School of Industrial Design

Proposal
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Designing Adequate PPE for Ship Breaking in Developing Countries

Keywords: Shipbreaking, safety equipment, PPE, developing countries

A Project Proposal
Presented to the School of Industrial Design
Graduate Committee

By

Tanvi Olivia Singh

Master of Industrial Design Candidate 2018

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree
Master of Industrial Design in the
School of Industrial Design,
College of Architecture

Georgia Institute of Technology

August 2017

Primary Advisor
Sabir Khan, School of Industrial Design and School of Architecture (Joint)

Committee Members
Dr Roger Ball, School of Industrial Design
Dr Joe Brown, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Introduction

Literature review

Ship Breaking or Ship Dismantling is a process of breaking down a retired or decommissioned ship into
parts to be sold, recycled or disposed. Over the lifetime of a ship: which is anywhere from 25 to 30 years;
periodic repairs are made and parts are refitted, on and off the shore. When it is no longer financially
viable to carry out these repairs anymore the ships are “recycled”. The ship can be disposed in a few
ways: floating or dry dock storage, hulking, donation, deep water sinking, making artificial reefs or ship
breaking.

Ship breaking is the most common method. In this method, the ship will usually be sold to a ship scrap
yard by the ship owner for demolition or dismantling. The ship yard will break apart the ship. The steel
from the ship can be recycled and used in other industries and equipment, ship machinery, electronics,
furniture, copper wiring etc. can be sold into local markets or to traders. The IMO, (International Maritime
Organization) has guidelines in place for the environment and for the safety of workers involved.
(Shippipedia) To name two, Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound
Recycling of Ships, 2009 and the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the
functions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee.(2012 guidelines for the authorization of ship
recycling facilities 2 March 2012).

A Brief History
When ships were made of wood, the ships were conveniently sunk or set on fire. Sometimes they were
dismantled and the wood was reused. (Bowen, 1930's). With the arrival of metal-hulled ships this system
was no longer viable. The first accounts of ship breaking are in Rotherhithe, London(Goodwin, 2005)
followed by Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands by the late 1800s.(Bowen, 1930's)

As the environmental regulations got stricter, the disposal of hazardous waste got very expensive in
industrialized countries. The ship breaking industry moved from industrialized countries to developing
ones in the 1980s. The only ship breaking that remains in the United states is in Brownsville, Texas
where primarily government vessels go once they are retired. The first developing countries to enter into
the market in mid 1950s, were Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Spain, Pakistan; much later Bangladesh,
India and Turkey. As the wages across east Asia rose, the industries in Japan, Taiwan and Korea died.
(P. V. Rane, July 2014)

It wasn’t until 1965, after a cyclone stranded the Greek ship M D Alpine, on the shores of Chittagong in
then East Pakistan, that the ship breaking industry took birth in Bangladesh. The Chittagong Steel House
bought the vessel and took years to scrap the ship.(Sarraf et al., December 2010)

By now the huge environmental problems associated with this industry had started to be recognized and
the Basel Convention was passed in 2004 classifying old ships as toxic waste. This led to a revival of
recycling in the compliant locations in industrialized countries. It also meant the ships could no longer
leave a country without the permission of the importing country.(Heberlein & Boumay, November 2006).

Over the years there has been push back from the governments of these developing nations. In January
2006, protests over improper toxic waste disposal facilities led to the Supreme Court of India temporarily
banning access to the ship scrap yard in Alang, Gujarat and the French government ordered an asbestos
laden- French vessel Clemenceau to return to French waters ("Chirac orders 'toxic' ship home," January
2006). Not much later in 2009, the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association won a legal case
barring all substandard ship scrapping ("Hard to break up," October 2012). The ban was in place for 14
months, during which many ships were denied entry and thousands of people lost their jobs. Later that
year the global recession hit and the falling demand of goods led to a rise of decommissioned ships and

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ship breaking became an even more highly lucrative business (Ravichandran, Jain, & Sanklecha,
September 2012). Since ship breaking uses purely manual labor and completely excludes any
automation, it is prevalent only in countries with cheap labor.

