Mar.14, 2013

UK researchers have launched a project to help revolutionise safety in the North Sea by measuring offshore workers' body size with 3D scanners to inform the future design of safety equipment.

(Photo: NASA)

The research, which is claimed to be the "first of its kind" in more than 25 years, aims to design and assess three-dimensional measurements on a sample of around 600 offshore workers. The data will then be used to inform all aspects of offshore health and safety, from emergency helicopter evacuation and survival suit design to space availability in corridors and work environments.

The last body size survey of offshore workers is said to have taken place in the mid-1980s and since then the average weight of the workforce has risen by 19%.

Dr Arthur Stewart, one of the project leaders and Deputy Director at Robert Gordon University's (RDU) Centre for Obesity Research and Epidemiology said:"We want to gather data so we can help the safety of those offshore in their day-to-day work and in emergencies.""When you're evacuating a rig or a helicopter, you need to know how big people are so you can work out how many people can properly fit in a certain space, such as helicopters and lifeboats.

Knowing the actual size of the workforce, together with size increments imposed by different types of clothing, will enable space-related risk to be managed and future design for space provision optimised."

Researchers will use two scanners to produce a 3D image of each offshore worker. One is like a tardis - you stand inside it and in each column you have lasers which triangulate your body position and produce nearly a million data points. The process takes just 10 seconds, explained Dr. Stewart. Another scanner is portable and it allows researchers to visit the workforce to collect those data.

The project is led by researchers at Robert Gordon University's Institute of Health and Welfare Research (IHWR) in collaboration with experts from Oil and Gas UK. More than £150,000 in funding was secured through a combination of a Technology Strategy Board Knowledge Transfer Partnership Grant as well as support from several Oil & Gas UK member companies.

Watch the video 3D scanners used to measure size of North Sea offshore workers.

 

 

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Posted in 3D Scanning

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D3fendr wrote at 3/14/2013 11:48:12 AM:

Wouldn't it be nice if they gave you a 3D print of your scan as you board the plane, you know, just to be sure you feel safe?



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