VIKING Life-Saving Equipmenthas unveiled the world’s first immersion suit specifically designed for female crew transfer vessel (CTV) passengers and crew in the offshore wind industry. This pioneering development is the result of close collaboration with industry leaders Ørsted, Siemens Gamesa, and Vestas, who provided essential guidance on diversity and inclusivity to ensure the suit meets the needs of women working in offshore environments.
The VIKING YouSafe™ Cyclone immersion suit joins a growing portfolio of VIKING PPE whose fit and features reflect the safety needs of female seafarers, pilots and technicians in the marine and offshore industries.
The most recent UK Government Industrial Strategy Offshore Wind Sector Deal study included a “minimum target” for one third of the industry’s workforce to be by 2030 (2018 – 16%). In UK waters, and elsewhere, getting the right PPE in place to best serve the safety needs of women offshore has become a focus for equity and inclusivity strategy at Ørsted, Siemens and Vestas.
“As a young industry, offshore wind offers a huge opportunity to change attitudes in the workplace, and to encourage the diversity, equity and inclusion women are entitled to expect,” said Lasse Hansen, Senior HSE Manager, PPE and TMSE, Ørsted. “Ørsted has identified female-specific PPE as part of the critical infrastructure we need for women to work safely offshore today and a necessity to attract more of them into this industry. We were delighted to work with VIKING as one of our key safety solution providers to take a significant step in the right direction.”
Delivered in high-vis GORE-TEX® NARVIK™, the female-fit YouSafe™ Cyclone immersion suit is approved to the same dual SOLAS/MED and CE/ISO standard as the male version and is available in multiple sizes. Common features include compatibility with all standard offshore harnesses, durable Neoprene cuffs and neck seal, retro-reflective piping for increased visibility in dark surroundings, and a maintenance free zipper.
However, ratios and cut are redesigned for shorter torsos, and different hip and chest proportions, and for a range of smaller sizes that avoid the risk of snagging in fixtures and fittings. The sleek looking design also offers a high level of comfort and enhances the safety of women when stepping or jumping to/off the platform, climbing the tower or moving around the nacelle. In addition, the suit includes integral braces, which hold suit pants for free leg movement when climbing and allow the wearer to doff its top part to move around freely.
Poul Parning, Senior EQS PPE Specialist, Siemens Gamesa said the Cyclone suit was a welcome contribution to its efforts to attract more women to offshore wind, ensuring that outdated practices did not frustrate career progress. “There has been an intense focus on PPE as a diversity, equity and inclusion issue at Siemens Gamesa for the last two years; we have already adopted a new safety harness for women. The Cyclone crew transfer vessel suit supports corporate goals.”
Speaking for Vestas Wind Systems, HSE Manager Peter Armstrong-Cribb added: “At Vestas, we believe that diversity and inclusion go hand in hand with innovation, and that everyone must feel safe, valued, and that their voice is heard. The right PPE puts these beliefs into practice.”
VIKING built on its internal design work by interviewing women working offshore in the wind industry to develop the new suit, before trialling prototypes at a test day with Ørsted, Siemens and Vestas in Liverpool, UK earlier this year. After further tests offshore and customer feedback, the YouSafe™ Cyclone was launched in October.
“Bringing Cyclone to market has been a joy because we have worked with customers whose competitive position did not stand in the way of our common goal to deliver a safety necessity and level the playing field for women working offshore” said Bettina Kjærgaard, Global Sales Manager Offshore Wind, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment. “Their response in spreading the word has also been phenomenal.”
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