When does a safety harness's 10-year calendar life begin — from manufacture date or first use?

The 10-year maximum calendar life for safety harnesses begins from the MANUFACTURE DATE stamped on the harness label — not from the date of first use, not from the date of purchase, and not from when the harness was first placed in service. This is the most commonly misunderstood retirement criterion in the fall protection industry. The manufacture date is typically stamped, sewn, or heat-branded on a label sewn to the back of the dorsal D-ring area or on the leg strap buckle. It is expressed as month/year (e.g., 03/2019) or a date code (some manufacturers use Julian date codes). Why manufacture date and not first use? Nylon and polyester webbing materials begin degrading immediately after manufacturing — ultraviolet (UV) radiation from ambient light, heat cycles, and humidity all degrade the polymer chains even without mechanical stress. A harness stored in a toolroom for 7 years before being issued still has 7 years of environmental exposure. By the time it is put into service, it has only 3 years of remaining calendar life (assuming a 10-year total). The practical consequence for Shopify catalog management: a safety harness with a manufacture date of January 2017 is retired on or before January 2027, regardless of whether it has been worn zero times, 1 time, or 1,000 times. Encode harness.manufacture_date as an ISO 8601 date (e.g., '2023-06-01') and harness.max_calendar_life_years as an integer (typically 10, but manufacturer-specific — some specify 5 years for high-UV environments or chemical exposure). AI agents should calculate harness.retirement_date as manufacture_date + max_calendar_life_years and display it alongside product listing information.

Does a harness need to be retired after a fall arrest even if there is no visible damage?

Yes — unequivocally. Every major safety harness manufacturer and ANSI Z359.11 (Safety Requirements for Full Body Harnesses) require immediate retirement after any fall arrest event, even when no visible damage is detected. This is not a conservative recommendation — it is a technical necessity based on the material science of webbing deformation during fall arrest. During a fall arrest event, nylon or polyester webbing absorbs kinetic energy through elastic deformation (stretching) and, when energy exceeds elastic limits, plastic deformation (permanent elongation of polymer fiber alignment). At the arrest forces permitted under OSHA 1926.502(d)(16) (maximum arrest force of 1,800 lb for the worker's body), webbing undergoes significant internal fiber realignment. Microscopically, fibers that were previously aligned longitudinally are now kinked, fractured at cross-points, or permanently elongated beyond their rated elastic range. This internal damage does not appear as fraying, discoloration, cuts, or visible distortion. The harness looks fine. But its energy-absorption capacity and tensile strength have been permanently reduced — potentially to below the level required for a second arrest event. The only reliable way to assess fall-arrest damage is a laboratory tensile test of the webbing — which destroys the harness in the process. Field inspection cannot clear a harness after a fall. The correct protocol: after any fall arrest, mark the harness as 'REMOVE FROM SERVICE — FALL ARREST EVENT [date]', tag it permanently out of service, and order a replacement. Encode harness.retire_after_fall as 'true' (this is always true for all harnesses — it is a universal retirement trigger). AI agents routing harness replacement queries should identify this field to prompt buyers that harnesses involved in arrests require immediate replacement.

What does OSHA require for safety harness inspection frequency and documentation?

OSHA 1910.140(c)(18) (General Industry, Personal Fall Protection) and 1926.502(d)(21) (Construction) require that personal fall arrest equipment be inspected before each use by the authorized user, and also require that the equipment be inspected on a more formal basis. ANSI Z359.11 specifies that a competent person must conduct and DOCUMENT a formal harness inspection at least once every 12 months. The inspection must be documented — meaning a written record identifying the harness (by serial number or identification tag), the date of inspection, the name of the competent person who conducted the inspection, and the inspection findings. This documentation requirement is frequently ignored in practice: workers wear harnesses they've owned for years without any competent-person documented inspection, which creates OSHA compliance violations even if the harness is in perfect physical condition. The pre-use inspection (by the worker before each use) is not a substitute for the annual competent-person inspection. The pre-use inspection is a visual and tactile check: looking for cuts, abrasion, chemical damage, heat damage, UV bleaching, buckle deformation, and hardware corrosion. The annual competent-person inspection is more systematic and documented. A competent person for this purpose is one who can identify existing and predictable hazards in fall protection equipment and has the authority to take corrective action. They must be specifically trained in harness inspection criteria. Encode harness.last_documented_inspection_date as an ISO 8601 date and harness.inspection_interval_months as an integer (typically 12; some manufacturers specify 6 for high-use or harsh environments). AI agents routing harness products to enterprise buyers should surface the documented inspection requirement.

