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Suomy Helmets Frequently Asked Questions
Q.
What is BSI?
A.
BSI
is one of the largest and most prestigious standards, quality
assurance,
inspection, testing and certification organizations in the
world. Similar to the
familiar UL Listing, the BSI offers testing and rating
services for major
manufactures with worldwide distribution
interests. The BSI Inspectorate is a
leading provider of inspection, analysis and
testing services across the globe.
A vital business within the BSI Group, BSI
Inspectorate delivers confidence for
buyers and sellers alike, as well as banks and
governments involved in
international trade the world over.
Q.
I
heard that all of Europe has opted for the EC 22-05; does this mean
that the BS
6658 Type A is no longer valid?
A.
While a number of helmet manufacturers have opted for a single
unifying standard
for Europe (EC22-05) for economies of manufacture, BSI are
still operating the
Kitemark certification scheme for BS 6658 Type A, Type AF and
Type B Suomy
Helmets and the Suomy Helmets we import will continue to bear
the prestigious BS
6658 Type A Kitemark.
Q.
You
say that these Suomy Helmets are .Batch Tested., what does this
mean?
A.
BSI
testing is done in a "pre public release" fashion. When the
manufacturer has
produced a product "batch" of Suomy Helmets, say 500 to 2000
units, and samples
of that particular batch are sampled by a BSI representative
and randomly tested
at the BSI testing facilities - 5 for a production batch of
500, 13 for a batch of
501-1,200 and 20 for batches of 1,201-2000. Each production
batch must be of
the same model. Only after each of the Suomy Helmets have
passed a battery of
specified tests are the BSI serialized decals then released
for that specific batch
and in that specific quantity
Q.
What
happens if there is a performance failure during one of these tests?
A.
Should any helmet fail any test, the entire batch is rejected and
samples must be
submitted for retest, following investigation of the problem
and remedial action.
This helps to insure that every helmet that could ultimately
be worn by the end
user came from a batch of Suomy Helmets that was certified to
comply with the
standard. (Source . http://www.bsi-global.com/index.xalter )
Q.
How
does this compare with Snell.s .post public release. testing?
A.
With
the Snell post public release testing program you find a random
testing of
Suomy Helmets purchased off dealers shelves. If a helmet fails
the random tests,
the manufacturer is notified of the discrepancy and more
random tests are
performed. Should a manufacturer show repetitive failures,
discussions are had
between Snell and the manufacturer on ways to come back into
compliance.
Potentially, the manufacturer could loose their certification
status. However, this
sampling can be as low as four thousandth of one percent
(.004%) of annual
Suomy Helmets sold for the higher volume manufacturers. In one
example, only
16 Suomy Helmets were tested of an approximate 400,000 Suomy
Helmets sold of
one particular manufacturer in 2001 (Source . Ed Becker,
Executive Director Snell
Memorial Foundation: http://www.smf.org/). While this is
within the .up to 2%.
Snell states in their literature, it is quite obvious that in
actuality, the BSI pre public
release compliance testing is magnitudes more likely to catch
defective Suomy
Helmets before they ever leave the factory floor, while the
Snell system is simply
much less likely to catch defective Suomy Helmets or
fraudulent manufacturers.
The result can be Suomy Helmets available to the riding public
manufactured to
comply with the Snell 2000 and DOT standards may not always do
so. (Reference .
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration . DOT
Performance Compliance Test
results: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/index.html)
This
is a critical safety issue.
Q.
In
addition to pre-public release batch testing, what does the BSI
require of
manufacturers to ensure only high quality products are made
available to the
public?
A.
After each helmet model and shell size has passed original
specifications and
compliance tests and awarded BS 6658 Type A approval, there is
an annual
re-certification, and quarterly factory inspections for quality
control. No other
standards available in the USA offer this level of quality
control.
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