ISO 15027 Diving Suits

The "ISO 15027 Diving suits" standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), consists of the following subsections published under the same title:

• The standard "ISO 15027-1 Part 1: Continuous wear clothing, including safety requirements" specifies the performance and safety requirements for immersion suits worn continuously for work and leisure activities to protect the wearer's body against the effects of cold water immersion, such as cold shock and hypothermia. This standard applies to continuous wear wet and dry immersion suits. Exit suits are not within the scope of this standard. Requirements for exit suits are included in ISO 15027-2. Test methods for immersion suits are given in ISO 15027-3.
• The general requirements in this standard are described as follows:
  • A suit system (dry or wet suit) declared to be a continuous wear suit shall meet all the requirements of this standard. The suit shall not be damaged or fail to perform its specified function when tested in accordance with ISO 15027-3. The test sequence shall begin with the appropriate temperature cycling followed by the appropriate rotating shock box test.
  • A clothing system declared as a helicopter transition suit must meet all the requirements of this standard.
  • The manufacturer shall specify the components of the clothing system, including undergarments and additional items. Clothing worn continuously may include additional items complying with ISO 12402-8, the presence or use of which will not affect its performance in terms of the requirements of this standard. If the harness forms an integral part of the garment designed to comply with this standard, then the complete assembly shall comply with both ISO 12401 and this standard.
  • Heat stress and the risk of discomfort must be taken into account in the design and use of the clothing system. This must be accompanied by information provided by the manufacturer, specific recommendations or warnings in accordance with this standard. In general, the higher the protection against cold shock and hypothermia, the greater the probability of heat stress. The user of a garment that is worn continuously must balance these two effects when selecting a device.
  • Each sample shall be subjected to a rotary shock box test in accordance with this standard. After the rotary shock box test, there shall be no visible migration of the insulation material and no visible wear and tear damage.
  • If the suit system is not designed to be used without personal flotation equipment, the suit system shall be designed in accordance with ISO 12402-2 or ISO 12402-3 standards. personal flotation equipment should not prevent it from being worn and the manufacturer of the clothing system should specify the type of personal flotation equipment to be used.
  • The performance requirements shall be met after cleaning in accordance with this standard. Cleaning shall be in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
  • The clothing system should be designed to minimise the risk of snagging.
  • The clothing system must not contain or be equipped with any component that is likely to injure or hinder the user under normal use.
  • A dry suit should have a tight fit around the neck or face, wrists and ankles. This is tested in the leak tightness test.
• The standard "ISO 15027-2 Part 2: Abandonment cases, including safety requirements" specifies the performance and safety requirements for emergency abandonment clothing for work and leisure activities to protect the user's body against the effects of cold water immersion, such as cold shock and hypothermia. This also includes head, hand and foot protection. This standard applies to dry and wet abandonment clothing. Continuous wear clothing is not within the scope of this standard. The requirements for continuous wear clothing are included in ISO 15027-1. Test methods are given in ISO 15027-3.

The general requirements in this standard are described as follows:

• The garment system declared as an escape garment shall meet all the requirements of this standard. The garment shall not be damaged or fail to perform its specified function when tested in accordance with all the tests described in ISO 15027-3. The test sequence shall begin with the appropriate temperature cycling followed by the appropriate rotating shock box test.
• The manufacturer shall specify the components of the suit system, including undergarments and inserts. The escape suit shall cover the whole body except the face. The hood shall fit tightly around the face to limit water ingress. Hand coverage shall be provided either with integral hand protection or with permanently attached hand protection or gloves. Tested by visual inspection. The escape suit may contain inserts complying with ISO 12402-8, none of which shall, by their presence or use, affect its performance in terms of the requirements of this standard.
• Heat stress and the risk of discomfort must be taken into account in the design and use of the clothing system. This must be accompanied by information provided by the manufacturer with specific recommendations or warnings in accordance with this standard. In general, the higher the protection against cold shock and hypothermia, the greater the likelihood of heat stress. The user of an abandoned garment must balance these two effects when selecting a device.
• The suit size must conform to the size of the intended wearer. Where more than one size range is provided, the size ranges must overlap. Where a universal size adult suit is provided, it must be sized to fit every person between 1,50 m and 1,95 m at least.
• A rotating shock box test should be performed on each garment before the relevant tests are performed according to the ISO 15027-3 standard. After the rotating shock box test, there should be no visible migration of the insulation material and no visible wear and tear damage.
• If the suit system is not designed to be used without a personal life jacket, the suit system must not prevent the wearing of a personal life jacket complying with ISO 12402-2 or ISO 12402-3 standards and the manufacturer of the suit system must specify the type of personal life jacket (inflatable or natural) to be used.
• After cleaning, the performance requirements must be met in accordance with ISO 15027-3. Cleaning must be carried out according to the manufacturer's specifications.
• The suit system should be designed to minimise the risk of entanglement. It should be tested in accordance with ISO 15027-3 standard.
• Materials, fabrics and components must comply with the requirements of this standard.
• The garment must not contain or come with any component that is likely to harm or interfere with the wearer in the context of normal use.
• A dry suit requires a tight fit around the neck or face, wrists and ankles. This is tested in the leak test.

Requirements for which no specific test method is given in this standard shall be tested in one of the following ways:

• With the tests specified in ISO 15027-1 and ISO 15027-2 standards
• By measurement
• By visual assessment
• With functional testing

Before testing, materials and components should be conditioned for 24 hours plus/minus 0,1 hour under standard atmosphere. Temperature cycling test and rotary shock box test should be performed as preconditioning before other tests are performed.

When materials and components are common to a series of garments, only one sample of each material or component is permitted to be tested, unless otherwise specified in the relevant test procedure.

All human test subjects must be familiar with the use of the garment being tested. They must be informed and instructed about the potential hazards of the tests. Human test subjects must undergo a medical examination to prove their medical fitness to complete the test.

Unless otherwise stated, when tests require the use of human test subjects, six persons, each wearing a garment in a size category appropriate to his or her build, should be used. Body dimensions should fall within the heights and masses shown in the table entitled “Dimensions of human test subjects.”

A minimum of one and a maximum of three test subjects must be female. Individuals meeting the criteria must be able to relax in water beyond their depth, swim for 20 minutes, and cover a distance of 350 m with the aid of an approved personal flotation device recommended by the manufacturer and, after adequate rest, be able to board the designated platform.

All samples must pass all objective tests for the entire device to meet the requirements of ISO 15027-1 or ISO 15027-2 standards. However, due to the high variability between human test subjects and the difficulty of evaluating some subjective measurements, it is permissible for a device not to fully meet the requirements of the subjective tests on a single sample and on more than one human test subject.

Test methods described in this standard include:

• Fuel resistance test
• flammability test
• Rotary shock box test
• Leakage measurement
• Thermal testing
• Temperature cycle test
• Ergonomic performance test

Our organization, which has been trying to support businesses from every sector with its testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies carried out in a wide range for years, has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. In this context, testing services in accordance with the "ISO 15027 Diving suits" standard are also provided to businesses.