Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/229125
MININGWORLD Bullard hard hat courtesy of Bullard Company. Bullard: a history of safety The brightly coloured hard hat is a familiar sight on most industrial sites. Most work sites won't allow anyone on the worksite unless they are wearing one. The familiar shape has been variously called a skull bucket, a hard boiled hat, and a safety helmet. On some work sites, the colour of a worker's hard hat can identify his job: white for a supervisor or engineer, blue for a technical adviser, green for a safety inspector, yellow for a labourer, red for a blaster and orange for a new employee or a visitor. It's hard to imagine that for centuries miners worked without hard hats. Less than one hundred years ago, the labourer's hard hat didn't exist. The history of the hard hat can be traced back to 1919. It was developed by a company who continues to supply personal protective equipment and systems that are utilized by workers around the globe. Founded in San Francisco by Edward Dickinson Bullard, the Bullard Company supplied carbide lamps and other mining equipment to gold and copper miners in California, Nevada and Arizona. When Edward's son, E.W. Bullard, returned from World War I, he began developing protective head gear for miners. In 1919 the Hard Boiled® hat was introduced. E.W. Bullard based his design on the helmet he wore as a soldier; he patented the design in 1919. The hat was dubbed hard boiled as steam was used in the manufacturing process. The Hard Boiled® hat was manufactured out 54 www.resourceworld.com RW December 2013.indd 54 of steamed canvas, glue, a leather brim, and black paint. A suspension device was built into the helmet that became the "worlds' first, commercially available, industrial head-protection device." The design was improved upon. In 1938, the company designed and manufactured aluminum hard hats, which were very durable and reasonably lightweight for the time. The aluminum hats had one unfortunate drawback; aluminum is a great conductor of electricity. Bullard developed the heat resistant fiberglass hard hat in the 1940's. Thermoplastics were used to make hard hats in the 1950s and 1960s. Thermoplastic hard hats were both strong and easy to manufacture on a large scale. Bullard was one of the first manufacturers to inject thermoplastic into a mold to produce a hard hat. The hard hat hasn't really changed that much since the 1960s, though there were improvements in the basic design to make it more durable, lightweight and comfortable. It can accommodate face shields, ear muffs and sun visors, goggles, head lamps and even mirrors. The hard hat has become an icon of industry and strength; its wearers are modern gladiators who tackle difficult jobs often in challenging environments. Today Bullard's product lines include thermal imagers, hard hats, and fire fighter and rescue helmets, supplied air respirators, powered air-purifying respirators, and air quality equipment. n DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 12/11/2013 6:12 PM