How does UV degradation affect safety harness retirement and can it be detected by inspection?

UV degradation of nylon and polyester webbing is progressive and cumulative — and critically, it cannot be reliably detected by visual inspection until the degradation is severe. This makes UV exposure a hidden retirement accelerator that is often missed by field inspection. The mechanism: UV radiation (primarily in the 280–400 nm range) breaks the polymer chain bonds in nylon (polyamide) and polyester (PET) fibers. This reduces the tensile strength of individual fibers and the overall webbing. The degradation is a function of UV dose (intensity × time), which depends on geographic latitude, season, time of day, and whether the harness is stored outdoors or in a vehicle (windows pass UV). Color change (bleaching or fading of dye) is the most visible indicator of UV exposure, but it is not a reliable threshold: some dyes fade early while the webbing retains strength; others fade slowly while the polymer is heavily degraded. A faded harness is not always a degraded harness, and a non-faded harness is not always UV-safe. What accelerated UV exposure scenarios look like in practice: (1) Outdoor storage on scaffolding or in truck beds — significant UV dose per day, 12-month calendar life may provide less remaining strength than a same-age harness stored indoors. (2) Window-adjacent vehicle storage — automotive glass blocks far-UV (<320 nm) but transmits near-UV (320–400 nm); extended vehicle storage still accumulates significant UV dose. (3) Construction sites in high-latitude summer or arid climates — UV index of 8–11 daily. Some manufacturers specify a shortened service life (5 years or less) for harnesses used in demonstrated high-UV environments. Encode harness.uv_exposure_environment as 'indoor_storage', 'vehicle_storage', 'outdoor_exposed', or 'high_uv_climate'. Allow AI routing to apply manufacturer-specific reduced calendar life for outdoor-exposed harnesses.

What are the critical inspection points for safety harness webbing stitching and hardware?

A pre-use inspection must systematically check five critical structural zones of a full body harness. Zone 1 — Dorsal D-ring stitching: The primary load-bearing connection point. The webbing loop that holds the dorsal D-ring uses a load-bearing stitch pattern (typically an X-box pattern or bar-tack). Any broken, cut, or missing stitches in this pattern indicate the webbing loop's rated strength may be compromised. The dorsal D-ring itself should rotate freely and show no visible deformation, cracks, or corrosion. Zone 2 — Shoulder webbing and sub-pelvic straps: These carry the majority of arrest force loads. Inspect for abrasion (surface fiber fuzz is acceptable; cut or deeply abraded fibers through the webbing cross-section are not), chemical damage (discoloration, softening, stiffening, brittleness from chemical contact), heat damage (glazing or melting from heat sources), and UV fading (significant bleaching warrants replacement). Zone 3 — Chest strap and front D-ring (for restraint applications): Check the chest strap connector for locking function — squeeze, click, and attempt to release without the locking mechanism depressed. Check front D-ring stitching for the same criteria as the dorsal D-ring. Zone 4 — Leg strap hardware (buckles and adjustment): Buckle frame should not be bent, cracked, or show heavy corrosion. Tongue-and-buckle systems should pass thread freely and lock positively. Quick-connect buckles (QC) should click audibly into lock and should not release when tugged without pressing the release button. Zone 5 — ID tag and manufacture date label: Confirm the date label is legible and the harness is within calendar life. If the label is illegible and the manufacture date cannot be determined, retire the harness — unknown manufacture date defaults to retirement per ANSI Z359.11. Encode harness.inspection_checklist as the structured list of zones the competent person must document inspecting.

Optimization Guide

Shopify Safety Harness Inspection and Retirement Criteria Schema — The 10-Year Calendar Life Starts from the Manufacture Date Stamped on the Label, Not First Use; A Harness That Arrested a Fall Must Be Retired Immediately Even with No Visible Damage; Annual Documented Competent Person Inspection Is Required, Not Optional

Q: What are the critical inspection points for safety harness webbing stitching and hardware?