Economic Benefits
Though there are other alternate ways of getting rid of a ship and despite the environmental ramifications,
there are major economic benefits that make this method popular.
• The ships are a huge resource for reusable steel scrap: this, reduces the pressure on iron ore
mining and steel manufacturing.
• Salvaging almost all parts of the vessels and everything on the vessel creates a lot of revenue.
• Import duties and yard taxes generate large government tax revenues.
• Employment generated by the industry for a large number of the poorest labor force that would
otherwise have no employment (Chanev, November 2015).

Shipbreaking Process
Ships that are ready to be scrapped are put up for sale by their owners and the biggest bid gets to take
the vessel. The ship normally makes its final voyage to one of the ship yards of the developing countries.
The ship usually does so on its own steam thus saving the cost of towing and tug boats. Maneuvering the
ships on to the beach is difficult and can take multiple tries ("Dramatic beaching of pride calais," Feb
2014). In developing countries, mainly the Indian subcontinent, the beaches with ship yards are normally
gently sloping tidal beaches. The vessel floats steadily onto the beach during high tide where it lurches
and stops once it is ashore. When the tide recedes, the engines are shut off and the laborers pull the
vessels inland with the help of strong chains, cables and strong machinery. This is one of the steps that
causes the most accidents, the chains break sometimes causing great harm to the laborers (Chanev,
November 2015).

As the vessel reaches its final position the anchor is dropped to make it steady to be decommissioned.
First the engine fuel and fire-fighting liquid is completely drained out to make sure no accidental
explosions take place. These are sold into the trade. Though there are safety guidelines and procedures
in place, no real scientific tests are carried out. In many ship yards, chickens are lowered into the
chambers of the ship, and if the bird comes out alive on retrieval it is considered safe to move ahead with
dismantling the ship ("The Graveyard of Giants: A history of shipbreaking in Bangladesh," March 2012).

The scrappers take first go at the vessel to explore and locate useful items such as machine equipment,
electronics, electric copper wiring, plumbing, furniture, flags, liquor, and ornamental fittings. These items
are reused or sold in the local markets or to traders that travel from ship yard to ship yard, at a price that
is lesser than the market value. The unwanted materials end up in relevant waste streams. For example,
in order to access the copper in electric wiring, the toxic insulation is usually burnt off and disposed on the
beach itself (Convention, 2003). Hazardous waste that is difficult to dispose, like old batteries and empty
cans of paint are left on the beach or set aflame (Isabell Hülsen, Feb 2013). Though this part of the
process isn’t very dangerous, there are instances where residue fumes can be fatal for the laborers.

After the scrappers are done, the shipboard supervisor and other authorized personnel inspect the ship
and decide the course of action. There are no actual manuals for breaking a ship. It is the project
experience of the supervisors that drives the process. As the real dismantling starts, the laborers are
provided with oxy-acetylene torches and sledgehammers to cut apart the steel hull of the ship. Cranes
are not used on the ships because of the costs.

Cut out pieces of the hull simply fall off and are dragged inland with either a bulldozer or winch ("The
Graveyard of Giants: A history of shipbreaking in Bangladesh," March 2012). These pieces are then cut
into smaller pieces, 90% of it is roll-able scrap. Higher quality plates are heated and reused for reinforced
bars in construction while the rest is used for re-rolling mills by melting down plates to ingots in electric

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arc furnaces (Gwin, May 2014). There is some oversight in India which has the second largest carrying
capacity but the largest capacity is in Bangladesh where the stash is 79,000 tons of asbestos, 240,000
tons of PCBs and 210,000 tons of chlorinates polyurethane foam on its beaches (Sarraf et al., December
2010). There is a high reliance on muscle strength of the laborers, but no safety footwear, clothing or
masks are provided to them (Dasgupta, June 5, 2017)

Gaps in the industry

The average life span of a ship is 25-30 years so the ships being decommissioned today; were built
sometime in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of asbestos in ships was banned only in the mid-1980s.
These older ships may contain many hazardous substances on board, such as asbestos in the heat
insulators, polychlorinated biphenyl PCBs and lethal persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The cost of
removing these hazardous materials and the heath insurances for the high risks involved in these
practices makes it economically non-viable to carry out these practices in most developed nations.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in developing nations and this lack in regulation is being exploited by
the ship breaking industry.

