The Step Change in Safety organization, which represents a number of players in the North Sea oil-and-gas industry, is reporting progress in the implementation of the safety improvement measures required by the UK CAA in its CAP 1145 review. To improve survivability in the event of a ditching, helicopters are being equipped with a better emergency breathing system (EBS) and more attention is being focused on the shape and size of passengers in relation to the size of emergency escape windows.

The new EBS, approved in July, was launched on August 18 on a flight from Scatsta to a platform in the Northern North Sea. As of September 2, more than 51,000 people had completed their EBS training, according to team leader Les Linklater. The system is now in use on every helicopter flight that supports the UK oil-and-gas industry, he said.

It was designed to fit an adolescent’s mouth and thus should be suitable for the majority of the offshore workforce. The valve prevents water from entering the mouthpiece, essentially eliminating the need to purge. The EBS has been designed to be intuitive, so the deployment procedure should be easy to remember, the organization’s experts said.

Safe Emergency Egress

Meanwhile, the passenger size workgroup has been working with an Aberdeen university to determine the size of offshore workers and how the CAA recommendations will affect those who travel offshore. “The size and shape study is complete and the results will be a crucial factor in deciding the maximum size a helicopter passenger can be,” the workgroup said.

It has decided that passengers will be measured by the width of their shoulders, not by body mass index or weight. “Shoulders are usually the widest part of a person’s body, and while other areas can be large they tend to be made up of compressible tissue,” the group said.

A standard clothing policy for workers traveling by helicopter will be introduced on October 1.