The world’s first habitat system

The challenge

To engineer and bring to market a solution that was less time consuming and more flexible than the current solution. Up until 1997 the habitats were constructed by provisional material such as plywood, thin metal sheets and other materials. This was neither safe, nor very time efficient.

The solution

StS came up with a solution consisting of flame retardant PVC panels, all put together in a module-based system which could easily be configured into numerous sizes and for multiple uses. The focus of the task was to make this as user-friendly as possible, while keeping safety at a maximum.

The air to the StS Flexible Habitat System was supplied via the platform’s own air supply, and the monitoring of the constant air pressure in the welding habitat was covered by a mechanic manometer. This preceded the fully automatic system with full detection capabilities, automatic shut-down and an independent air supply, which StS would later pioneer and bring to market.

The result

By pioneering and bringing the Flexible Habitat System to market we’ve saved the industry billions. The Flexible Habitat System that StS came up with is today the established industry standard used by all suppliers. This system is now in use by most oil companies around the world, and has in some shape or form been used for all hot work conducted in hazardous zones.

The system that StS pioneered in 1997 was approved by DNV Veritas as being fully safe for zone 1 and 2 application. The first of its kind to get this approval and certification.