The following is a google translate on extraction of text from the guidelines from Offshore Norge on health examination and fitness test for personnel with smoke diver function in search and rescue teams
1 Purpose
This guide has been prepared to ensure that employees participating in search and rescue teams with smoke diver functions are fit in terms of health so that:
• The smoke diver must not pose a danger to himself or others in the work due to his state of health
• Response personnel must not have an illness, injury or blemish that entails an increased risk of developing or worsening an illness or injury due to their work as a smoke diver
• Operator/Shipowner must have personnel who are healthily and physically fit to carry out their tasks as emergency personnel in search and rescue teams
2 Health examination and physical tests for personnel with smoke diver function
The operator/shipowner is responsible for ensuring that everyone who has a smoke diver function in the effort team is tested and meets the health requirements and physical tests (fitness requirements and strength requirements) for smoke divers.
Anyone who participates in Norwegian Oil and Gas’ search and rescue team basic course and search and rescue team refresher course that includes smoke diving must provide documentation that
health examination and physical tests (fitness requirements and strength requirements) have been passed, cf. point 3.
Health examinations and physical tests are carried out at the installations or on land by the health service. Nurses can carry out health examinations and physical tests. The course centers can carry out physical tests on behalf of the operator/shipowner.
3 Frequency of health examinations and physical tests – Documentation
Health examination and physical tests must be carried out every two years and last for 24 months from the last examination and test. The results of the health examination and physical tests must be documented. See example form for health examination and functional test of smoke divers in appendix A.
Persons who have smoke diver function and who have developed an illness after examination and testing have been carried out, are obliged to report with a view to renewed assessment of continued service in the emergency team.
4 Personnel who do not pass the health examination or physical test
For personnel who do not pass the health examination or physical test, the responsible doctor for
the installation assess whether the employee should be excluded from further work in a search and rescue team with a smoke diver function.
Persons who, after an examination, do not meet the health requirements or physical function requirements, can request a new assessment.
5 Health requirements
5.1 Conditions which should normally exclude emergency function with smoke diving equipment
• Past or present heart disease
• Hypertension is usually exclusionary. Medically treated, uncomplicated, well-regulated hypertension is assessed individually. The same applies to the newly discovered
hypertension that does not require medication
• Impaired lung function. People with asthma, hyperreactive airways are assessed individually
• Diabetes mellitus that requires drug treatment
• Mental disorders or deviations, such as depression, severe anxiety, claustrophobia, use of psychoactive drugs, alcohol abuse
• Use of drugs that affect the nervous system is assessed individually Pregnancy
• Impaired hearing which hinders the understanding of spoken communication
• Other conditions with reduced functional capacity, e.g. neurological disorder, musculoskeletal disorder or severe obesity
5.2 Requirements for health examination
Visual acuity:
Smoke and chemical divers must have uncorrected visual acuity of 6/60 (0.1) in both eyes. Weaker uncorrected visual acuity is accepted if special glasses can be used inside the mask, or if there is a need for it, smoke and chemical divers can use soft hydrophilic contact lenses both during the visual acuity test and in the mask during sharp tasks.
The locomotor system:
Satisfactory functions in the back and large joints.
Blood pressure:
Normal blood pressure for age, systolic <100 mm Hg + own age, diastolic < 95.
Lung function:
• The personnel must be examined with spirometry. FVC, FEV1 and PEF must be recorded. FEV1/FVC should be calculated.
• Lung function is considered satisfactory if all of the following requirements are met: FVC and FEV1 >80% of the expected value, FEV1/FVC >70%. An ethnically relevant reference population should be used as a basis for comparison.
• Personnel who do not meet the lung function requirements listed under the bullet points above must be followed up according to routines established by the professionally responsible doctor. As a general rule, a checkup is recommended after 3-5 weeks. Lung disease must be ruled out if
the lung function targets are not achieved in personnel who must hold smoke diver function.
Overweight:
Individual assessment for BMI > 30.
6 Physical functional requirements
6.1 General
Persons who do not meet the health requirements, or where there is doubt about this, must not carry out physical tests without this having been clarified with the doctor responsible for the installation.