In the developing countries, there is no risk of personal injury lawsuits or requirement for providing health
insurances. The workers are just glad enough to have a job that can put food in their mouths, that none of
them are going to make health claims or object when no protective equipment is provided to them on the
job.

The ships are imported without pre-cleaning or removal of toxic gases and hazardous materials. Each
ship contains on an average 7000- 8000 Kgs of asbestos and 10-100 tons of lead paint. Hazardous waste
of the scrapped ships, specially oil and oil substances are dumped directly into the sea. Simultaneously
ammonia, metal rust and heavy metals like lead, cadmium and arsenic found in the paints, coatings and
electric equipment are also discharged into the immediate environment. This leads to serious pollution of
the air, coastal soil and sea water contamination of these ship yards. Asbestos laden shores and fumes
from the burning waste cause serious health problems like cancers, pulmonary diseases like asthma and
asbestosis and other disruptions to the hormonal systems of the workers (Chanev, November 2015).

It is estimated by a local ombudsman group, that at the Bangladesh ship yards, one worker dies every
week and one is injured per day on average. Gas explosions killing workers is a common phenomenon.
Workers sometimes fall from the high sides of the ship as they work without safety harnesses, or are
crushed by heavy cut steel pieces falling on them from the sides of the ships. Those working with
oxyacetylene torches do not have safety glasses. Very few have actual shoes, let alone protective
clothing.

1000-2000 workers have died in Bangladesh alone in the last 30 years while many have been injured.
The percentage of disabled people is much above average in the Chittagong region as many workers
lose their limbs at the ship yards("The Graveyard of Giants: A history of shipbreaking in Bangladesh,"
March 2012). Most of these injuries could have easily been avoided if only the workers had the right
safety equipment. Gas masks, protective clothing, simple covered shoes, gloves, hard top helmets,
protective glasses and safety harnesses, any of these could have saved many lives and limbs of the
injured workers.

This industry provides a menial livelihood to thousands of workers, but there are few that live to retire
from the job. At least half of the workers at these ship yards are under the age of 20 and more than half of
them are illiterate ("Problems ", 2012). These workers normally come to the ship yards at a young age, as
young as 12-13 years old. Normally because their parents can’t support them because their father passed
away, many times at the ship yards, and they are too young to find employment elsewhere (Childbreaking
Yards, 2008). It is estimated at as high as 20 percent of the workforce are children. The workers are

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some of the poorest people and know very little about the regulations on occupational health and safety
standards. Sometimes the families of these workers dwell in slums just outside the ship yards and
breathe the same polluted water and live on the same polluted land. These family are barely
compensated, if they even are for the deaths of their family members working at the yards ("The
Graveyard of Giants: A history of shipbreaking in Bangladesh," March 2012).

Regulations
The ship breaking industry is regulated by 3 UN organizations that are responsible and provide guidelines
for breaking of ships.

• The Basel Convention (1992) which released the “Technical guidelines for the Environmentally
sound management of the full and partial dismantling of ships “in 2002, and the Hong Kong
International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
• The International Maritime Organization (2203) which released the “2012 guidelines for the
authorization of ship recycling facilities”.
• International Labor Organization (2003) with its "Safety and Health in Shipbreaking" (endorsed
2004)

The “Safety and Health in shipbreaking” sets criteria for ships disposal and recycling concerning ship
breaking authorities and shipbreakers (employers and workers). It provides guidelines for workers
protection from workplace dangers, elimination of work related accidents and improving management of
occupational health issues at the shipbreaking yards(Chanev, November 2015).

Reasons for not following Regulations

As one can see these regulations have been set in place every few years but the death and injury
statistics and the conditions of the shipbreaking yard workers have not improved. This situation can be
explained by the following reasons.

