This document summarizes a survey conducted by the Finnish Lifeboat Institution on shock exposure among its lifeboat volunteers. The survey received responses from 113 volunteers, collecting data on their personal backgrounds, the boats they operate, injury experiences, and opinions on boat speeds and safety equipment. Key findings include that only 14% of boats have adequate suspension protection for crews, bottoming of seats occurs often for many volunteers, and 12% of volunteers worry often or very often about their health due to impacts. The presenter concludes that funding has been allocated to replace fixed seats and more testing of suspension seats will be done based on the survey results highlighting safety issues from shock exposure.

1. • Finnish Lifeboat Institution •1
This presentation was kept by mr.Pitkäjärvi
at High speed boat operations forum 2016.
It higlights some parts from my research
work.
You can find the full thesis:
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201503243491
Jan Koskenmäki

2. • Finnish Lifeboat Institution •2
THE FINNISH LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION SHOCK EXPOSURE SURVEY
High Speed Boat Operations Forum 2016
M.D. Jaakko Pitkäjärvi

3. 65
STATIONS
Oulu
Kokkola
Vaasa
Kaskinen
Pori
Uusikaupunki
Helsinki
Hanko
Imatra
Lappeenranta
Rauma

4. THREE
ACTIVE PLAYERS
Rescue services
Lifeboat institution
Border guard

5. Approx 150 boats in all
Common hull length 6-12m, max 24m
Common speed 30-35 kn, max 47 kn
Medium fleet speed 1995 16,4 kn
Medium fleet speed 2005 23,7 kn
Medium fleet speed 2015 25,6 kn

6. 6
Shock Exposure Survey 2015 – persons involved
Master of engineering 2015
Contacted FLI with survey plans
Master thesis "Wave impulses at high speed craft“
Previously worked in pleasureboat industry
Acknowledgement of crew shock exposure
Adviced medical viewpoints in survey
M.D., works in occupational health unit
22 years background within lifeboat service
20 years as a powerboat/workboat journalist
HSBO 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016

7. 7
Basic parameters
Participants’ personal background data
Boat background data
Results
Lessons learnt

8. 8
Basic parameters
• Aim was find out impact exposure experiences among lifeboat volunteers
• Injuries and user viewpoints recorded for the first time at any scale within FLI
• Questionnaire sent to 587 coxswains operating planing lifeboats
• 45 questions in all
• 113 person (19%) filled full questionnaire – ”reasonable” result to make conclusions
• 99,1% male, 0,9% female

9. 9
Basic parameters
Participants’ personal background data
Boat background data
Results
Lessons learnt

10. 10
Your position
• Coxswain
• Helmsman
• Trainer
• Other

11. 11
Participant ages
<
>

12. 12
Years in lifeboat service
>

13. 13
Do you do aerobic excercises?
Approx 30 minutes/week
Approx 60 min/week
More than 60 min/week
Not at all

14. 14
Do you go to gym?
Approx 30 min/week
Approx 60 min/week
More than 60 min/week
Not at all

15. 15
Are you a skilled boat driver?
Yes
No

16. 16
Basic parameters
Participants’ personal background data
Boat background data
Results
Lessons learnt

17. 17
Boat size you operate?

18. 18
Boat type you operate
Open RIB
Cabin RIB
Open GRP hull
Open aluminium hull
Open, other material
Cabin GRP
Cabin aluminium
Cabin other material
Some other

19. 19
Maximum speed of the boat you operate?
<
>

20. 20
How often your boat airwalks?
Never
Rarely
Sometimes (3-10 times)
Often (10-30 times)
Very often (> 30 times)
Cannot say

21. 21
Any suspension protection equipment in your
boat?
Absolutely nothing
Suspension seats for cox/navigator
Suspension seat for whole crew
excluding passengers
Suspension seats for crew + pass
Some other measures done
Don’t know

22. 22
How often your seat bottoms?
Never
Seldom
Sometimes (3-10 times)
Often (10-20 times)
Very often (> 20 times)
Almost all the time
Can’t say
Only 14% report appected level of crew safety
Bottoming should happen never!

23. 23
Basic parameters
Participants’ personal background data
Boat background data
Results
Lessons learnt

24. 24
Have you gotten injuries due slamming?
Yes
No

25. 25
Injury type

26. 26
Injury focus

27. 27
Have crew injuries interfered with your rescue
call accomplisment?
No
Yes, we had to cancel
the call and disembark
an injured crewmember
Yes, we had to slow down

28. 28
Have you visited doctor due impact injuries?
No
Yes, it was a now injury
Yes, I got a bone fracture
Yes, it was an old injury but
got worse due wave impacts

29. 29
”My driving gets more physical due impacts”
Never
Seldom
Sometimes
Often
Very often
Cannot say

30. 30
”My psyche gets loaded due impacts”
Never
Seldom
Sometimes
Often
Very often
Cannot say

31. 31
Have you been worried about your health due
impacts?
Never
Seldom
Sometimes
Often
Very often
Cannot say
12% worried often or very often – and they are still volunteers

32. 32
And, after all this….

33. 33
Still think you need 10-20 knots more speed?
Absolutely no
Perhaps
Yes, that’s clearly a good idea
More speed is very much needed
We absolutely need more speed
Don’t know
”Can you see a need for a lifeboat with >50 kn cruising speed in our fleet?”
- 26% considered this at least good or very good idea

34. 34
Basic parameters
Participants’ personal background data
Boat background data
Results
Lessons learnt

35. 35
Lessons learnt
• Funding allocation to replace fixed seats in Class II lifeboats has now been done
• Tests with suspension seats will be carried out during this season
• Seat retrofits to follow after version selection

36. 36
THANK YOU!
The Finnish Lifeboat Institution
M.D, Jaakko Pitkäjärvi
jaakko@pitkajarvi.net
Download PDF: www.pitkajarvi.net/hsbo2016