Posted By Frank Hallett Luan It is difficult for us to understand exactly which equipment you are referring to. Do you mean a self-inflating flotation vest? Could you provide a little more information please? Frank Hallett

Posted By Ian Waldram A good question Luan. I don't know of any incident where someone has fallen into the water when wearing such a vest, though others may. The problem with wearing a self-inflating jacket for construction-type activities has traditionally been that it's not robust enough to survive undamaged, and continual replacement and maintenance is not judged to be realistic. As far as I know, the practice of wearing 3-piece vests was imported to N Sea from Gulf of Mexico. Obviously sea conditions are quite different and, to an extent, so are the heights from which someone can fall - you don't say what region you are working in. Another issue is the availability of rescue resources. If a dedicated standby vessel is on site, with suitable radio communications, one would expect rapid pick-up. However if the construction operation is more in the marine tradition, with rescue from a zodiac carried on the construction vessel, then self-righting aids will be more important. Another issue is whether there is a real likelihood of a fall. In the 'old days' of N Sea, you had to put on such a vest when working anywhere outside the main decks, even though the work platform or bridge-link was suitably designed and had full hand-rails. Also inertia-reel belts hadn't been invented, so those who were working over water usually had no fall-protection other than their own hands and balance! In those circumstances wearing a basic flotation aid was perhaps better than nothing. A final point is that you mention only basket transfers. I've done these with no problems, but in N Sea today they are pretty much banned as more robust devices like the Frog are available - and are much better for casualties, higher sea states, those carrying other equipment and anyone without a good head for heights. In summary, though there's a strong tradition of using such vests, in today's world it's probably better to do a group risk assessment, agree when lifejackets are really required (because a fall is forseeable) and then provide ones that meet the appropriate SOLAS standard for an unconscious casualty in open water.