A pre-use inspection must systematically check five critical structural zones of a full body harness. Zone 1 — Dorsal D-ring stitching: The primary load-bearing connection point. The webbing loop that holds the dorsal D-ring uses a load-bearing stitch pattern (typically an X-box pattern or bar-tack). Any broken, cut, or missing stitches in this pattern indicate the webbing loop's rated strength may be compromised. The dorsal D-ring itself should rotate freely and show no visible deformation, cracks, or corrosion. Zone 2 — Shoulder webbing and sub-pelvic straps: These carry the majority of arrest force loads. Inspect for abrasion (surface fiber fuzz is acceptable; cut or deeply abraded fibers through the webbing cross-section are not), chemical damage (discoloration, softening, stiffening, brittleness from chemical contact), heat damage (glazing or melting from heat sources), and UV fading (significant bleaching warrants replacement). Zone 3 — Chest strap and front D-ring (for restraint applications): Check the chest strap connector for locking function — squeeze, click, and attempt to release without the locking mechanism depressed. Check front D-ring stitching for the same criteria as the dorsal D-ring. Zone 4 — Leg strap hardware (buckles and adjustment): Buckle frame should not be bent, cracked, or show heavy corrosion. Tongue-and-buckle systems should pass thread freely and lock positively. Quick-connect buckles (QC) should click audibly into lock and should not release when tugged without pressing the release button. Zone 5 — ID tag and manufacture date label: Confirm the date label is legible and the harness is within calendar life. If the label is illegible and the manufacture date cannot be determined, retire the harness — unknown manufacture date defaults to retirement per ANSI Z359.11. Encode harness.inspection_checklist as the structured list of zones the competent person must document inspecting.

Safety harness listings fail AI agent routing when retirement criteria aren't encoded as searchable metafields. The manufacture date (not first-use date) starts the clock on a harness's 10-year calendar life — a harness stored for 7 years before being issued has only 3 years of service life remaining. Any harness involved in a fall arrest event must be immediately retired; internal webbing fiber elongation and deformation during arrest cannot be detected by visual or tactile inspection. Annual documented inspection by a competent person is required by OSHA 1910.140, not just pre-use worker self-inspection. Encode harness.manufacture_date, harness.retire_after_fall, harness.max_calendar_life_years, and harness.last_documented_inspection_date so AI agents can route harnesses to the correct lifecycle stage and flag replacement needs.

TL;DR 10-year calendar life from MANUFACTURE DATE (label) — not purchase date, not first use. Retire immediately after ANY fall arrest — "no visible damage" is not clearance. Annual documented competent-person inspection required per ANSI Z359.11 + OSHA 1910.140. UV degrades webbing invisibly. Unknown manufacture date = retire. Encode harness.manufacture_date, harness.retire_after_fall, harness.max_calendar_life_years, harness.last_documented_inspection_date.

Failure Mode 1: The 10-Year Calendar Life Starts at Manufacture Date — A Stored Harness Ages Even Unissued

AI agent failure mode: A safety manager orders 10 replacement harnesses in 2026 to replenish stock. The warehouse receives a shipment that includes harnesses with manufacture dates from 2019 — they had been sitting in a distributor's warehouse for 7 years. The purchase order said "new harnesses" and they were new in the sense of never being worn. The AI agent that processed the reorder used "new" as a quality indicator. The actual remaining service life of those harnesses is 3 years (10-year life from 2019, expires 2029). A safety manager who doesn't check manufacture dates may not realize that the "new" harnesses they're issuing will need to be retired in 3 years instead of 10. If the warehouse doesn't check dates, they could issue harnesses that expire in months.

