Home Again - Designing a lifejacket for Norwegian fishers

• Main Author: Møller, Johan
• Other Authors: Killi, Steinar
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: The Oslo School of Architecture and Design 2022
• Subjects: Product design; Produktdesign; Sikkerhetsutstyr; Fiskeri; Redningsvest; Life jackets; Safety; Fishing; Architecture and design: 140; Lofoten; Norway
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3003046

The aim of this project is to make fishing from small fishing vessels in Norway more safe. Fishing is the most dangerous profession in Norway by mortality rate, and 2 out of 3 deathly accidents happen from small fishing vessels. Man Overboard accidents are among the most dangerous, having a fatal outcome 65% of the time. Field observations in Lofoten revealed that lifejackets were generally not in use, in part because they are not designed for use on board fishing vessels. A lifejacket called Home Again was developed focusing on removing obstructions and using emotional incentives to nudge users towards regular use. A high fidelity prototype was built and tested with fishers in Lofoten and munfacturers. Both of which who gave it positive feedback. Home Again should help decrease the mortality rate in the Norwegian fishing industry by increasing the use of lifejackets on board the small coastal fleet. Home Again is a lifejacket designed entirely for fishers. Every component has been developed for life on a fishing boat. The result is a lifejacket that will not get caught in fishing equipment and in general be comfortable during all working operations on board. A lifejacket that will help the user stay afloat and survive the first critical minutes of falling overboard, while alarming SAR and other boats of the emergency and position of the user. submittedVersion