Portwest - Do You Know Booklet

DO YOU KNOW 14 WHAT IS EN 12492? HELMETS FOR MOUNTAINEERS

IMPACT When climbing or working at height, your head can be exposed to more than just top down impacts. In order to combat this the mountaineer standard EN12492 requires additional tests to the front, side and rear of our mountaineering helmets. When testing, the headform is tilted to 30° from the horizontal plane, and 5kg hemispherical and flat strikers are dropped from 2m and 500mm respectively. These tests ensure your head is fully protected from all forces greater than 10kN. EN 12492 is specifically used within the sporting industry for climbing helmets. Requirements for helmets to conform to the EN 12492 standard has become increasingly popular in the PPE market, as there is no specific technical standard regarding helmets for work at height. EN 12492 offers this protection. Portwest PS73 fully complies with the EN 12492 (including chin strap requirements) - this helmet is also tested for impact and penetration according to EN397, and for optional requirements of resistance at very low temperatures (-30c).

PS73

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS Most specifications for protective helmets include a number of requirements for the design of a helmet in addition to the specific performance requirements. These typically encompass the area of coverage provided by the helmet, as well as the field of vision afforded to the user when worn. They can also cover a number of ergonomics and safety-based requirements, such as clearance between the head and the shell of the helmet (particularly in the case of industrial helmets).

PENETRATION As with industrial helmets and bump caps, mountaineering helmets are intended to provide protection against sharp / pointed objects. The penetration test in EN 12492 is similar to that specified in EN 397, where a 3 kg conical striker is dropped onto the helmet from a height of 1 metre, and any contact between the helmet and headform (although in EN 12492 the headform is in the form of a standard test block) noted. Penetration tests on mountaineering helmets can be carried out on any point around the shell of the helmet, unlike EN 397 where they are restricted to an area at the crown of the head.

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