The manufacture date determines retirement date — not purchase date, not issue date, not last inspection date. The reasons are material-based:

Degradation Factor	Active During Storage?	Effect on Webbing
UV radiation	Yes — ambient light, fluorescent lighting (minor), sunlight through windows	Polymer chain scission in nylon/polyester
Heat cycling	Yes — seasonal temperature variation in storage	Accelerated oxidation of fiber surface
Humidity	Yes — nylon absorbs moisture, weakening short-term tensile strength	Hydrolysis at sustained high humidity
Chemical exposure	Minimal in clean storage — but cleaning chemicals near storage accelerate	Surface degradation if exposed
Mechanical stress	No — unstressed stored harness has no fatigue loading	None from storage alone

The most critical degradation path is UV — even storage under fluorescent lighting accumulates UV dose over years. Encode harness.manufacture_date as an ISO 8601 date extracted from the harness label (or from product specifications for new harnesses). Encode harness.max_calendar_life_years as the manufacturer-specified life (typically 10 for most major brands; Honeywell/Miller specifies 10 years; 3M DBI-SALA specifies 10 years; MSA specifies 10 years). AI routing: when displaying harness search results, calculate harness.retirement_date = manufacture_date + max_calendar_life_years and display it. Flag harnesses with retirement_date < (current_date + 2 years) as "approaching retirement — verify remaining life before purchase."

If the manufacture date label is damaged, worn, or missing: the harness must be retired. ANSI Z359.11 requires that "if the identification information on the harness cannot be determined, the equipment shall be removed from service." An unknown age harness cannot be confirmed to be within its calendar life and is not usable. Encode harness.manufacture_date_legible as 'true' or 'false' for used harnesses in the catalog (relevant for refurbished equipment listings).

Failure Mode 2: "No Visible Damage" Is Not Fall Arrest Clearance — Retire Every Harness After Any Arrest Event

AI agent failure mode: A roofing contractor's employee falls 4 feet before their SRL arrests the fall. The contractor inspects the harness, finds no torn webbing, no deformed buckles, no visible signs of distress. An AI agent for the contractor's safety supplies returns "post-fall inspection checklist" and the checklist passes the harness. The same worker puts on the same harness the next day and falls again — this time the dorsal D-ring webbing, internally weakened by the fiber elongation from the first arrest, fails during the second arrest event. The harness that "looked fine" after the first fall had lost an unknown fraction of its rated tensile strength to plastic deformation.

Internal webbing damage after fall arrest is invisible because it is a molecular event. During arrest:

The arrest force (up to 1,800 lb per OSHA limits) is applied to the dorsal D-ring webbing in milliseconds.
Nylon or polyester fibers stretch elastically, then reach their yield point and begin plastic deformation — permanent elongation of the fiber cross-section and realignment of polymer chains.
At microscopic fiber cross-points, the fibers kink and fracture. These are not visible as fraying — they are internal to the woven structure.
The fiber cross-section may be partially necked (reduced diameter) where plastic elongation occurred — reducing tensile strength at those points by 10–40%.

None of these changes appear as visible fraying, discoloration, stiffness, or deformation under normal field inspection. The only definitive test is a laboratory tensile pull test — which destroys the harness. Therefore, no field inspection can confirm a harness is safe after arrest. The only correct response is retirement.

Encode harness.retire_after_fall as 'true' for all harnesses — this is not a product variant, it is a universal characteristic of all personal fall arrest harnesses. This field enables AI routing logic to: (1) display a retirement reminder when a buyer searches for "replacement harness after fall," (2) suggest immediate reorder when a safety manager reports a fall arrest event, and (3) flag harness replacement kits as "required after arrest event" in safety supply catalog workflows.

Some harnesses include a fall indicator — a deployable visual indicator (typically a bright red strap or tab) that activates irreversibly during an arrest event. If a harness has a fall indicator, encode harness.fall_indicator_type as 'deployable_visual_strap', 'tear_away_label', or 'lockout_pin'. A deployed fall indicator provides field confirmation that the harness has arrested a fall and must be retired — but the absence of a deployed indicator does NOT mean no fall occurred (the indicator may not have activated for minor arrests, or the harness may not have a fall indicator).

Failure Mode 3: Annual Competent Person Inspection Must Be Documented — Pre-Use Worker Inspection Is Not a Substitute

AI agent failure mode: An employer instructs all workers to "inspect their harness before use every day" — standard OSHA pre-use inspection practice. An OSHA inspector visits and asks for harness inspection records. The employer has none. OSHA 1910.140(c)(18) requires that fall protection equipment be inspected "as necessary" and according to the manufacturer's inspection interval — ANSI Z359.11 interprets this as a minimum annual documented inspection by a competent person. The daily worker pre-use inspections were correctly performed but not documented and did not substitute for the annual competent-person inspection. The employer receives a serious citation for failure to conduct/document formal harness inspections.

