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

•Offshore workers have greater shoulder breadth and chest depth than UK males.•Increased body size results in a reduced safety clearance in restricted spaces.•Facilities designed for offshore use need to be larger than for typical UK males.•Wearing a survival suit dramatically enlarges body dimensions and space needs.•Ability to pass in restricted space is commensurately reduced.

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.