Product Alert

DBI-SALA® (formerly Capital Safety) Snap Hooks - Dated September 24, 2008

DATED SEPTEMBER 24, 2008
NOTICE: SNAP HOOK INSPECTION REQUIRED

DBI-SALA would like to inform you that there is a potential quality situation with a limited number of snap hooks and wish to provide you with detailed inspection instructions.

Situation:
DBI-SALA recently received a report that the swivel of a snap hook on a 30' AD212AG SRL became separated from the hook body. Although the user was not injured, our inspection revealed that the pin had come out of the knurled nut that connects the swivel to the hook body. The function of the pin is to prevent the possibility of the knurled nut from potentially backing out of the hook body.

This is believed to be a very isolated occurrence and limited to a single lot shipment. Although there have been no reported incidents, DBI-SALA is proactively notifying you to ensure products received in the attached shipment report are properly inspected, and to provide its customers with specific inspection steps to assist in the inspection of potentially affected snap hooks.

Cause:
The supplier of the snap hooks inadvertently missed securing the pin during the manufacturing process. As indicated above, this situation is limited to minimal quantities within one lot shipment to DBI-SALA. Since being discovered, new training and quality inspection processes for installation and staking of the pin have been implemented by the supplier to ensure this does not occur in the future. In addition, DBI-SALA has increased the receiving inspection level to ensure all hooks have a staking mark. Please note that all snap hooks shipped by DBI-SALA from September 15, 2008 have been individually inspected to ensure that the pins are secure.

Corrective Action:
While we believe the potential for a pin to be missing or loose is remote, we ask you to please communicate this Inspection Notice directly to your customers who have purchased this product and invite them to contact our customer service department at 800-328-6146 if they have any questions. We also ask you to inspect your inventory based on the shipment detail provided in the attached report. NOTE: This concern only applies to the products listed in the attached shipment report and does not impact other DBI-SALA products sold previously or in the future.

If upon inspection, a distributor or end user finds a snap hook with a loose or missing pin as described in this Notice, immediately take it out of service and contact our customer service department at 1-800-328-6146 for an RGA number. DBI-SALA will replace or repair the hook at no charge and return the product to the customer, freight prepaid. See the attached Inspection Instructions for detailed instructions and photos on how to easily identify a hook with a missing or loose pin.

We believe by working in advance with you, our valued distributor, we can isolate this quickly and ensure we continue meeting customer expectations by providing the best safety equipment on the market. Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.

Kind Regards,
Donna Sahlberg
North America Quality Manager

Inspection Instructions:

1. Inspect the hook for the pin as shown below.

Good Hook with Pin.

Hook Needs Replacement (loose or missing pin).

2. Inspect method, rotate the hook so it is oriented as shown below.

Using a 1/8" punch or similar tool, insert the punch in the hole located on the knurled  nut. Using your hand (not a hammer), hit the punch tool to confirm the pin is secure.

3. If the punch tool is not allowed to penetrate the opening, the hook is acceptable. The hook needs to be replaced if the punch tool is allowed to  pass through the opening.

Punch tool does not penetrate the hole in the knurled nut, hook is ACCEPTABLE. Repeat this on both sides.

Punch tool does penetrate hole in the knurled nut and the pin is not secure,  the hook is NOT ACCEPTABLE and needs to be returned.