THE POTENTIAL OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN TO ADDRESS PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AMONG OFFSHORE INDUSTRY PERSONNEL

Industrial Design is the fusion of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, human factors, functionality and usability of a product or system. The objective of Industrial Design is to study both function and form, and the connection between product, the user and the operational environment. The role of an Industrial Designer is to create and execute design solutions for problems of form, usability and human factors. Although the design process may be considered 'creative', it has a structured workflow involving many analytical processes, and is generally executed by an interdisciplinary team. Many industrial designers use design methodologies, such as User Centred Design, in their creative process. This paper examines the potential of Industrial Design to address the physical and environmental demands to which North Sea oil and gas personnel are exposed. The physical stressors that must be considered in the design process include noise reduction; lighting for circadian adaption and enhanced environment experience; improved workspace design; improved recreation facility design; air quality issues relating to the positive pressure environment; and the risk of musculo-skeletal disorders (MSD) associated with cramped workspace, awkward postures, and steep staircases. Cultural differences between FPSO and fixed platform crew are examined in term of user needs within the distinctive design scenarios. As space is costly on offshore installations, good design can potentially make the most of the limited space available; several design proposals are reviewed in this context. Possible commonality with physical and environmental stressors in the offshore wind farm sector are identified, and extrapolated into future far shore wind farm operational scenarios.