Seaplane Life Vest pouch

Obvious, graspable packaging designed to save lives in seaplane emergencies

Challenge

In seaplane accidents, victims are likely to drown following survivable crashes over water. Drowning, the leading cause of death, is effectively prevented by life vests all aircrafts are equipped with. I set out to understand why people were drowning and how we might increase their odds for survival.

Outcome

Modified packaging design for life vests that can be stuck in obvious areas of the aircraft.

Increased visibility as a visual reminder to grab a vest during egress
Easier to grasp and open as fine motor control declines in cold water submersion
High-yield RF welded design to be economically competitive with standard packaging

Research Binder

Protective gear research project

Through interviews, field observation, market analysis, extensive literature review and incident reports, the issue came into focus. In survivable seaplane incidents over water passengers often egress the plane without a life preserver. Drowning is the leading cause of death in this situation, and even in the event of a successful initial egress, drowning can occur when occupants attempt to reach stowed life preservers in the cabin rear and under seats.

We want to find people and the chance of their survival without the life jacket is very poor,

Bill Yearwood, regional manager of aviation for the Transportation Safety Board.

The issue becomes more complex when you take into account the range of aircraft configurations flying in any given fleet. My findings suggest that what you see in the flotation device information kiosk, the safety pamphlet, or instructional video is not always the same as what you find in your aircraft. Likely, after enduring a sudden crash, your ability to locate and retrieve a vest is severely impaired.

The challenge of a contextual solution

My challenge was to find a realistic and deployable method of addressing this problem considerate of aircraft variety, human nature, and cost constraints.

What if we reposition the life preserver in such a way that it is intuitive to grab when exiting the craft after an emergency?

It should be easy to hold on to during egress and thus still in your possession upon surfacing.

An obvious and graspable life vest pouch is a visible change to the flying experience. It becomes a timely reminder of emergency procedures during an incident.

This would appeal to safety leaders in passenger transportation and commercial float operations.

Made to stick

This is an obvious and graspable life vest pouch for airline style life preservers, like those most commonly found on commercial seaplanes. The key difference between my design and current pouches is the positioning. Using two adhesives, the pouch containing an inflatable vest can be attached on any surface of an aircraft (e.g., headliner, door, seat, wall panel etc.) but peeled off like a turbo Post-it note during egress. To give greater control over the adhesive interface, a fluorescent coloured backing is adhered to the pouch itself. That backing is mounted to aircraft surfaces and in this case could also be an arrow pointing to the nearest exit.

Out of sight, out of mind

The bright coloured pouch ensures passengers have noticed its location throughout the flight, and can recall that even when they are disoriented. A wooden beaded handle provides excellent tactile feedback and graspability as your extremities react to frigid water.

Cost Competitive

I refined the design to the point of brilliant simplicity, because current pouches are light and manufacturable. I optimized the pattern for high-yield and minimal waste cutting. This part of the process felt like my own undoing as I simplified and reduced the deliverable of a major project. But it was the only way the solution would be realistic and deployable for commercial applications. I used ultrasonic welding technology but in production an RF-welding form would be ideal.

Round 1

Made using a ripstop fabric and nylon webbing for the handles.

two handles make it unclear which one to pull

ripstop is not desirable for things you intend to rip easily

Round 2

Three variations in a PU coated polyester

Pull the blue loop to remove from the wall

beaded pull handle pulling from the middle

beaded pull from the top corners

same material pull handle

testing adhesives strengths for prototyping

contact cement gave the desirable characteristics on a vinyl material similar to aircraft upholstery

I did not engineer any adhesives for this test. 3 prototypes stuck to a wall for user testing

Round 3

User testing determined the best position for peel forces, and a preference for beaded handles.

Hi-viz coated polyester thinner weight than the previous round
Use body material for the strap
high yield pattern to minimize cost and waste
directional arrow sticks to aircraft surface and indicates nearest exit direction

simple rectangular pouch

directional arrow to be oriented towards nearest exit

using two layers of same material provides strength on the pieces you pull, single welded seams tear to release the life vest

Prototype was made with heat press and ultrasonic sewing machine, but production would be done using RF welding

high-yield/low waste pattern, single-textile bonded design

Summary

No more hiding vests under seats or in difficult to reach nylon pouches.

The life vest pouch can be stuck on any surface like a post-it creating a visual reminder to grab upon egress. Users pull the package from the wall and an arrow indicates exit direction in these disorienting situations. Large handles and beaded pull grips are easier to open as fine motor control declines in cold water.

At the onset of this project the Transportation Safety Board had a standing recommendation that life preservers be required for all passengers of seaplanes in Canada and their message (first noted in 1994) is finally becoming clear. As of 05/24/2016 the recommendation is being moved forward by Transport Canada. Obscurity for my project, but good for safety.