A recent press release from a safety helmet manufacturer has highlighted the need to buy from legitimate sources and check that your PPE is indeed what it is supposed to be. JSP, a manufacturer of hard hats has discovered a potentially lethal batch of poor quality counterfeits of the JSP MkII safety helmet which they believe has originated from Asia or the Middle East. These bogus hard hats can apparently be split in two with your bare hands! They are easily identifiable from the marks ‘Burly’ and ‘MkII’ under the peak.
Matthew Judson, JSP’s director of technical support, said users should make sure JSP’s name is branded into the helmet, and ensure that the user information leaflet is original – not a photocopy that is not square on the page – correctly spelled, in multiple languages, and with the manufacture’s contact details listed.
They should examine the helmet closely for consistency of colour, clarity and legibility of markings and make sure it is durable.
He said: “If you suspect a helmet is fake, give us a call and we will send someone out to have a look at it, or take it back to the place you bought it from. If someone had been wearing a bogus helmet and an object had fallen on their head they could be dead. Fakes can kill”.
