RNLI Selects SKYDEX as Official Supplier for Critical Shock Mitigating Kneeling Decks for the D Class Lifeboat
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), one of the most renowned maritime organizations in Europe, have officially selected SKYDEX Technologies, Inc. to provide their innovative shock mitigating kneeling decks to protect crews aboard their D Class Lifeboats. The D Class lifeboat is the busiest in the RNLI’s fleet, however, due to its compact size and difficult operating environment, the crews aboard these craft are exposed to impacts and whole-body vibration (WBV), causing discomfort and reducing performance. In response, the RNLI launched an initiative to improve craft equipment to better protect their crew.
Working closely with the RNLI, SKYDEX developed a customized solution to meet the unique needs of the D Class Lifeboat. “Safety is our top priority, but a design has to fulfill our requirements. We needed to find a balance between protecting our crew, comfort and developing a product that allows for critical care such as CPR and other SAR activities,” said RNLI’s Engineers. With the additional requirements of lightweight and robust, SKYDEX was able to leverage decades of experience designing bespoke and high performing solutions built to withstand the toughest environments on earth.
“We have an unwavering commitment to protecting people and things that matter and are excited for our ongoing work with the RNLI. Our organizations share several core values, the biggest being the protection of human life,” said Alvaro Vaselli, President and CEO of SKYDEX. “I was impressed with the rigor of their testing protocol and grateful to have worked closely with the Engineering and Supply team. We all have a shared success in producing a solution that has been proven to provide impact reduction and the increasingly important focus on protection from whole-body vibration.”
The SKYDEX Shock Mitigating Kneeling Deck has undergone significant on-water trials as well as lab-based performance testing at SKYDEX. The combination of this product with other potential craft enhancements in the future has enabled the design team to achieve their risk reduction goals while maintaining a focus on crew performance. The mattress will now be systematically rolled out to D-class lifeboat stations over the course of 2024 and 2025. In addition to the performance benefits brought by the SKYDEX Shock Mitigating Kneeling Deck, both teams at SKYDEX and the RNLI are dedicated to producing sustainable solutions with a focus on products that are built to ensure maximum lifecycle performance.
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