Immersion Suit Approval Testing

The CORD Group Limited frequently conducts testing programs on immersion and Helicopter Passenger Transportation Suits to standards such as the Canadian General Standards Board Immersion suit standard (CAN/CGSB-65.16), and the Helicopter Passenger Transportation Suit Standard (CAN/CGSB-65.17-99).  One portion of suit approval testing is conducted using 11 human subjects who complete a variety of performance based tasks to determine if the suit system meets the requirements for approval.  For example, there are requirements for righting a face down person, the freeboard (distance from the water surface to the mouth), visual field, and the ability to right and board a life raft.

There are a wide variety of laboratory tests that must be performed to ensure that suit systems meet the requirements for things such as buoyancy and fire resistance. Many of these tests are conducted by The CORD Group, however, some of these tests require specialized equipment.  For these tests the CORD Group coordinates the distribution of the required samples to labs that can complete the tests.

In addition to the Human performance and laboratory testing, there is a significant amount of material testing that must be completed for each new suit design.  The CORD Group recommends that individual manufactures organize this testing on their own.  If it is still the desire of the manufacturer, CORD will determine the tests that must be conducted, the number of samples that are required for each material test, and distribute the samples to the labs with the proper work orders. 

 

As a point of interest, the regulatory body for CAN/CGSB-65.17-99 is Transport Canada‑Airworthiness;

The regulatory body for CAN.CGSB-65.16 is Transport Canada Marine Safety.