• The developing countries prioritize economic gain over public health, more specifically health of
the shipbreaking yard workers.
• Shipbreaking is a very economically lucrative business. One might think a scrapped ship would
be a liability, but the ships are 90% recycled and everything on the ship creates revenue.
• These countries suffer from over population and illiteracy. There are more people than there are
jobs, and for the poorest people that do not receive any education, the employment options are
even fewer.
• The government of these developing countries have employees at every level that aren’t paid
sufficiently, resulting in more employees willing to overlook regulation or do a favor for their
personal monetary gain. Which means high corruption rates.
• Illiteracy, the workers that are directly affected by these “compromises” in regulation are often not
aware of their rights. Shipbreaking yards owners don’t have to worry about personal injury
lawsuits or workers' health claims because most workers are not aware of these practices.

Labor Organizations
The awareness is rising as the workers are organizing themselves as in an active ship breaker's union in
Mumbai, India (Mumbai Port Trust Dock and General Employees’ Union) since 2003 with 15,000
members, which strikes to ensure fatality compensation(P. Rane, Jan 2013). They are trying to organize
the workers at other locations as well. In Alang, Gujarat they have set up a sister union which has been
working towards gaining paid holidays and safety equipment for workers since 2005. They hope to
expand all locations on the Indian subcontinent where, workers are fired and black listed for trying to
create unions (P. V. Rane, July 2014).

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Purpose of the study

In the shipbreaking yards of Mumbai, India very basic safety equipment or personal protective equipment
(PPE) is provided once every few months whenever licenses must be renewed and someone from the
government shows up for an inspection. Ship breaking is an industry where these PPE undergo hard
wear and tear and do not last more than a couple weeks at a time. Even navy engineers that take care of
on-board ship maintenance replace their safety gear every few weeks as it breaks. So ultimately, the
workers work without any PPE for most of the year (P. V. Rane, July 2014).
Legislative and social efforts are being made to improve worker’s conditions by setting guidelines for
shipbreaking, recycling, disposal of waste, protection of workers from workplace dangers, elimination of
accidents and management of health issues. These are intended to reduce the fatalities, injuries and
improve health of these shipbreaking yard workers (Chanev, November 2015). And while these steps are
moving the industry to a better tomorrow, they need to be fortified by adequate tools.
The safety equipment used and available to these ship yards today are not made specifically for this
industry. This shipbreaking industry has its own requirements and the safety equipment or PPE needs to
fulfill its unique purpose. The shipbreaking yards in the developing nations and the workers that work
there create a unique social group- that works in adverse conditions, is at the bottom of the food chain, is
mostly illiterate, their safety and wellbeing is not a priority to their employers and is a secret to the
developed world to a large extent. The PPE they have access to is inadequate for their use, is not as
readily available and is not economically viable for employers to replace frequently.

Specific aims

The aim of this project is to study in detail the safety practices and equipment used in the shipbreaking
industry in the developing and developed nations, use the comparison to generate learnings to identify
the top safety equipment needs of the shipbreaking yards in the developing nations and attempt to
develop adequate safety equipment / PPE for those locations.

I will also attempt to identify ways to generate interest in the shipbreaking yard employers and employees
towards the developed safety equipment / PPE. I will work with to NGOs and Labor unions to achieve this
goal.

Outcomes

The ideal outcome of this project will be a product that is a type of improved safety equipment / Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers in shipbreaking yards in developing nations to reduce fatalities
and injuries and improve their health.

Significance of the study

The project study intends to make a difference in the lives of the workers and families that have been
affected by the neglect and exploitation of the shipbreaking industry in the developing nations for
decades. These people are desperate for work and do not have the luxury to choose. They risk their lives
every day to feed themselves and their families. The stark difference in the working conditions between
the developed nations of United Kingdom, United States and Belgium and the developing nations is
substantial and I am going to do my bit to reduce that difference.

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Methodology

Design Process

This project will use a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach. User-centered design focuses on gaining
a deep understanding of who will be using the product, throughout the design and development process
("User-Centered Design Basics,").

