A leading manufacturer has issued a safety harness inspection warning following the identification of potential defects in a D-ring component that could lead to serious injury or death from inadequate fall protection.
3M Fall Protection Australia has learned of the possibility of a manufacturing defect in a D-ring used in the ExoFit NEX™
safety harness manufactured between January 2016 and December 2018.
3M Fall Protection’s Australian office said “although there have been no reported incidents involving this condition, a dorsal d-ring with this defect will not support the load in a fall arrest event which could result in serious injury or death. Safety harnesses manufactured only within this date range require immediate inspection for lot number 09P1 stamped into a dorsal d ring. We believe that only one harness was manufactured with a defective D-ring, but we urge inspection of all potentially affected harnesses out of an abundance of caution in the interests of worker safety. “
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3M Fall Protection said that users should locate the label pack on the harness to identify the manufacturing date. If the safety harness has a manufacturing date of 16/01 (2016, January) through the end of 18/12 (2018, December), continue to step 2. If the harness is not in this range, the unit is not impacted by this notice. If the harness is within this date range, continue to step 2.
Step 2: Locate the D-ring on the back of the safety harness to inspect for a stamped lot date of 09P1. If you find a D-ring with code 09P1 and the harness has a manufactured date within the affected date range, take the harness out of service immediately. If the D-ring is not stamped with code 09P1, you may continue using your harness. Please note that both the manufactured date range (2016, January through 2018, December) on the harness label and the lot number code 09P1 stamped on the D-ring must be present on the same harness for the harness to be considered suspect and removed from service. All other harness/D-ring combinations are acceptable for use.
3M Fall Protection has provided a contact number for affected users. It says “If you find an affected harness, take the unit out of service immediately. You can contact us at 3M Customer Service at 1800 245 002 or at anzfallprotectionquality@mmm.com to return your harness and a replacement harness will be provided free of charge. “
Regular inspection of harness a must for users
The 3M recall serves as an important reminder regarding the regular inspection of your safety harness. Users of a safety harness should conduct a pre-use inspection of safety harnesses for visible defects and companies requiring employees to use harnesses should implement effective inspection systems to ensure the efficacy of the harness.
It is essential that any person carrying out a harness inspection is sufficiently independent and impartial to allow them to make objective decisions, and has appropriate authority to discard defective lanyards.
Examples of defects in a safety harness
As a guide, the following defects and damage to a harness or lanyard may result in weakening the product and could have a catastrophic outcome in the event of emergency use. Users of safety harnesses should always look out for:
- cuts at the edges of webbing lanyards;
- surface abrasion across the face of the webbing and at the webbing loops;
- abrasion at the edges of webbing, particularly if localised to one region;
- damage to stitching (eg cuts or abrasion) or visibly loose stitching;
- knots in the lanyard or harness, other than those intended by the manufacturer;
- chemical degradation of the safety harness or lanyard. Often observed by changes in colour or hard flaking of the surface fibres.
- heat or friction damage indicated by fibres with a glazed appearance which may feel harder than surrounding fibres;
- UV-degradation to the webbing or fibres of the safety harness. Note that this is difficult to identify and often presents as powdery surfaces on the webbing of the harness or lanyard or loss of colour;
- a part deployed energy absorber;
- excessive contamination of the safety harness which sometimes may increase the probability of break down of the surface;
- damaged or deformed fittings on the safety harness including d-rings, karabiners, scaffold hooks, screw-based connectors;
- damage to sheaths designed to protect critical components of the safety harness;
- visible internal damage to any components of the harness.
A safety harness is an important piece of safety equipment designed to ensure that falls from height risks are mitigated. A harness can also be a life-saving device and it should be treated accordingly. While we all hope that we never need to use it, having confidence that it will be effective in mitigating the effects of a fall from height is as important as many of the other aspects of fall protection. Ensuring that an effective harness inspection regime is implemented could save your life at a time when you most need it.
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