The Patented Donut Personal Controlled Descent Device is the Offshore Industry standard, and was designed and developed in a response to the Piper Alpha tragedy with the cooperation of the UK Regulatory Authorities and the North Sea operators.

Donut is a simple, lightweight device designed as a tertiary means of escape from an Offshore Installation when Conventional means are not possible. It enables Personnel to escape by means of Individual Controlled Descent once the device has been attached to a handrail or other load bearing structure. It is easy to use and requires minimal physical effort.

Donut – Guided Escape to a Liferaft

The Donut has been designed to assist an evacuation to a Liferaft by incorporating a strop, which is attached to the Liferaft Painter Line prior to descent. The Painter Line acts as a guide, during descent, for easy entry into the Liferaft. The evacuee remains safely attached via the Donut Harness to the Painter Line throughout this operation alleviating the risk of being washed away when entering the water.

Conventional methods of Secondary/Tertiary Evacuation:

• Scramble nets are awkward and difficult to use and require periodic inspection.
• Knotted ropes are both physically and mentally very demanding to use, especially if the evacuee is wearing a Survival Suit or Life Jacket.
• Chutes are a fixed entity, which may be rendered inoperative if the cause of the emergency is in the area where the chute is situated.