“It was definitely a leap we took that a lot of people were against,” says Randall, long an outspoken construction voice for helmet safety. “Industry … just thought [it was] different. It did not want ... chin straps. Everyone was looking outside of the fact that it was safer for employees. They could not overcome the way the helmets looked or how different [from other hardhats] they were. People were afraid to be judged.”

Ahead of the Regulators

In 2015, Randall began to look into how Clark would provide the safety helmets for all jobsites. In 2016, the contractor’s self-perform concrete division required them for all carpenters, laborers and cement masons. The initiative quickly spread under his leadership and that of Kris Manning, Clark chief operating officer for its infrastructure group. Six months later, the contractor strategically began to disperse them company-wide, and by 2017 every Clark employee was using a helmet with anti-concussion technology.

Doing so meant that Randall had to become an expert in helmet technology and navigating the claims of manufacturers and differences in standards between ANSI Z89.1 in the U.S. and the earlier-written EN12492 standard from Europe.

“When they say Type 2 helmets, it’s still not a falling employee standard,” Randall says, noting that the standard does not protect a worker in a fall. Hardhats are known as Type 1 and helmets are Type 2. “When we, at Clark, looked at that we noticed there were Type 2 helmets in the early 1990s,” he says. “EN12492 is actually a helmet standard.”

Randall said EN12492’s history as a mountaineering helmet standard ensured tests and requirements for front, rear and side impact, as well as for the crown of the head. He said some helmets considered to meet Type 2 requirements under ANSI Z89.1 still don’t mandate a chin strap or a test that a strap is effective and keeps the helmet on the head. “It’s optional,” Randall explained in saying that Clark felt a lot more comfortable with EN12492 because it is a falling employee protection standard, focused on preventing concussions and head strikes, and making sure the helmet stays on in a fall.

Manning notes that as Clark’s then-corporate safety director in 2022, he and Randall had a conversation concerning “too many hardhats that look like helmets.” He says they feared that if they did not act to provide guidance, the firm’s workforce could unknowingly choose helmets based on their look and not the protection offered. Clark decided to use helmets made by Kask.

Clark’s leadership has been followed by other contractors that now require anti-concussion helmets. “We take pride in solving complex problems,” says Clark CEO Robby Moser. “I’m proud of Seth and members of our team who recognized the status quo was not acceptable. Under Seth’s leadership, our team thought outside the box, researched, tested and implemented a [better] solution.”

He adds: “Prioritizing the safety of our people has allowed us to transform our industry.”