By Roger Munn 16/05/2016

Under: PPE and Workwear / Site Set Up / Health and Safety News

Industry Standards: Hard Hat Colour Code - what you need to know

The driving force behind the initiative is Build UK, which brings together 27 of the industry's largest contractors, 40 leading trade associations and over 11,500 specialist contractors.

The new standards are to be implemented across all new construction sites and existing construction sites where practical. The simple code will help contractors improve site safety by clearly signalling the role, skill set and safety training level of team members to all personnel on site. 

Safety Helmet Colour Code Explained

Black: usually worn by Supervisors
Orange: usually worn by Slingers / Signallers
White: usually worn by Site Managers / Competent Operatives / Vehicle Marshalls (distinguished by a different coloured high visibility vest)
Blue: usually worn by all those coming to site who do not fall into any of the above categories
Green: usually worn by First Aid
Red: usually worn by Fire Marshals 

Hard hat stickers are also included in the industry standard. Fire marshalls will wear red fire marshall stickers, while first aiders will wear the green first aider sticker.

Suzannah Nichol MBE, Chief Executive of Build UK, said: 'we are delighted with the positive response from our members who have welcomed the latest standards, which aim to make life easier and help them meet the increasing demands of working on-site.'

At Enfield we stock all the colour standards in our head protection range. As with all of our workwear ranges, hard hats can be personalised using our corporate branding service for a more professional look.

We recommend contractors ensure all team members are supplied with EMITAGs as standard. This innovative device can be secured to a safety helmet and contains an employee's medical details and emergency contacts. In the event of an incident, an EMITAG provides first responders with vital information about the patient in the crucial first few minutes of emergency care.

What do you think of the new safety hat colour standards? Put your thoughts in the comments section below.

View our head protection range online or speak to a member of our team to discuss your safety needs.