For Immediate Release
January 22, 2018
Med-Eng EOD 10 Bomb Suit Certified to New NIJ Standard
Suit and helmet ensemble exceeds stringent new testing to obtain certification
OTTAWA, Canada – Med-Eng®, a brand of The Safariland Group, announced today that its EOD® 10 bomb suit has been officially certified to the new NIJ Standard 0117.01 for bomb suits. With this achievement, EOD 10 suits and helmets manufactured as of January 2018 will meet or surpass a comprehensive and stringent set of protection levels, performance tests and manufacturing standards developed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to help protect bomb disposal technicians and EOD operators. The EOD 10 bomb suit will be on display at the 2018 SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor and Trade) Show, January 23 to 26, booth #12762.
Scott O’Brien, president of The Safariland Group said, “The EOD 10 receiving NIJ certification is the latest demonstration of our longstanding commitment to providing the bomb disposal and EOD communities with the most advanced protective equipment possible. This is an important milestone, and we will continue to develop and integrate new technologies that will help front line personnel complete their mission safely and effectively.”
The 0117.01 revision of the NIJ standard for bomb suits is relatively new and is the culmination of many years of collaborative effort. It was developed with contributions from experts in regulatory and government agencies, academia and industry. The NIJ standard defines performance requirements for equipment and provides precise, detailed methods for testing to those requirements; its main purpose is to provide a standard that allows bomb disposal and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams to buy protective equipment that carries the assurance of having been designed for the purpose, independently validated for performance and safety, and manufactured to high quality standards. The standard covers a range of requirements, including protection from typical domestic explosive devices (blast overpressure, fragmentation, impact, heat), ergonomics, optics, field of view, emergency rescue and labelling. Special emphasis is placed on protection from pipe bomb Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Rob Reynolds, Med-Eng general manager, said, “The EOD 10 was designed from the outset to meet or exceed each of these criteria, which ensured a successful testing and validation process. In fact, the EOD 10 exceeds the requirements of the NIJ standard by offering many other protective and user-focused operational capabilities such as blast overpressure mitigation, voice recognition, integrated cooling, CBRN compatibility, communications, tactical lighting options, and weight load distribution.”
The process for earning NIJ certification is substantial and required Med-Eng to make a significant financial investment. The project involved independent testing at NIJ-approved test labs, often with multiple test samples required for evaluation. The testing protocols involved far more than the commonly-referenced V-50 fragmentation criteria, and all tests were supervised by the Safety
Equipment Institute (SEI) as the overarching certification organization. To fulfill the manufacturing obligations, audits will be conducted at Med-Eng production facilities initially and annually.
Reynolds added, “It is very important for procurement officials and program managers to recognize that NIJ certification is an ‘all or nothing’ achievement. It is misleading for any bomb suit reseller to claim that their suit is ‘compliant to’, ‘equal to’, ‘partially certified’, or ‘meets’ NIJ if they have not earned official certification. Similarly, self-certification or retroactive certification is not possible.”
To help end users and program managers understand the standard and see an authenticated listing of certified bomb suits, the SEI website www.seinet.org is the designated reference point. The site is free of charge and does not require a user account or password.
The EOD 10 is on display at The Safariland Group booth, #12762, throughout SHOT Show 2018, from January 23 to 26. During this time, customer briefings will be available to members of the law enforcement and military communities. For more information please visit www.med-eng.com.
About Med-Eng
The Med-Eng brand provides integrated and battle-proven solutions for protecting frontline personnel from blast and heat threats. Its Personal Protective Equipment and specialized tools for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), bomb disposal, tactical operations and demining are trusted by military and public safety agencies in approximately 100 countries and territories worldwide. Its Crew Survivability solutions, including customized blast attenuation seats and thermal management systems, protect military vehicle crews and their mission-critical electronics. All Med-Eng equipment is engineered and rigorously tested to help save lives and enhance operational capabilities. Med-Eng is a part of The Safariland Group of brands. For more information, visit www.med-eng.com.
About The Safariland Group
The Safariland Group is a leading global provider of a broad range of safety and survivability products designed for the public safety, military, professional and outdoor markets. The Safariland Group offers a number of recognized brand names in these markets including Safariland®, Med-Eng®, Safariland® Armor, Safariland® VIEVU®, Mustang Survival®, Bianchi®, Break Free®, PROTECH® Tactical, Defense Technology®, Hatch®, Monadnock®, Identicator® and NIK®. The Safariland Group’s mission, “Together, We Save Lives”, is inherent in the lifesaving and protective products it delivers. The Safariland Group is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The Safariland Group is a trade name of Safariland, LLC.
For more information about The Safariland Group and these products, please visit www.safariland.com. For media resources and information, please visit the www.safariland.com/media-center.html.
For further information, please contact:
Angie Mathews – CGPR
(714) 768-1140
Angie@cgprpublicrelations.com
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