BP Exploration has developed a new concept in providing safety cover for personnel working on offshore installations. The concept involves the use of a new design of rigid inflatable boat, which can be deployed in emergencies to recover casualties from the water, sustain their life and then return them to a surgical facility for primary care. This paper describes the innovative trials run by QinetiQ in order to simulate elements of the vessel and to build a more complete picture of its usability and operational capability. The team has taken a total systems multi-disciplinary approach to the solution, encompassing offshore engineering, surgical expertise and ergonomics. The trials encompass the retrieval of casualties from a wave tank onto an afterdeck mock-up, their treatment under conditions of motion in a large displacement motion simulator and the flow of casualties within a mock-up of the vessel. The paper describes how the data gathered from these trials was then integrated to allow an appreciation of likely casualty handling capability of the vessel.
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