As part of 3M Fall Protection’s continued commitment to producing high quality safety and personal protective equipment, we conduct periodic testing of our products. Recent testing of specific DBI-SALA® Delta™ and ExoFit™ XP Arc Flash harnesses have returned negative test results on some units.
The Arc Flash Standard (ASTM F887) requires that all arc flash rated harnesses be subjected to an Arc Flash followed by a successful dynamic drop test. Recent testing of certain 3M™ DBI-SALA® Delta™ Arc Flash Web Loop Rescue Safety Harnesses and 3M™ DBI-SALA® ExoFit™ XP Arc Flash Rescue Web Loop Harnesses had the non-load bearing web material that covers the front web rescue loops burn longer than the allowed time of 15 seconds.
The strength components of the rescue loops were not negatively impacted and maintained their integrity during the post drop arc flash harness testing. However, due to the negative test results, 3M is launching a Stop Use and Product Recall to replace any 3M™ DBI-SALA® Delta™ Arc Flash Web Loop Rescue Safety Harnesses and 3M™ DBISALA® ExoFit™ XP Arc Flash Rescue Web Loop Harnesses that were made in the affected time range.
The affected arc flash harnesses can be found in the Appendix below.
The company said they are not aware of any accidents, injuries or customer complaints related to this notice, but have identified it through an internal review.
Users/Owners: For arc flash harnesses with the part numbers in the table above, immediately stop using the product and use the following information to determine if your product is included in the affected time range for the recall. Although these harnesses will safely arrest a fall, you should not use these harnesses in an environment or application where there is a potential for an arc flash event.
Step 1: Please inspect your 3M™ DBI-SALA® Arc Flash Harness label (see photograph below) to confirm that it is one of the affected part numbers listed above and has been manufactured between the dates listed above.
Step 2: Once you have confirmed the part number and affected date, remove the unit from service immediately and contact 3M Fall Protection Customer Service Team (details provided in the table in the Appendix). We will arrange to have your product returned to 3M Fall Protection. As soon as a product solution is available, 3M will replace or repair your device and ship it to you at 3M’s expense pending the returned product passes pre-use inspection. If it does not pass the pre-use inspection, we will dispose of the harness and contact you. If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact the 3M Fall Protection Customer Service Team. A copy of this notice can be found at https://gravitec.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1.-Arc-Flash-Recall-Web-Loops-Notice-FINAL-EN.pdf
