Decision 09 · Service life
Plan Inspection, Care and Retirement Before Bulk Release
Visibility fades, reflectors become dirty, plastics crack, foam and straps are damaged, closures wear and labels disappear. The range needs product-specific checks and a replacement workflow, not one generic care sentence.
Define receiving and pre-use checks
Inspect identity, size, colour, visible material, stitching, closures, buckles, foam/inflation parts, device shape, reflectors, seams and labels as relevant. Record acceptance by SKU and batch.
Write care around the performance feature
Cleaning, washing, drying, storage, inflation maintenance or surface care can affect the feature being claimed. Use instructions supported by the material and finished product.
Create damage and retirement criteria
Define faded, contaminated, torn, punctured, cracked, deformed, leaking, missing, unreadable or non-serviceable conditions. The applicable authority and product instruction determine final withdrawal rules.
Capture field feedback and incidents
Link issue to product code, batch, user, site, environment, care, photos and failure location. Quarantine suspect stock and separate misuse, wear and manufacturing causes before correction.