Technician reported that during the removal of seats from aircraft X; it was noted the life vests ha...

Narrative:

While preparing seats for removal from aircraft during an S1 check; the life vests were being removed and were found to have the wrong safety seals installed. The seals installed were a much heavier style that required cutting to get the life vest removed from [the] pouch. In an actual emergency event the vests would be inaccessible. This is the third aircraft accepted into ZZZ heavy maintenance were this has been found. Aircraft X was the aircraft prior to Y which had the same problem.the origin of where the seals where installed is unknown and it would be very difficult to trace down this fact. The wrong seals may be mixed with or replaced by mistake at one of the maintenance stations stocking facilities.suggestions: the stock stations need to check existing inventory and verify the correct seals are stocked and a reminder needs to be issued to have maintenance personnel look to verify [the] correct seal [is] installed on the life vests at every ron maintenance station.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Technician reported that during the removal of seats from Aircraft X; it was noted the life vests had the wrong safety seals installed. Reportedly; the same issue has been found on three other aircraft during heavy maintenance work.

Narrative: While preparing seats for removal from aircraft during an S1 check; the life vests were being removed and were found to have the wrong safety seals installed. The seals installed were a much heavier style that required cutting to get the life vest removed from [the] pouch. In an actual emergency event the vests would be inaccessible. This is the third aircraft accepted into ZZZ heavy maintenance were this has been found. Aircraft X was the Aircraft prior to Y which had the same problem.The origin of where the seals where installed is unknown and it would be very difficult to trace down this fact. The wrong seals may be mixed with or replaced by mistake at one of the maintenance stations stocking facilities.Suggestions: The stock stations need to check existing inventory and verify the correct seals are stocked and a reminder needs to be issued to have Maintenance personnel look to verify [the] correct seal [is] installed on the life vests at every RON maintenance station.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1733986
Time
Date	202003
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Phase	Parked
Component
Aircraft Component	Lifevest/Jacket
Person 1
Function	Technician
Qualification	Maintenance Airframe Maintenance Powerplant
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Technician reported that during the removal of seats from aircraft X; it was noted the life vests had the wrong safety seals installed. Reportedly; the same issue has been found on three other aircraft during heavy maintenance work.