The physical performance of workers on offshore wind energy platforms: is pre-employment fitness testing necessary and fair?

Abstract

Purpose: Workers on offshore wind turbine installations face a variety of physical and psychological challenges. To prevent potentially dangerous situations or incidents, guidelines for the physical aptitude testing of offshore employees in Germany and other European countries have been developed. However, these criteria have not been previously empirically tested for validity. Although an important component of occupational health and safety, such aptitude testing should not lead to the unjustified exclusion of potential employees. Methods: Heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V˙ O 2) measurements of 23 male offshore employees and trainers were taken during typical field activities, within the framework of mandatory training exercises. These were evaluated in relation to the individual maximum values of the subjects, determined by cycle spiroergometry. Results: For the training modules, average HR and V˙ O 2 values of approximately 40% and 33–48% of the maximum values, respectively, were found. Furthermore, 65% of the participants achieved average HR values that exceeded 30% of their individual heart rate reserve and 45% had V˙ O 2 values above 35% of their individual V˙ O 2 , max. Conclusion: Our preliminary results show that offshore work is a form of heavy physical labor, thereby justifying the criteria put forth in the various fitness to work guidelines. We propose that more in-depth investigations should be performed, incorporating task-specific fitness testing as well as higher level aspects of work safety and security, including effective communication skills and teamwork. We also recommend a re-evaluation of the current limits for physical work provided in the literature. The results of such studies could then be applied to other aptitude tests, thereby strengthening the evidence for such measures.