US-headquartered PPE specialist Protective Industrial Products (PIP) has teamed up with Swedish helmet safety technology firm Mips to incorporate Mips’ patented anti-rotational head injury technology into construction hard hats.
Based on 25 years of research, testing, and development, together with the Royal Institute of Technology and the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, the technology is widely used in helmets for skiers, cyclists, climbers and equestrian sports.
"Our research shows that in job site accidents, many head-related impacts come at an angle, which can cause harmful rotational motion to the head," said Mips chief executive Max Strandwitz.
"Conventional industrial safety helmets are typically designed and certified to protect against linear impacts, which mainly causes injuries such as skull fractures and brain contusions but are not specifically designed nor tested for rotational forces."
Strandwitz said research shows that the brain is normally more sensitive to rotational forces than linear forces.
An updated version of the Dynamic Rocky safety helmet with Mips technology is expected in the third quarter of this year. The ANSI type II hard hat is made of a polycarbonate/ABS shell and has a high-density inner shell foam liner that uses Mips technology to decrease rotational motion otherwise transferred to the head from oblique impacts.
Image: Based on 25 years of research, the technology is widely used in helmets for skiers, cyclists, climbers and equestrian sports (Courtesy of Mips)
