Calling all SAT Divers! - Thesis Questionnaire

[Olivia5598]

Hey there, I am a fourth year student studying Industrial Design in Canada and currently working on my Thesis project.

I am reaching out to this community to gather information/data regarding this industry. If you would like to help out, you can answer 10 simple questions through the link provided below

Saturation Diving - Thesis

The topic of study pertains specifically to saturation diving and methods that can improve safety aspects and comfort in this industry. A brief overview of questions to aid my understanding of this topic include; challenges regarding workplace environment and quality of life, the overall process of saturation diving, and some of the possible physical, psychological, ergonomic, and safety challenges in this industry.

Feel free to answer with as much or little detail as you please!

Enjoy!

 

[Akimbo]

The topic of study pertains specifically to saturation diving and methods that can improve safety aspects and comfort in this industry.

IMO, the questions are not specific enough to solicit meaningful information. Have you read this thread? What is Saturation Diving?

BTW, Saturation "Habitats" are only used for shallow scientific work and there are very few still operational. Sat system would be a better description for the deck chambers, bell(s), control systems, life support systems, etc.

 

[Olivia5598]

IMO, the questions are not specific enough to solicit meaningful information. Have you read this thread? What is Saturation Diving?

BTW, Saturation "Habitats" are only used for shallow scientific work and there are very few still operational. Sat system would be a better description for the deck chambers, bell(s), control systems, life support systems, etc.

Thank you for the feedback! I'll be sure to make adjustments.

 

[Heliumthief]

That’s a very wide remit you have chosen there, like Akimbo says....even if you focus centrally on Offshore Saturation Diving, the experiences, procedures and equipment used varies massively depending on what country or region you want to look at..if you are looking for design factors which might enhance safety or comfort, then you should look into some recent systems that have been built by Divex, Drass Galleazzi, Draeger and others, then look into older systems such as Seaforth, Comex etc. to see how far we’ve come.....systems with a chamber per team, no top bunks, dedicated wet pots, internal TV’s , phones for calling home, dedicated WiFi signals....even mood lighting! Sticking to a regimented shift system is a major improvement for morale, sleep patterns and efficiency instead of ‘ratcheting’ shifts...maximum 28 days, and a set time out of sat before you had to go back in...food....all these things are important and improved...there’s a LOT more involved!

 

[Olivia5598]

Extremely insightful thank you very much. We are required for the first weeks of our thesis research to keep it broad. This is why I am reaching out to communities like this to gather as much information as possible regarding SAT diving since I am basing my knowledge 100% on research and data collection, not personal experience. I would love to get to know more specifics on the differences of location as you mentioned and I will definitely do in depth research on the systems you have mentioned. Although we are required to present multiple design proposals, I am focusing on human interaction and ergonomics within the SAT system, possibly the Diving Bell, ergonomic improvement of gear, or the compression chamber itself, it could go in many possible directions. Based on the divers opinions like yours, Akimbo and others will help me get a better understanding of the challenges one may face throughout many aspects of SAT diving and more on "updated" terminology such as "wet pots", and "SAT systems" etc.

Please let me know if you are interested in continuing this discussion! you have been very helpful, thanks again.

 

[Heliumthief]

There’s quite a few films on YouTube (well, clips, maybe- not exactly films) if you can afford the time to go through them...one that comes to mind is an episode of ‘mighty ships’ (UK series name, probably something else in other countries) on the Skandi Arctic (now called the Deep Arctic) which was quite a step-change for the North Sea Industry- in essence, Norway’s Statoil wanted Technip to design and build a next generation DSV which they would then take on contract for a few years. The initial remit was to start fresh, and there was a lot of interesting ideas that came from it- the idea of primary Gas coming from a rebreather, and electrically heated suits meaning that the bulky umbilicals were cut down, removing the need for a reclaim system and hot water hose, bells designed to carry 4 man teams, to combat the limits of rebreathers at the time (shorter lock out times), bottom doors offset to give divers solid ‘ground’ to stand on, a ‘stage’ in selfsame bottom door to lower and raise divers instead of scrambling up ladders, a ‘fisherman’s block’ in the bell to aid recovering umbilicals....also instead of the traditional ‘clump weight, stage and bell’, it was a solid column with 3 high speed winches attached to the bell which speeds up recovery and deployment massively....

Also, some other good stuff is another Tv show ‘real men under pressure’ (godawful title though) and of course, the ‘last breath’ film...

By the time you’ve watched those, you can fall down the rabbit hole of related clips/films...!

 

[Olivia5598]

Sounds great! i'll be checking out all of those, just watched Last Breath, that was quite intense. Thank you for the suggestions! I appreciate your interest once again.

 

[Akimbo]

@Olivia5598

I noticed that your profile indicates that you are not a certified diver. Do you have any training in diving physics and physiology? It will be very difficult to appreciate the engineering constraints without it. No doubt you have the education in physics but how it interacts with the physiology isn't always obvious.

 

[Heliumthief]

Thinking about Industrial design, and it kinda seems to me that most of the major issues with Sat systems, Bells, Vessels etc. concerning this have been addressed more than adequately..the problem is getting all the companies to spend the money on the decent gear (and of course, persuade the oil companies that they need to be paying for it..). The big issues for most sat divers nowadays is enforcing safety management and being treated humanely...the big new 18 and 24 man systems available are holiday camps, but if the contractor is cutting corners on safety to make a bigger profit, pushing tables, extending exposures, withholding payment etc. then that’s where the problems lie....vent the food budget is more important there!