Offshore workers have been sharing their bad experiences with protective equipment offshore as finding correct sizes remains a “challenge” for women.
This week chair of Aberdeen-based gender equality group AXIS Network, Sarah Clark, shared that rolling out personal protective equipment (PPE) in women’s sizes in the North Sea remains an ongoing problem.
Specialist provider of PPE, Red Wing shared that “people rarely buy the women’s coveralls,” however, there are now more options for firms to acquire this equipment.
On LinkedIn Emma Lees, principal geoscientist at Resolute Energy Solutions, said: “I’m tall and have had coveralls where the crotch was literally at my knees and I couldn’t reach into the pockets (standard 40” coveralls as that was the smallest easily available at the time).
“This makes it a safety issue as it is very difficult to move properly with basically an orangutan shaped suit on.
“I’m pretty sure there’d be STOP cards out if we wore safety boots, gloves and hard hats that were hanging off and clearly the wrong size.”
When supplied with the wrong PPE, workers are exposed to the risk of slips, trips and falls, sleeves getting snagged in machinery, and the added danger associated with flash fires – sudden, intense fires caused by the ignition of flammable substances in the air.
Others shared their experiences of wearing PPE that was dangerously ill-fitting.
Samantha Gough, an AdHoc offshore medic, commented: “I’ve found that the crotch hangs so low that when I need to climb steps or bend I have to pull the legs up every time.
“They are restrictive in movement. It is quite frustrating. I’ve also found it very difficult to get the higher level safety boots in my foot size, so I wear double thick socks.”
Bob Taylor, a self-employed operations and maintenance consultant, argued that this is an issue that “should have been resolved years ago.”
Mr Taylor said that it is “pointless talking about the importance of equality and inclusion if the industry can’t get something as simple as this fixed.”
Male offshore workers were also sharing their experiences of inadequate protective gear, with John Ostrander taking to Facebook.
Mr Ostrander commented: “As a biological male from birth, I cannot find PPE in my size either. It’s been that way for most of my adult life.
“I suppose to fit in around here, one must be under 5’11 and 70kg. I am way past that. Also, don’t get me started on shoes.”
‘Dry yer eyes’
However, there were those who belittled the issue in response to the article saying “it is a place of work not a fashion show”.
Ian MacPhee echoed the sentiment on Facebook: “It’s not a fashion parade dry yer eyes.”
Al Macleod, well control SME for the Qatar-based GDi, shared: “I’ve had coveralls with the arse hanging out them, crotch down to my knees, far too tight, far too slack, too big, too small, someone else’s second-hand ones, sorry but l draw the line.
“We are there to work, it’s not a fashion show.”
The implication that ill-fitting PPE for women was an issue with fashion was one that was also brought up by a member of Valaris’ TSC vector team, Struan Donald.
Mr Donald wrote: “I know there is a catwalk on drilling rigs but really, it is a place of work not a fashion show.”
In 2021 AXIS network published a survey that found 68% of women working offshore did not have “correctly fitting” coveralls and 8% were “bumped from a flight” because they were supplied with an ill-fitting survival suit.