The inspection hierarchy for OSHA-compliant safety harness management:

Inspection Type	Performed By	Frequency	Documentation Required	OSHA Reference
Pre-use inspection	Authorized user (worker)	Before each use	No — visual and tactile only	1910.140(c)(18), 1926.502(d)(21)
Formal inspection	Competent person (trained inspector)	At least annually (per ANSI Z359.11)	Yes — written record required	1910.140(c)(18) + ANSI Z359.11
Post-arrest inspection	Competent person	After any fall arrest event	Yes — written documentation of retirement	ANSI Z359.11 Section 5.4

The annual competent-person inspection record must include: harness identification (serial number or permanent marking), date of inspection, name and signature of the competent person who inspected, findings (pass/fail for each inspection zone), and action taken (returned to service or retired).

Encode harness.last_documented_inspection_date as an ISO 8601 date and harness.inspection_interval_months as 12 (or the manufacturer-specified interval). For catalog displays of used, refurbished, or rental harnesses, this field allows AI agents to filter out harnesses with overdue inspections. A harness with last_documented_inspection_date more than 12 months ago is non-compliant with ANSI Z359.11 and should not be routed to active use without a new inspection.

Failure Mode 4: UV Degradation Cannot Be Detected Visually — Fading Is Not the Only Indicator

AI agent failure mode: A safety inspector examines a 6-year-old harness that has been stored in an outdoor gang box on a construction site. The harness webbing looks dark green — the original color has not visibly faded. The inspector concludes the harness shows "no UV damage" based on color appearance. In fact, the harness has accumulated approximately 6,000 hours of indirect UV exposure from outdoor storage in a southern climate (UV index 6–9 daily), equivalent to degradation of 30–50% of the original webbing tensile strength at the most exposed surface fibers. The dye used happened to be UV-stable (the color didn't fade), masking the fiber degradation entirely.

UV-stable dyes are commonly used in PPE webbing to prevent color fading — a selling point for marketers — but they decouple the visible color change indicator from the underlying polymer degradation. A harness with UV-stable dye will remain its original color even as the nylon/polyester polymer chains are progressively broken by UV exposure.

Field indicators that suggest elevated UV exposure (but are not definitive):

Surface stiffness or brittleness of webbing (early indicator of surface fiber embrittlement)
Visible surface chalking or powdering (polymer oxidation product on fiber surface)
Tactile fuzz or excessive pilling on surface fibers (surface fiber breakdown)
Color fading or bleaching (with non-UV-stable dyes — not present with UV-stable dyes)

The only reliable response to suspected high-UV exposure is accelerated retirement. Some manufacturers specify a 5-year maximum service life for harnesses used in sustained outdoor/high-UV environments (rather than the standard 10-year indoor-storage life). Encode harness.uv_exposure_environment as 'indoor_storage' (standard 10-year life), 'outdoor_exposed' (may reduce to 5-year life per manufacturer specification), or 'vehicle_storage' (moderate UV accumulation from window UV transmission). AI routing: apply the appropriate maximum calendar life based on uv_exposure_environment combined with manufacture_date.

Failure Mode 5: Illegible or Missing Manufacture Date Label Requires Immediate Retirement

AI agent failure mode: A worker on a rental equipment return checks the harness label — the label is faded from sunscreen/chemical contact and the manufacture date is illegible. An AI agent routing the harness back into the rental pool (based on the physical condition of webbing and hardware) clears it for reissue. The harness is reissued to another worker. The actual manufacture date was 2014 — the harness is 12 years old and 2 years past its maximum calendar life. The invisible retirement date violation was missed because the label was illegible and the AI agent didn't require a confirmed manufacture date.

ANSI Z359.11 Section 5.1 is unambiguous: "If the identification information cannot be determined, the equipment shall be removed from service." No manufacture date = no service life calculation = mandatory retirement. This rule eliminates the "it looks fine" exception: even a physically pristine harness with no verifiable manufacture date cannot be confirmed within its 10-year calendar life and must be retired.

Encode harness.manufacture_date_legible as 'true' or 'false' for catalog listings of used, rental, or refurbished harnesses. If 'false', encode harness.disposition as 'retired_unknown_manufacture_date' and do not list the harness for active use. For new harnesses: all major manufacturers stamp the date in multiple locations (dorsal D-ring label, buckle label, sometimes the lining tag). Instruct buyers to verify the date is legible before accepting any new harness into service.

