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TECHNICAL UPDATE
3M™ Airstream™Safety Helmet Service Life
Helmet Life
Briefly, the standard says “field tests have shown that
generally, helmet shells have a life of atleast 3 years from the
time of issue” (Section 3.4). Helmets in use should not be
discoloured orweathered and have no obvious damage from impact or
deterioration. Old or used helmetshells with any damage should not
be reissued. Helmet harnesses should “be replaced at inter-vals no
longer than 2 years” (Section 3.4).
There are no specific guidelines given in the Standard for a
maximum shelf life before a newhelmet is issued. They should be
stored away from sunlight, dirt and temperature extremes,before and
after issue. There is obviously some point at which a stored helmet
shell should notbe used, but this is not specified. If stored
helmets are suspect due to long storage times (wesuggest a period
of >5 years from manufacture), they can be re-tested for
performance by theNSW Workcover TestSafe laboratories. This
involves a destructive test that requires 3 helmets
from the same production batch and costs several hundred dollars
to perform. Unless thereare a significant number of “old” shells
from the same manufacturing batch involved, this cost isnormally
prohibitive and any old and suspect helmet shells should be
discarded.
In 2004, 3M Australia introduced reflective stripes to the range
of Airstream helmets. Therewere two main reasons for this:
1. To improve the visibility and safety of workers in light and
dark environments.2. To provide an indication of the age of the
helmet shell and when it may need reas-
sessment of its condition.
Airstream products that currently use these stripes
include:
Airstream AH6TM Airstream AH6HRM Airstream
AH12 Number 12 headtop is incorporated in products such as the 3M™
Dustmaster™ DM12,
3M™ Jupiter™ JT12, 3M™ Airline AL12. Spare/replacement helmet
shells for these various products
The service life of any industrial safety helmet is addressed in
Australian Standard AS/NZS 1800-1998: Occupational protective
helmets – Selection, care and use”.Section 3.4 specifically
addresses the working life of compliant helmets. The
3M™ Airstream™ style helmet is tested to meet the performance
requirements of thisstandard.
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©Copyright 3M Australia Pty. Limited 2007 Neither whole or
part of this publication may be reproduced without prior
permission
Page 2 of 1 Version: October 07
TECHNICAL UPDATE
3M™ Airstream™Safety Helmet Service Life
The following table provides a guide to the year of manufacture
with its corresponding colourfor the reflective stripes used to
denote that year and the suggested year for review and pos-sible
replacement of the helmet shell using the 3 year average life
suggested by the Stan-dard.
How to contact us:
3M Tech Assis t HotlinePhone 1800 024 464
_______________________
3M Australia Customer ServicePhone 1300 363 565Fax 1800 656
222
_______________________
3M Australia Pty LtdPhone 136 136
_______________________
World Wide Webwww.3m.com/au/ohs
_______________________
©Copyright 3M Australia Pty. Limited 2007Neither whole or part
of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission
October 07
YEAR of MANUFACTURE STRIPE COLOUR REVIEW or
REPLACEMENT
2003 OR EARLIER NONE 2006
2004 RED 2007
2005 GREEN 2008
2006 BLUE 2009
2007 YELLOW 2010
2008 BLACK 2011
2009 RED 2012
2010 GREEN 2013
2011 BLUE 2014
2012 YELLOW 2015
