Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Dundee man’s garment designed to save lives
A DUNDONIAN former health and safety manager in the oil and gas industry has designed a garment aimed at saving the lives of offshore workers in the event of an accident at sea.
Simon Lamont came up with the idea for the Centurion 3 — which is specially engineered to immediately produce heat when submerged in cold water — after the 2009 Super Puma crash in the North Sea.
It is designed to be worn under offshore survival suits and is also slash resistant. It improves heat retention, generates heat and resists fire, and a coating means the wearer should remain warm for at least one hour.
Simon said: “The helicopter crash left so many of us stunned, and when I discovered that the garments worn were insufficient when dealing with cold shock, I set to work designing and developing a product to remedy this.”
He set up Iron Ocean and has secured more than £100,000 in funding through Business Gateway, with an aim to launch the product next year.
Simon added: “In my previous job, I managed safety protocols and led incident and accident investigations — but I’m really enjoying being in full creative control of everything we do at Iron Ocean.
“More importantly, however, our design can save lives and there is nothing I value more than that.”
Working with Heriot-Watt University’s School of Textiles and Design to create a prototype, Simon has also competed in various business events.
Michelle Shepherd, business adviser at Business Gateway Dundee, said the organisation “knew instantly that Simon’s idea had huge potential”.
She added: “Since then, we have worked very closely with Simon, helping him identify funding opportunities, as well as supporting him as a new business owner.”