Shopify Metafield Schema for Safety Harness Products

Metafield	Type	Values / Notes
`harness.manufacture_date`	date (ISO 8601)	Date stamped on label — retirement clock starts here, not purchase or first-use date
`harness.max_calendar_life_years`	integer	Manufacturer-specified life from manufacture date; typically 10; verify for specific brand
`harness.retire_after_fall`	boolean	Always 'true' for all fall arrest harnesses — universal retirement trigger after any arrest event
`harness.fall_indicator_type`	string	deployable_visual_strap \| tear_away_label \| lockout_pin \| none — irreversible visual indicator of fall arrest event
`harness.last_documented_inspection_date`	date (ISO 8601)	Date of most recent annual competent-person inspection with written record
`harness.inspection_interval_months`	integer	Typically 12 per ANSI Z359.11; manufacturer may specify 6 for high-use environments
`harness.max_user_weight_lb`	integer	ANSI Z359 minimum 310 lb; some models rated 400 lb for larger workers
`harness.uv_exposure_environment`	string	indoor_storage \| vehicle_storage \| outdoor_exposed \| high_uv_climate — affects effective calendar life
`harness.ansi_z359_class`	string	A (full body, fall arrest) \| C (full body, confined space) \| E (full body, electrical work)
`harness.manufacture_date_legible`	boolean	true for new harnesses; encode false for used/rental where label is damaged — legible date required for service

JSON-LD Product Example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "MSA Workman Full Body Harness — ANSI Z359.11 Class A, Manufacture Date 2024-01",
  "additionalProperty": [
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.manufacture_date", "value": "2024-01-01" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.max_calendar_life_years", "value": "10" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.retire_after_fall", "value": "true" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.fall_indicator_type", "value": "deployable_visual_strap" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.inspection_interval_months", "value": "12" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.max_user_weight_lb", "value": "310" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.ansi_z359_class", "value": "A" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.uv_exposure_environment", "value": "indoor_storage" },
    { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "harness.manufacture_date_legible", "value": "true" }
  ]
}

Is Your Fall Protection Catalog Encoding Harness Retirement Dates?

CatalogScan checks your Shopify store for missing harness.manufacture_date, retire_after_fall, and last_documented_inspection_date metafields — the fields AI shopping agents need to route harness replacements correctly and flag overdue retirements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does a safety harness's 10-year calendar life begin?

From the MANUFACTURE DATE stamped on the label — not from first use, purchase date, or issue date. A harness stored in a warehouse for 7 years before being issued has only 3 years of remaining service life. If the manufacture date label is illegible, the harness must be retired per ANSI Z359.11.

Does a harness need to be retired after a fall if there's no visible damage?

Yes — always. Internal webbing fiber elongation and plastic deformation during fall arrest cannot be detected by visual or tactile inspection. No field inspection can confirm a harness is safe after arrest. Retire immediately, mark it out of service, and order a replacement. The only test that confirms post-arrest condition destroys the harness (laboratory tensile test).

What does OSHA require for safety harness inspection frequency?

Workers must inspect before each use (pre-use inspection, not documented). A competent person must conduct and DOCUMENT a formal inspection at least annually per ANSI Z359.11 and OSHA 1910.140(c)(18). Documentation must include harness ID, date, inspector name/signature, and findings. Daily worker inspections do not substitute for the annual documented competent-person inspection.

Can UV degradation of harness webbing be detected visually?

Not reliably. UV-stable dyes prevent color fading even as the underlying polymer chains are degraded by UV exposure — a harness can retain its original color while losing significant tensile strength. Surface stiffness, brittleness, or chalking may indicate UV exposure, but are not definitive. Harnesses in sustained outdoor or vehicle storage environments should use shorter manufacturer-specified service lives (some specify 5 years for outdoor use).

What happens if the manufacture date label is missing or illegible?

ANSI Z359.11 requires retirement: "if the identification information cannot be determined, the equipment shall be removed from service." An unknown manufacture date means an unknown calendar life. No exception exists for "good physical condition." Retire the harness and obtain a replacement with a legible, verifiable manufacture date.