HUET Course

Lesson 1 • Hazard Identification in Helicopter Travel

Identifies primary hazards during offshore helicopter flights, including mechanical failure and adverse weather. Links hazard awareness to proactive safety behaviour.

Lesson 2 • Offshore Helicopter Operations Overview

Covers the role of helicopters in offshore energy transport and associated safety obligations. Provides context for why HUET certification is mandatory for offshore workers.

Lesson 3 • Pre-Flight Safety Briefing Procedures

Teaches the content and purpose of mandatory pre-flight safety briefings delivered to offshore passengers. Reinforces active listening and retention of critical safety information.

Lesson 4 • Personal Protective Equipment for Offshore Flight

Introduces survival suits, life jackets, and emergency breathing systems used during offshore helicopter travel. Establishes correct donning techniques as a prerequisite for water escape drills.

Lesson 1 • Emergency Breathing System Operation

Introduces the emergency breathing system as a short-duration air supply for underwater escape. Teaches activation, breathing technique, and duration limitations critical to safe egress.

Lesson 2 • Timed Equipment Donning Under Pressure

Applies donning skills in timed, stress-simulated conditions to replicate real emergency time constraints. Identifies performance gaps and corrects technique before water-based exercises.

Lesson 3 • Immersion Suit Construction and Function

Explains thermal protection principles, buoyancy characteristics, and material properties of offshore immersion suits. Builds understanding needed to don and maintain suits correctly.

Lesson 4 • Life Jacket Operation and Inflation

Covers manual and automatic inflation mechanisms, whistle, light, and crotch strap adjustment on offshore life jackets. Ensures learners can operate jackets correctly in darkness or stress.

Lesson 1 • Controlled Water Entry Techniques

Covers safe methods for entering water from height, including the feet-first jump with life jacket secured. Prepares learners for emergency exits from a ditched helicopter.

Lesson 2 • Swimming in Survival Equipment

Develops the ability to swim short distances in full immersion suit and life jacket toward a life raft or rescue asset. Focuses on efficient stroke adaptation with restricted movement.

Lesson 3 • Overcoming Water Anxiety

Addresses psychological barriers to water entry and provides structured exposure techniques to build confidence. Establishes a safe learning environment essential for subsequent pool-based training.

Lesson 4 • Floating and Treading Water in Survival Gear

Teaches passive floating and active treading techniques while wearing an inflated life jacket and immersion suit. Demonstrates how buoyancy aids reduce physical effort in cold water.

Lesson 1 • Reference Point Orientation Method

Introduces the tactile reference point method for locating exits without visual cues after cabin inversion. This technique is the foundation of all subsequent underwater escape drills.

Lesson 2 • Seatbelt and Harness Release

Covers the types of seatbelt and harness systems used in offshore helicopters and their correct release under load. Emphasises releasing the belt before attempting exit to prevent entrapment.

Lesson 3 • Blindfolded Exit Location Practice

Applies reference point skills in a dry cabin mock-up with vision obscured to simulate post-crash disorientation. Builds the muscle memory required for reliable exit location underwater.

Lesson 4 • Offshore Helicopter Cabin Layout

Maps the interior geometry of common offshore helicopter types, including seat rows, window exits, and door positions. Spatial familiarity reduces hesitation during emergency egress.

Lesson 1 • Brace Position and Impact Preparation

Teaches the correct brace position for helicopter ditching impact, protecting the body and maintaining orientation. Proper bracing reduces injury risk and preserves cognitive function for escape.

Lesson 2 • Multiple Repetition Escape Drills

Consolidates escape skills through repeated simulator runs with varied exit assignments and EBS conditions. Repetition builds automaticity required for reliable performance under real emergency stress.

Lesson 3 • Inversion Recognition and Wait Technique

Explains why occupants must wait for cabin inversion to stabilise before attempting exit to avoid disorientation. Teaches the controlled wait and the cues that signal readiness to escape.

Lesson 4 • Escape with Emergency Breathing System

Integrates EBS activation into the underwater escape sequence to extend safe breath-hold time. Addresses common errors in EBS use that can cause flooding or air loss during escape.

Lesson 1 • Helicopter Rescue Hoist Procedures

Prepares survivors to interact safely with a rescue helicopter during hoist recovery from the water. Incorrect behaviour near a hovering helicopter creates serious secondary hazards.

Lesson 2 • Visual and Audio Signalling for Rescue

Covers the use of flares, whistles, signal mirrors, and strobes to attract rescue assets after ditching. Correct signalling technique maximises detection probability in poor visibility conditions.

Lesson 3 • Immediate Post-Escape Actions

Covers the priority actions taken immediately after surfacing from a submerged helicopter, including life jacket inflation and swim-away. Establishes a clear action sequence to prevent secondary drowning.

Lesson 4 • Survival Postures in Cold Water

Introduces the HELP and huddle postures for reducing heat loss when a life raft is unavailable. Demonstrates measurable reduction in heat loss compared to active swimming.

Lesson 1 • Rough Water and Wave Effects

Examines how wave action affects post-escape swimming, life raft boarding, and signalling effectiveness. Adapts survival techniques to dynamic sea-state conditions.

Lesson 2 • Smoke and Reduced Visibility Scenarios

Addresses escape and evacuation when cabin smoke reduces visibility before water entry. Teaches breath conservation and tactile navigation in smoke-filled environments.

Lesson 3 • Combined Adverse Condition Exercises

Integrates night, smoke, and wave conditions into a single scenario to replicate realistic worst-case ditching events. Assesses learner adaptability and decision quality under compounded stressors.

Lesson 4 • Impact of Darkness on Escape Performance

Analyses how darkness disrupts spatial orientation and exit location during underwater escape. Reinforces tactile reference point reliance as the primary compensating strategy.

Lesson 1 • Certification Issuance and Records

Covers the process for issuing HUET certificates, recording competency data, and registering with industry databases. Accurate records ensure offshore operators can verify worker compliance.

Lesson 2 • Theoretical Knowledge Assessment

Evaluates understanding of hazard identification, equipment operation, escape sequences, and survival procedures through written or digital testing. Identifies knowledge gaps requiring remediation before practical assessment.

Lesson 3 • Continuous Improvement and Incident Reporting

Introduces the role of near-miss reporting and post-incident analysis in improving HUET training content and delivery. Connects individual reporting behaviour to systemic safety improvements.

Lesson 4 • Practical Skills Evaluation

Assesses donning, underwater escape, and survival skills against defined performance standards in pool conditions. Evaluators use standardised checklists to ensure objective and consistent scoring.