This project is aimed at designing safety equipment / PPE for shipbreaking yard workers in the
developing countries and it is important to keep the users at the center of the design process as the
environmental conditions, hazards, habits, facilities and equipment in those shipbreaking yards is different
from the one’s in developed countries. Thus, the UCD process is ideal for this application. It bases its
design on a clear grasp of users, their tasks, and their environments. It is steered by user-centered
evaluation and addresses the whole user experience. The process revolves around the users through
every iteration ("User-Centered Design Basics,").

The phases that will be carried out in the design process will be specifying the context of use, specifying
requirements, creating design solutions, evaluating design solutions, iterating design solutions, evaluating
iterative design solutions, developing final product, user testing final product, obtaining buy-in from stake
holders.

Some of main questions that this project will aim to address are: - What are the major causes of fatalities
and injuries in the shipbreaking yards in developing countries? What will be most effective safety
equipment / PPE? What are developed countries doing differently? What kind of protection do UN
organizations emphasize the most? What is the most comfortable form of PPE for the workers? How can
we build it to last while being cheap and sustainable?

Design Methods

The methods this project will utilize are IRB, developed vs. developing nations shipbreaking yards
comparison, safety practices and regulations matrix, environment and audience definition, user task list,
technique vs. dangers analysis, market research, safety equipment matrix, stakeholder research and buy-
in, user interviews, research data analysis, 2d ideation, 3d ideation, functional prototypes, prototype
evaluation, usability testing and design iteration.

IRB
To get direct information from the users, an IRB approval will be required by Georgia Institute of
Technology. An informed consent to audio recordings will also be developed for adults working in the
shipbreaking yards in Brownsville and then a shipyard in a developing nation.

Developed Vs. Developing nation’s Shipbreaking yards comparison

First step to the project will be to understand the design space in detail, for which the differences and
similarities between the two types of shipbreaking yards will be analyzed and the practices, environments,
worker-employer-regulator relationship at the shipbreaking yards in Brownsville, Texas will be
benchmarked. With the assistance of my advisors, we will try to get access to be on site at the
shipbreaking yards in Brownsville, Texas.

Safety practices and regulations matrix

The traditional and local safety practices at different sites will be compared in the form of a matrix to
understand the bigger picture of safety in shipbreaking yards. Similarly, a matrix of all directed regulations
and the extent of their compliance will be understood.

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Environment and user definition

A clear understanding of the environment and user is critical to the user-centered design approach.
During this phase analysis will be done of the findings from the literature review and on-site data to
specifically define my design environment and user.

User Task list

On clearly identifying the user, all their tasks, responsibilities, daily activities while at the shipyard will be
listed and analyzed to understand their safety requirements.

Technique Vs. Danger list

The shipbreaking technique of our identified environment and the dangers at each step will be defined in
detail and checked with the safety requirements identified in the previous step.

Market research and safety equipment matrix

A thorough assessment of the current safety equipment and PPE will be done. These products will be
benchmarked and analyzed with level of adequacy with the requirements of the user in a matrix format.

Stakeholder research and buy-in

Based on the identified requirements for the safety equipment / PPE all relevant stakeholders will be
identified and approached as need be.

User interviews
Over the winter break, the designer will travel to the shipbreaking yard in concern and conduct user
interviews. During this time, key user insight will be observed, analyzed and documented.

Research data analysis

On returning to school the information gathered from the shipbreaking yards will be analyzed and will lead
to finalizing the design requirements for the final prototype.

2d ideation
At the minimum, 100 sketches will be prepared for the product. These will be assessed and analyzed with
the advisor for effectiveness, adequacy, viability, usability, form factor, comfort, cost and opportunity
identification. The best designs will be chosen and higher fidelity sketches will be developed and the
concepts will be flushed iteratively while also conducting manufacturing and materials research.

3d ideation
3d sketch models, appearance models and forms will be explored for the top concepts. These will be
tested for possibility to translate into actual products, material viability, functional viability and form factor
with the direction of the advisors. Through multiple tests it will be assessed how well the design fits with
Universal design principles and required changes will be made.