6.2 Requirements for physical endurance (fitness test)
Emergency personnel with a smoke diver function must have the necessary fitness to be able to
carry out the tasks as a smoke diver. This must be documented by passing a fitness test. It is important that quality assurance is carried out for the test and equipment used in connection with the fitness tests.
For physiological reasons, women and men have different max VO2. This has been documented through research that women on average have approx. 10% lower oxygen uptake than men. In order to take into account the physiological differences between the sexes, it has been chosen to differentiate the requirements for max VO2.
The following requirements apply to emergency personnel with a smoke diver function:
Men: maximum oxygen intake of at least 35 ml x kg-¹ x min-¹.
Women: maximum oxygen uptake of a minimum of 31.5 ml x kg-¹ x min-¹.
You can choose between one of the following 3 alternative endurance tests to document that the personnel meet the requirement for oxygen uptake.
Option 1 (Treadmill test with 17 kg weight and 12% incline):
The test subject has a backpack weighing 17 kg on his back. This corresponds to the weight of compressed air equipment consisting of steel cylinders.
Warm-up with a weight load of 17 kg on a flat treadmill at a speed of 4 km/h for three minutes. The speed is then increased to 5.6 km/h and the incline is set to 12% (= 6.84 degrees).
The subject completes the actual test for six minutes. People who during the test have to relieve themselves by holding on to the railing next to the treadmill have not passed. (If, due to unsteadiness, the subject has to touch the railing/hold onto the railing the balance has been re-established, this should not lead to the test being assessed as not having been passed).
Option 2 (Cooper test):
A: Warm-up, gentle jogging, 10 minutes on a flat treadmill at a speed of 8 km/h. After finishing the warm-up, the speed is then set to 10.5 km/h and the subject runs for 12 minutes (flat mill). The test is passed if the person runs for 12 minutes at this speed.
B: The test can also be done on a 400 meter running track. Anyone who runs 2100 meters or more within 12 minutes has passed the test.
Option 3 (Direct measurement of maximum oxygen uptake):
People who have documentation that they have measured over 35 ml x kg-¹ x min-¹ (men)/ 31.5 ml x kg-¹ x min-¹ (women) on a direct test in the last 3 months have passed the test .
6.3 Requirements for strength
Emergency personnel with a smoke diver function must have the necessary strength to be able to carry out the tasks as a smoke diver. This must be documented by passing a strength test which consists of a standard test for muscle strength (push-ups, hang-ups and squats).
Standard test for muscle strength:
1. Test of arm extensors and chest muscles (push-ups)
Exercise description:
The test person wears underwear, running shoes, emergency clothing and a composite bottle (approx. 10 kg) in a backpack.
He or she lies down on the floor. The palms are placed on the floor shoulder-width apart with the fingertips pointing forward. From this position, the arms are straightened and the body is raised from the floor. The body is then lowered so that the chest touches the back of the test leader’s hand. During the performance, the body must be straight at all times.
Requirements for passing the test: 5 repetitions
2. Test of elbow flexors and shoulder muscles (Hang-up’s)
Exercise description:
Test person is wearing underwear, trainers and emergency clothing.
He or she hangs under a horizontal boom or pole with a suspended ceiling (palms facing the face). The handholds are shoulder-width apart. The boom/pole is positioned so that when the arms are straight and the body is held straight, then the head and shoulders will hang slightly lower than the heels when these are placed on the edge of a chair seat, a high bench or the like.
The test subject raises himself so that his chest touches the boom/bar and then gently lowers himself back to the starting position with straight arms. The body must be completely straight during the performance.
Requirements for passing the test: 5 repetitions
3. Test of knee and hip joint extensors (squats)
Exercise description:
The test person wears underwear, running shoes, emergency clothing and a composite bottle (approx. 10 kg) in a backpack.
He or she stands facing the rib wall. The distance from the front edge of the rib wall to the toe tip of the shoes must be approx. one shoe distance. The hands are attached to the rib wall at navel height, with a shoulder-width distance between the hands. The test leader places his hand approx. 10 cm above the emergency personnel’s head while they are standing upright. From this position performs
the person deep knee bends followed by stretching. The knee bends should be so deep that the hip joint comes lower than the knee joint. During the performance, the back must be approximately vertical at all times. The arms are only for support. They must always be as straight as possible and only help to keep the balance and the body straight.
Requirements for passing the test: 15 repetitions