Ullman SeatsReduce Impact Loads on the Human Body ULLMAN JOCKEY SEATSSHOWN TO REDUCE PHYSICAL WORKLOAD

Ullman Dynamics is the world leader in shock mitigation seats for High-Performance boats.

The faster a boat travels in heavy seas, the greater the impacts with the water surface. These impacts are transferred to the human body, whether sitting or standing, which can result in the crew and passengers becoming fatigued, and being put at an increased risk of acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries High-speed boat driving causes injuries to backs necks, knees and ankles. Several studies have shown that many seats, with or without suspension, amplify the impacts from the hull. Even standing often causes higher impacts on the human back than on the hull itself. In 1988 Johan Ullman M.D. began his PhD work on injuries associated with high-speed boats.In 1990 Ullman Dynamics started development of the a new concept for shock mitigation seats. The Ullman Cockpit system has in several studies been proven to significantly reduce impacts and com- pression forces, affecting the human body on board high performance boats. The Ullman Cockpit system has also been shown to significantly enhance boat control and comfort. It has been chosen by the opera- tors in several maritime organisations to become their standard. For references visit www.ullmandynamics.com
1 e.g. vertebral fractures, whip-lash like neck injuries, disk ruptures, and knee and ankle injuries.
Impact on Boat and Operator in Ullman Jockey Seat Independent scientific research has been undertaken by the University of Chichester in the UK studying the stresses on the human body during high-speed boat transits, and how this results in post-transit fatigue.The results have shown that high-speed boat operations demand physical effort of the crew and passengers which results in increased post-transit fatigue
Ullman Jockey SeatBoat 11m RIB 2 . Even relatively short transits may impair operational capability on reaching the boats destination.When examining the energy expenditure of passengers on a 28’ RIB in a sea-state 4-5, travelling at ~20-25 kts, data demonstrate a reduction in energy consumption of around 30% when using a straddle-style suspension seat compared to using a fixed straddle-type seat
RIB passenger oxygen uptake and heart rate (indicators of physical workload) were reduced using an Ullman Jockey Seat compared to a fixed jockey-type seat. 3 .The results also suggest that the heart rates, an indica-tor of whole body stress observed when using the sus- pension seat in a sea-state 4-5 was roughly equivalent to those observed when using a fixed straddle seat, in a sea-state 1-2, whilst travelling at around 40 kts.
1 Carvalhais, A. (2004) Incidence and severity of injury to surf boat operators. Conference Proceedings 75th SAVIAC Conference, Virginia Beach, VA. October 2004.Ensign, W., Hodgdon, J., Prusaczyk, W.K., Ahlers, S, Shapiro, D., and Lipton, M. (2000), A survey of self-reported injuries among special boat operators; Naval Health Research Centre, Tech Report 00-48 2 Myers S, Dobbins T, and Dyson R. (2006) Motion induced fatigue following exposure to whole body vibration in a 28ft RIB. Conference Proceedings; ABCD Symposium on Human Performance at Sea: Influence of Boat ship Motions on Biomechanics and Fatigue, Panama City, FL, USA. 3 Myers S, Dobbins T, Hill, J. and Dyson R. (2006) Energy expenditure during transits in a 28ft RIB in varying sea states. Conference Proceedings; ABCD Symposium on Human Performance at Sea: Influence of Ship Motions on Biomechanics and Fatigue, Panama City, FL, USA.