H.U.E.T. at Falck Nutec
Yesterday I completed a week of H.U.E.T. (helicopter underwater escape training) at Falck Nutec. This was the best-organized and fun safety training I have ever done, likely because of the focus on practical exercises rather than just theory.
We were a group of about 22 people representing 12 countries (including 4 Canadians)! We spent a lot of time in the orange survival suits you can see below. The suits are supposed to keep you from getting hypothermia within 2 hours in 12 degree (I think) water, but have been tested for up to 6 hours in water near 0 degrees. However, despite the suit, I was chilly in 17 degree water after about 20 minutes.
We practiced moving as a group in water, swimming with the suits, donning an escape suit in less than 2 minutes, using an escape chute, getting in and out of the various styles of emergency rafts and escape boats, jumping into water (simulating a jump from a height), using rebreathers, and doing an orderly evacuation of a ditched (in water) helicopter. We also had a few hours of fire fighting and first aid training. One of my favourite lessons was an escape from a completely pitch black series of rooms full of obstacles, stairs, locked doors, etc. while wearing the full survival suit. In 10 minutes, nobody in my group found their way out.
Friday was the big day where you have to escape a submerged helicopter using the emergency escape methods they teach you. This is what FN is famous for, as their simulator is world-class. Due to the level of training, if you get certified in Norway, you are qualified to work offshore anywhere in the world. You go through 6 simulations:
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Fill rebreather. Submerge. Release belt and escape.
- Brace. Fill rebreather. Submerge. Open window, release belt and escape.
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Fill rebreather. Helicopter turns upside-down and submerges. Release belt and escape.
- Brace. Fill rebreather. Helicopter turns upside-down and submerges. Open window, release belt and escape.
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Submerge. Release belt and escape. (no rebreather)
- Brace. Submerge. Open window, release belt and escape. (no rebreather)
After all this, assuming you don't panic and back out of a test, you get certified to work offshore for four years.
We celebrated the week with an after-party at two local bars, a dance club and one person's house. It was a loooong night. Some of us got pretty close during the week. I guess ex-pats have to stick together. We traded all our email addresses and we'll likely meet up again.
Life raft and water formation practice.
Sitting inside the free-fall lifeboat.
Free-fall lifeboat - exactly what it sounds like. Here is a video of a similar boat in action.
Escape chute - used to get you down to a life raft (it beats jumping).
Helicopter simulator.
Submerged upside-down helicopter simulator.
More photos here.
Here's a video. I think this is test #5.
We were a group of about 22 people representing 12 countries (including 4 Canadians)! We spent a lot of time in the orange survival suits you can see below. The suits are supposed to keep you from getting hypothermia within 2 hours in 12 degree (I think) water, but have been tested for up to 6 hours in water near 0 degrees. However, despite the suit, I was chilly in 17 degree water after about 20 minutes.
We practiced moving as a group in water, swimming with the suits, donning an escape suit in less than 2 minutes, using an escape chute, getting in and out of the various styles of emergency rafts and escape boats, jumping into water (simulating a jump from a height), using rebreathers, and doing an orderly evacuation of a ditched (in water) helicopter. We also had a few hours of fire fighting and first aid training. One of my favourite lessons was an escape from a completely pitch black series of rooms full of obstacles, stairs, locked doors, etc. while wearing the full survival suit. In 10 minutes, nobody in my group found their way out.
Friday was the big day where you have to escape a submerged helicopter using the emergency escape methods they teach you. This is what FN is famous for, as their simulator is world-class. Due to the level of training, if you get certified in Norway, you are qualified to work offshore anywhere in the world. You go through 6 simulations:
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Fill rebreather. Submerge. Release belt and escape.
- Brace. Fill rebreather. Submerge. Open window, release belt and escape.
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Fill rebreather. Helicopter turns upside-down and submerges. Release belt and escape.
- Brace. Fill rebreather. Helicopter turns upside-down and submerges. Open window, release belt and escape.
- Punch windows out before submerging. Brace. Submerge. Release belt and escape. (no rebreather)
- Brace. Submerge. Open window, release belt and escape. (no rebreather)
After all this, assuming you don't panic and back out of a test, you get certified to work offshore for four years.
We celebrated the week with an after-party at two local bars, a dance club and one person's house. It was a loooong night. Some of us got pretty close during the week. I guess ex-pats have to stick together. We traded all our email addresses and we'll likely meet up again.
Life raft and water formation practice.
Sitting inside the free-fall lifeboat.
Free-fall lifeboat - exactly what it sounds like. Here is a video of a similar boat in action.
Escape chute - used to get you down to a life raft (it beats jumping).
Helicopter simulator.
Submerged upside-down helicopter simulator.
More photos here.
Here's a video. I think this is test #5.
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