Functional prototypes
Functional prototypes to explore the use and adequate fulfillment of design objectives will be developed.
Sustainable materials and manufacturing will be considered for the potential product designs as well as
the economic and social impacts.

Usability testing
The functional prototypes will be tested by users without any interference from the designer. Their
interaction with the prototype will be observed and their feedback to a set of questions noted afterwards.
This will either be done by a representative of the union or NGO or the designer.

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Prototype evaluation
A final prototype will be built and evaluated to check the fulfilling of all the design criteria. The
shipbreaking yard workers will be allowed to use the prototype and surveyed and the survey results
collected to analyze the improvements in safety.

Design iteration
The relevant feedback gathered will be incorporated in the final design. Multiple iterations may be carried
out till a satisfactory prototype is ready.

Methodological Map

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 August September October November December January February March April May June July August September October November
Finalize
Research Plan

Timeline
Primary
Proposal

research
IRB
Submisssion
Shipbreaking
yard cmparisn
Safety &
regulatn rsrch
Environment &
User definitn
User task
definitions
Techn. Vs.
School of Industrial Design

Danger Analys
Market
Research
Safety equip.
Analysis
Stakeholder
rsrch & buy-in
Mid term
Presentation
User
Interviews
Research data
Analysis

2d Iterations

3d Iterations
Functional
Prototypes
Prototype
evaluation
Design
Iteration
Usability
testing

Document

Present
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References

2012 guidelines for the authorization of ship recycling facilities (2 March 2012). Retrieved from IMO:
Bowen, F. C. (1930's). The Shipbreaking Industry. Retrieved from http://www.naval-
history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Shipbreak.htm
Chanev, C. (November 2015). Ship Breaking. Ships and Lines.
Childbreaking Yards. (2008). Retrieved from
Chirac orders 'toxic' ship home. (January 2006). BBC News.
Convention, S. o. t. B. (2003). Technical Guidelines for the environmentally sound management of the full
and partial dismantling of ships. Retrieved from Basel Convention:
Dasgupta, s. (June 5, 2017). How Ship Dismantling is Done? Guidelines
Dramatic beaching of pride calais. (Feb 2014). Retrieved from
http://onthethames.net/2014/02/01/video-shows-dramatic-beaching-pride-calais/
Goodwin, P. (2005). The Ships of Trafalgar. London: Conway Maritime Press Ltd.
The Graveyard of Giants: A history of shipbreaking in Bangladesh. (March 2012). Retrieved from
http://recyclingships.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/graveyard-of-giants-history-of.html
Gwin, P. (May 2014). The Ship-Breakers. National Geographic.
Hard to break up. (October 2012). The Economist.
Heberlein, C., & Boumay, E. (November 2006). Vital Waste Graphics 2. The Basel Convention Secretariat.
Isabell Hülsen, W. W. a. B. Z. (Feb 2013). Ship-Breaking Lessons from the Exxon Valdez.
Problems (2012). Problems and Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.shipbreakingplatform.org/main-
aspects/problems-and-solutions/
Rane, P. (Writer). (Jan 2013). The Wire Nest- life in Mumbai's Shipbreaking Yards. NGO Shipbreaking
Platform.
Rane, P. V. (Writer). (July 2014). Echoes of Ship Breaking.
Ravichandran, K., Jain, P., & Sanklecha, R. (September 2012). Ship Breaking Industry: Key Trends and
Credit Implications. ICRA Rating Feature.
Sarraf, M., Stuer-Lauridsen, F., Dyoulgerov, M., Bloch, R., Wingfield, S., & Watkinson, R. (December
2010). Ship breaking and recycling industry in bangladesh and pakistan. Retrieved from
Shippipedia. Life Cycle of a Ship. Retrieved from http://www.shippipedia.com/life-cycle-of-a-ship/
User-Centered Design Basics. What & Why of Usability. Retrieved from
https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-centered-design.html

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