In December, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it was replacing traditional hardhats for its employees with ANSI-Z89.1-certified Type II safety helmets when they work on sites.

OSHA also recommends the use of safety helmets on construction sites, but has not mandated the change. 

In 2017, Clark Construction, based in Bethesda, Md., became the first general contractor to require personal protection headgear with a higher safety standard than traditional hardhats on all of its projects.

PPE manufacturer Ergodyne now offers helmet with the MIPS system designed to isolate the brain from shocks associated with falls and collisions.

In Sweden, a partnership between MIPS Corp., a company that specializes in helmet-liner systems for protecting the brain, and Guardio Safety AB, a Swedish industrial safety firm, has led to the release in June of a construction hardhat, or helmet, designed to mitigate brain-damaging forces that often are suffered in construction falls.

The CP250 air compressor is a single-stage, rotary screw compressor that runs in the 100 psi to 150 psi range.

The future of wearable technology for the construction industry conjures up images of workers covered in clunky machinery—hydraulically powered exosuits multiplying the wearers’ strength, while gleaming visors with information-dense heads-up displays block their vision.