DG FITNESS: OFFSHORE EXPERT
The ‘flotel’ offers a gym as well as social facilities including a cinema and internet café
in both the UK and Norwegian sectors. Gary Ross, director at DG Fitness – who has worked offshore for over 30 years – set up the company in 1987, providing the offshore industry with expert knowledge and high quality fitness equipment to a wide range of platforms. DG Fitness currently has
D
over 120 rental sites in the UK, supplying a variety of sectors both onshore and offshore, with around £3m of gym kit currently rented out. Offshore clients include flotels, platforms, drill ships, FPSOs (floating production storage offloading) and support vessels. Onshore clients include local authorities, universities and schools. All equipment comes with an annual service, as well as preventative maintenance through weekly and monthly health and safety checks.
Life Fitness is the main supplier to the gym, with equipment installed by DG Fitness
operations (due to the high welfare regulations in Norway). Typically offshore workers have a 12-hour shift on their rig and will spend the remainder of their time on the flotel, sleeping in either individual or shared cabins. As a moored vessel, Safe Scandinavia
is anchored to the sea bed by 12 chains that keep her stable in the harshest environments. A gangway provides workers with access so they can walk back and forth to their rig or installation. Safe Scandinavia has been on contract
to major oil companies for many years and remains at the client’s rig apart from when she is undergoing maintenance, with clients paying a daily fee for vessel hire. In the past, she has mainly worked in the Norwegian sector including at Valhall for BP and Snorre for Statoil. The vessel has also been contracted for emergencies, for example in 2005 when she was used at Shell MARS, in the Gulf of Mexico, after major platform damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. But flotels are in very high demand,
with clients typically contracting a vessel many years in advance; there are many more rig projects than there are flotels. Virtually all rigs are able to have a flotel
October 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
attached, although some modifications may be required to the rig in order for the flotel to connect properly.
Fitness as a priority Built in 1984 at Norway’s Aker Verdal yard, Safe Scandinavia was upgraded in 2003, 2009 and 2014: at the start of January 2014, the vessel underwent a five-year Special Period Survey. This is a requirement for every vessel worldwide to maintain their classification and safety standards, reducing the probability of any longer future yard stays and providing more earning capacity. As part of the flotel’s most recent
refurb, a 172sq m gym was installed, fitted with Life Fitness equipment which was supplied by DG Fitness – a specialist company founded by director Gary Ross in 1987 (see briefing above). The newly installed gym features the
latest Discover Series cardiovascular and Optima Series resistance equipment from Life Fitness. This includes four treadmills, two cross-trainers, six bikes, 12 studio bikes and a range of Optima weight machines. There are also free weights including dumbbells and benches. The gym provides free access
to personnel ranging from 18 to 60 years of age and is open 24 hours a day to accommodate shift working. Ross comments: “This highly skilled
workforce needs to be physically fit to withstand the demanding working environment. But in years gone by, there were concerns about an ageing technical workforce at risk from conditions such as heart disease. There were also factors contributing to health risks, including physical inactivity and shift work that could lead to irregular eating and sleeping habits. “Having a gym installed onboard
the accommodation vessels is now seen as a high priority, especially for workers such as the offshore fire teams, who have to maintain a particularly high level of fitness. “It’s a requirement in the UK offshore
oil industry that workers are medically examined to assess their fitness to work on offshore installations, so they have to complete a health questionnaire as well as undergo BMI, blood pressure and lung function checks as part of a comprehensive medical examination.” For personnel onboard Safe
Scandinavia, incentive reward systems Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 43
G Fitness is a leading supplier to offshore platforms and vessels
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102