Overview
Crucial role of a medical professional on-board of a vessel.
Problem
The average age of the Offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) workforce is rapidly approaching 451. It is accompanied by an increase in occurrence of illness, higher overweight/obesity rates2, psychological distress3 and other health problems associated with long-term offshore work. Workers’ poor health, sickness absence, a rise in the frequency of early retirement and other issues related to an aging workforce4 create productivity losses and staff and talent shortages for an industry currently experiencing a rapid rise in demand due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine crisis. Considering that the associated costs are heavy for both businesses and individuals, forward looking O&G offshore infrastructure organisations like PGS are welcoming effective practical solutions and approaches to address the problem.
Solution
Organisations like PGS, not only invest into the provision of exercise facilities, flexible galley hours and healthy options at mealtimes for crews at every vessel, but also enjoy the benefits of further facilitation of personal health improvement by partnering with International SOS for onboard workforce healthcare and wellbeing provision.
Responsible for primary and emergency medical care onboard, International SOS Medical Professionals also regularly run health promotion sessions, providing crew members with advice on healthy eating, heart health, diabetes prevention and other health and wellbeing topics. Some go the extra mile and provide regular exercise classes at gyms for crews’ fitness improvement and weight loss. Having onboard an experienced offshore medical professional who himself is a fitness enthusiast and leads others by example is a great onboard wellbeing improvement contribution.
“Our onboard International SOS Medical Professional has been a fantastic role model for our crew in what can be achieved in training offshore with the equipment we have onboard the vessels. His classes allow us to have regular training onboard, with cycling taking center stage. This trip, for example, we should have 5 of the bikes set up to enable 5 crew to train in a virtual online world at the same time. This keeps the whole group together in class and the virtual world through the ride. Assuming we can get 5 to work at the same time on here, we should also be able to compete with other vessels in real time via the program Zwift” – Party Chief, PGS
Impact
This example clearly demonstrates that onboard medical professionals can play a central role in onboard crew health and wellbeing management. For many occupational health issues related to offshore operations, greater levels of workforce fitness training are required as it helps to decrease risks of injuries caused by vibration, the complexities of the working environment and work-related stress. Furthermore, it increases workforce engagement and productivity.