3M Fall Protection has learned of the possibility of a manufacturing defect in a dorsal d-ring utilized in ExoFit NEX™ harnesses manufactured between January 2016 and December 2018. 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. 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.

To address the situation, 3M Fall Protection is launching a global Inspection Notice. As set out in the attached Notice, all ExoFit NEX™ harnesses manufactured between January 2016 and December 2018 require inspection prior to use.

It has been brought to our attention what we would call an unsafe practice of attaching certification tags to harness dorsals using a wire lanyard.

A serious incident causing death occurred in a mine in Australia where a restraint had been inadvertently attached to a wire lanyard on a safety harness.