MSA is issuing this Updated Safety Advisory to inform you that MSA has received field reports that a limited number of green colored MSA V-Gard Protective Caps are cracking.  The cracking is detectable upon visual inspection and occurs at the top of the cap, as shown on the attached Updated Safety Advisory in Figure 1.  Note that MSA’s Type I Protective Helmet Instructions (Figure 2 on the attached Updated Safety Advisory), which are shipped with each V-Gard Protective Cap, require that an inspection be performed before and after each use and that damaged shells be replaced.  The label on the V-Gard Protective Caps also requires replacement of any part showing wear or damage before using.

The July 17, 2018 version of this Safety Advisory communicated that, when a crack occurs in  a cap, the impact and penetration protection of the cap may be affected.  However, additional testing has been performed and MSA has determined that the crack does not affect the impact or penetration performance of the helmet.  However, the crack does void the Class E rating of the protective cap. 

Additionally, effective with this update, MSA is expanding the date range associated with the Safety Advisory to include any month between April and October 2017.

Considering the test results and the fact that the cracks are detectable, MSA is recommending that you remove protective caps exhibiting signs of cracking from service and replace them via our warranty program, rather than replacing all potentially impacted protective caps before cracks are observed.  However, in an effort to provide our customers with superior service, MSA will honor requests to replace ANY green colored V-Gard cap meeting the criteria in the “Identifying and Addressing Affected MSA V-Gard Protective Caps” section of this Updated Safety Advisory.

MSA is advising all V-Gard Protective Cap customers to remove from service, render unusable, and dispose of any protective caps that exhibit cracking.

Identifying and Addressing Affected MSA V-Gard Protective Caps

Should you elect to replace all potentially affected MSA V-Gard Protective Caps, use the following steps to identify potentially affected product:

1. Confirm that the cap is green in color and a cap style with a brim only in the front.  See Figure 1 on the attached Updated Safety Advisory.
2. Review the label on the back inside of your cap to confirm that it is a V-Gard.
3. Confirm that the protective cap was manufactured between April 2017 and October 2017.  The manufacturing date is molded into the helmet underneath the front brim.  See Figure 3 on the attached Updated Safety Advisory.
4. Confirm that the protective cap has “ENSAMBLADO in MEXICO” molded under the brim OR has a label with “PRODUCT OF U.S.”.  See Figure 4 and Figure 5 on the attached Updated Safety Advisory.

Replacing Affected MSA V-Gard Protective Caps

We recognize that this is an inconvenience and in an effort to minimize any disruption, we pledge to take any replacement actions as expeditiously as possible. 

If you are in possession of cracked or potentially affected green colored MSA V-Gard Protective Caps, we will provide you with replacements free of charge.

To receive your replacements, complete the MSA V-Gard Protective Cap Replacement Form on page 6 of the attached Updated Safety Advisory and e-mail it to Customer Service as indicated on the form.  If the caps were originally purchased with a customized logo, please provide the original logo order number and we will apply the logo to the replacement caps.  Replacement caps will be shipped to you.

MSA Customer Service Contact Information:

If you have any questions regarding this Updated Safety Advisory, please contact MSA Customer Service as follows:

• U.S., Canada, or U.S. Territories - 1-866-672-0005 or email:  ProductSafetyNotices@MSAsafety.com.

• Outside the U.S., Canada, and U.S. Territories - 724-776-8626 or email:  LAMZonecs@MSAsafety.com.

We apologize for any inconveniences that this may cause; however, your safety and continued satisfaction with our products is important to us.

Best regards,

Nathan Andrulonis

Manager of Product Safety