The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is currently in the final stages of publishing an update to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ISEA Z89.1 – Standard for Industrial Head Protection. It’s expected to be finalized by the end of Q2 2026. This Standard provides performance and testing requirements for industrial safety helmets and hard hats, including for impact resistance, penetration, and electrical insulation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Head Protection Standards for general industry [29 CFR 1910.135], construction [29 CFR 1926.100], and maritime [29 CFR 1915.155 (shipyard), 29 CFR 1917.93 (marine terminals), and 29 CFR 1918.103 (longshoring)] require that head protection comply with the ANSI/ISEA Standard. Although they reference previous versions (i.e., 1997, 2003, 2009), OSHA will hold organizations accountable for complying with the most protective current version.
Background
Events involving head trauma are a leading cause of workplace injuries. Proper head protection is critical in many work environments, including those with falling objects, moving equipment or materials, overhead electrical hazards, and a risk of slips, trips, and falls. There are two types of head protection based on impact and penetration resistance, as well as three classes related to the ability of the equipment to withstand electrical shock:
- Type I: Top of head impact protection.
- Type II: Top and sides of head impact protection.
- Class C (Conductive): Not intended to provide protection against contact with electrical hazards.
- Class G (General): Tested to 2,200 volts, providing low voltage protection.
- Class E (Electrical): Tested to 20,000 volts, offering higher voltage protection.
Hard hats are commonly Type I, offering top of the head protection only, although Type II hard hats are also available. Safety helmets on the other hand generally meet Type II standards and provide protection from all angles. For both types, a chinstrap is currently optional. The type and class of head protection must be permanently marked inside the shell of all ANSI-compliant hard hats and safety helmets.
2026 Changes to ANSI/ISEA Z89.1
The core performance requirements for safety helmets and hard hats in the upcoming version of ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 are expected to remain unchanged. However, according to representatives from ISEA, revisions will incorporate provisions for added protection for both Type I and Type II hard hats and safety helmets as summarized below:
- Mandatory chinstraps: A “plus (+)” marking will be added to both Type I and Type II equipment to indicate that it requires the use of a chinstrap. The revision was made to address that in the field, there have been numerous reports of hard hats falling off (e.g., if there was a slip, trip, or fall), often leading to serious injury.
- Retention system effectiveness: New testing methods will be introduced to ensure the retention system (typically the chinstrap and suspension) effectively keeps Type I and Type II head protection in place for a specified duration during an event which might cause it to fall off. Equipment meeting the new retention system standards would also be indicated by a “plus (+)” marking.
- Impact and shock protection: New requirements will be added to address energy absorption and force transmission for impacts occurring on the side, front, and rear of head protection.
The intent of the updates is to ensure enhanced protection for workers in all industries. According to ISEA, this revision represents an effort to accommodate characteristics of industrial head protection that end-users identified as being important as work environments change, and emerging hazards are identified.
The final amended version of ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 – American National Standard for Industrial Head Protection will soon be available for purchase on the ANSI webstore and the ISEA online store. For more information on safety helmets and hard hats, please see OSHA’s Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) on Head Protection: Safety Helmets in the Workplace, or contact us!
This blog was written by Beth Graham, Safety Partners’ Director of Quality, Research, and Training.
