TECHNICAL UPDATE

3M Airstream
Safety Helmet Service Life

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 this
standard.

Helmet Life
Briefly, the standard says field tests have shown that generally, helmet shells have a life of at
least 3 years from the time of issue (Section 3.4). Helmets in use should not be discoloured or
weathered and have no obvious damage from impact or deterioration. Old or used helmet
shells with any damage should not be reissued. Helmet harnesses should be replaced at intervals no longer than 2 years (Section 3.4).
There are no specific guidelines given in the Standard for a maximum shelf life before a new
helmet 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 not
be used, but this is not specified. If stored helmets are suspect due to long storage times (we
suggest a period of >5 years from manufacture), they can be re-tested for performance by the
NSW 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 there
are a significant number of old shells from the same manufacturing batch involved, this cost is
normally prohibitive and any old and suspect helmet shells should be discarded.
In 2004, 3M Australia introduced reflective stripes to the range of Airstream helmets. There
were 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 reassessment 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

TECHNICAL UPDATE

3M Airstream
Safety Helmet Service Life

The following table provides a guide to the year of manufacture with its corresponding colour
for the reflective stripes used to denote that year and the suggested year for review and possible replacement of the helmet shell using the 3 year average life suggested by the Standard.

YEAR of MANUFACTURE
2003 OR EARLIER

STRIPE COLOUR

REVIEW or REPLACEMENT

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

How to contact us:

3M Tech Assist Hotline
Phone 1800 024 464
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3M Australia Customer Service
Phone 1300 363 565
Fax 1800 656 222
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3M Australia Pty Ltd
Phone 136 136
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3M Australia
Pty.
Copyright
3M Australia
Pty.Limited
Limited 2007
2007
Neither whole
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Page 2 of 1 Version: October
October 07
07

World Wide Web

www.3m.com/au/ohs
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