Performance under simulated offshore climate conditions

An experimental study was set up simulating the environmental conditions and work load among drillers and maintenance personnel offshore. Thirty-six male subjects participated in the experimental study involving 3h exposures with dry gloves, wet gloves or without gloves. The subjects were working on tasks involving heavy and light muscle work, dexterity and cognitive tasks. Body and skin temperatures and heart rate variability were continuously monitored. Neuropsychological and endocrinological parameters were intermittently monitored. The data from the work performance tasks showed that motor functions, both gross and fine, were impaired when working with wet and, especially, without gloves. Working without gloves also affected mental work tasks. The neuropsychological and physiological data confirmed the work task studies: working with wet or without gloves led to increased tremor and impaired finger dexterity. Furthermore, reasoning was consistently impaired throughout the exposures compared with working with dry gloves. The heart-rate variability data and the endocrine results also showed a significant central nervous stress reaction for the two hypothermic conditions compared with the dry glove condition. Especially for drilling further north these data should imply that both health and performance may be detrimentally affected during working under such conditions with insufficient thermal protection.