really woke before the term “woke” was even minted. Back then workers were somewhat considered disposable as there was somebody else always ready to do the job if you couldn’t do it.

The first project in history where it was required from construction workers to wear “hard hats” was building of the Hoover Dam in 1931. Second one was building of the Golden Gate Bridge. Every worker on that bridge wore one in 1933 by order of Joseph  Strauss, the project chief engineer, who was very safe-minded. In that era, for every $1 million of a bridge construction, there was a death. And this was a $40 million project. Strauss thought it was unacceptable to have 40 people die, so he implemented safety provisions including firing people on the spot for not wearing a safety helmet. Nonetheless, 11 workers died during its construction. However, no deaths were attributed to head injuries from falling objects.

It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandated the use of hard hats in areas where there is a risk of head injury from impact, falling or flying objects, or electrical shock. And while hard hats continued to evolve, today the purpose remains the same- safety. And PPE equipment is only effective when worn. For people to wear it, the accessory must be comfortable as comfort translates into usability. Today safety helmets fall into two categories:

• Type I: Designed to protect against impacts from above.
• Type II: Engineered for all-around protection, guarding against impacts from the front, back, sides, and top of the head.

 While OSHA has yet to mandate Type II helmets, Type II provides significantly greater protection than traditional Type I hard hats, particularly where workers face multiple impact hazards.

Why isn’t Senator Tim Scott wearing a hard hat? President Trump tours the Federal Reserve’s renovation site on 7/24/25.

Source: Reuters Connect

What Do the Different Hard Hat Colors Signify?

Each color represents a certain type of job or position. Interestingly, a pink hard hat is often issued to males who forget to bring their hard hat to the job site.

In sum, the journey of the “hard hat” had its rudimentary beginnings but with today’s cutting-edge technology and advancements they are comfortable to wear and are a testament to the unwavering commitment to protect those who build our world. Our clients, (the insureds), recognize the benefit of providing their workforce with safety helmets as a smart investment, recognizing that superior PPE boost morale, reduces injuries, and can even lower their ex-mod and insurance costs.  

Jorge Alexandria, writer, is the Vice President of Workers' Compensation Claims for the J. Morey Company, an Ori-gen company, and former Director for the U.S. Labor Department, 18th Compensation District. He is also an Army combat medic veteran who received a Master's degree in Public Administration. He can be reached at Riskletter@mail.com

The J. Morey Company handles business insurances, workers' compensation, personal lines, and employee group benefits. 

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