Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Body size and ability to pass through a restricted space: observations from 3D scanning of 210 male UK offshore workers.

Stewart, Arthur; Ledingham, Robert; Furnace, Graham; Nevill, Alan

Authors

Arthur Stewart

Robert Ledingham

Graham Furnace

Alan Nevill



Abstract

Offshore workers are subjected to a unique physical and cultural environment which has the ability to affect their size and shape. Because they are heavier than the UK adult population we hypothesized they would have larger torso dimensions which would adversely affect their ability to pass one another in a restricted space. A sample of 210 male offshore workers was selected across the full weight range, and measured using 3D body scanning for shape. Bideltoid breadth and maximum chest depth were extracted from the scans and compared with reference population data. In addition a size algorithm previously calculated on 44 individuals was applied to adjust for wearing a survival suit and re-breather device. Mean bideltoid breadth and chest depth was 51.4 cm and 27.9 cm in the offshore workers, compared with 49.7 cm and 25.4 cm respectively in the UK population as a whole. Considering the probability of two randomly selected people passing within a restricted space of 100 cm and 80 cm, offshore workers are 28% and 34% less likely to pass face to face and face to side respectively, as compared with UK adults, an effect which is exacerbated when wearing personal protective equipment.

Citation

STEWART, A., LEDINGHAM, R., FURNACE, G. and NEVILL, A. 2015. Body size and ability to pass through a restricted space: observations from 3D scanning of 210 male UK offshore workers. Applied ergonomics [online], 51, pages 358-362. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.06.017

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 10, 2015
Online Publication Date Jun 23, 2015
Publication Date Nov 30, 2015
Deposit Date Mar 1, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Applied ergonomics
Print ISSN 0003-6870
Electronic ISSN 1872-9126
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 51
Pages 358-362
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.06.017
Keywords Body size; 3D scanning; Bideltoid breadth; Chest depth; Restricted space
Public URL http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1398

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations