It's important to understand the date format when inspecting harnesses and other safety equipment to ensure items do not stay in service beyond their specified life expiry. It would be easy on first glance to read this harness date as 2017...
It is life subject to condition. It may well have a life of 5 years or whatever the manufacturers instructions say but if it fails an inspection one week after being taken out of the plastic, then that is that, get a new one, don’t mess with people’s lives, simple.
There seems to be very conflicting answered answers to use life of height safety equipment. In my mind there should be one blanket policy that would make it easier for everyone to understand . However environment really comes into play . I look at it as it’s someone’s life and how itch os that worth . If you can’t stretch to the cost of a harness / lanyard for that then you need to re think your life choices .
How many years we can keep in service
Manufacturers will give info on the dates
LiftTech Inspection Services Ltd Director & Engineer Surveyor LOLER | PSSR | PUWER
9moObviously poor condition/defects supersede any lifing data but the Inspector needs to be aware of lifing limits as they are a factor in determining the overall condition. If an item has a 10 year life expiry and appears in acceptable physical condition, by virtue of it being older than 10 years means it should not be certified safe for use. That risk is not for the Inspector to own. Should the absolute worst happen, an enquiry would ask straight away why the Inspector certified it as safe. I've often seen inspection reports with a blanket statement of 'refer to manufacturer's life-expiry and remove from service accordingly' on very old items which tare certified as safe for use. At the same inspection as the photo, I found a different manufacturer's lanyard with a very specific 5 year life-expiry from date of purchase, not date of first use. Best to arm yourself with the right data and make informed decisions which you can stand by 👍