Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2013)

46 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? APRIL 2013 OFFSHOREResearch to measure offshore workers? body size with 3D scanners to inform the future design of safety equipment, survival clothing and space require-ments on offshore installations has been launched in Aberdeen. The research, which will generate an ongoing capability for measuring the size and shape of the offshore workforce, is reported to be the Þ rst of its kind in more than 25 years and is being led by re-searchers at Robert Gordon University?s Institute of Health and Welfare Research (IHWR) in collaboration with Oil and Gas U.K.. The project?s aim is to design and implement a systematic assessment of 3D measurements on a sample of ap-proximately 600 offshore workers. The data will then be used to inform all as-pects of offshore ergonomics and health and safety, from emergency helicopter evacuation and survival suit design to space availability in corridors and work environments. Project leaders Dr. Arthur Stewart, Reader, and deputy director of RGU?s Center for Obesity Research and Epidemiology (CORE), and Dr. Graham Furnace, Medical Advisor for Oil & Gas U.K. conceived the project in 2011. It includes senior Þ gures from Oil and Gas U.K. ? Robert Paterson, Health, Safety and Employment Issues Direc-tor and Bob Lauder, Health and Safety Policy Manager ? as well as data mod-eling experts Professor Patrik Holt and Dr. Eyad Elyan from RGU?s Institute for Innovation, Design and Sustainability Research (IDEAS). ?The last body size survey of offshore workers was under- taken in the mid 1980s and since then the average weight of the workforce has risen by 19%,? said Dr. Stewart. ?As a consequence the size and shape of the offshore workforce has increased to an unknown level.? ?Understanding this change in size and space requirements for the offshore workforce is important as their current workplace is designed for personnel as they were a quarter of a century ago. Knowing the actual size of the work-force, together with size increments im-posed by different types of clothing, will enable space-related risk to be managed and future design for space provision op-timized.?KTP Associate Robert Ledingham has been appointed to work on the study and will test and calibrate new portable 3D scanning technology at the University?s Center for Obesity Research and Epide-miology where the Þ rst group of volun- teers will be scanned before using it to gather more data at Falck Nutec?s off- shore training facility in Dyce.Initial research conducted by the team at RGU has shown that a 90kg man wearing a standard helicopter passen-ger survival suit increases body volume by 44 liters over that of close Þ tting clothing. Graham Furnace added, ?It is already known that the majority of the U.K. population is overweight, and off- shore workers are no different in this respect. The question of ?big people? is a major area of medical concern within the industry because of the health risks associated with being overweight, but as the initial scans of the study already conÞ rm, the issues relating to the size and shape of offshore workers also have important safety and equipment design implications.?3D Body ScanningProject Launched to Size-Up Offshore Workers Research Associate Robert Ledingham has been appointed to work on the size and shape study. ?The last body size survey of offshore workers was undertaken in the mid 1980s and since then the average weight of the workforce has risen by 19%? MR #4 (42-49).indd 46MR #4 (42-49).indd 464/2/2013 4:14:14 PM4/2/2013 4:14:14 PM