Impact bag inflators contain energetic components that have finite lives as either a function of age or environment, or a combination of both. Because of their application these inflators are required to operate safely and at very high levels of reliability, in many cases after significant periods of storage and installation, and often in less than benign environments. Historically, there has been limited data available that provided assurance of the ongoing technical integrity of inflators through life leading to, at best, the tacit acceptance of higher levels of risk associated with the continued operation of these items. At worst, there is the possibility of unsafe operation of inflators.

This paper proposes an ongoing program that builds on existing initial design certification and production acceptance test activities by conducting performance monitoring activities (termed surveillance activities) on items that have experienced both typical and more severe environments over their expected design life. This program has its basis in Configuration Management (CM), which provides a sound engineering framework for determining the safety status and performance of inflators. The program mitigates many of the asset management risks, is cost effective, easily targeted at inflators that have experienced more extreme environments and, as a continuous operation, provides ongoing confidence in the safety and performance of inflators.