Offshore accommodation within a standard module

Offshore vessels and platforms may need different numbers of people for different projects. The article describes ELA accommodation modules that can be lifted onto an installation, connected for a period of use and later removed, rather than relying only on rooms permanently incorporated into a vessel or platform.

The modules provide more than sleeping space. The article identifies galleys, offices, mess rooms and laundries, as well as accommodation. It presents mobility, lifting, rapid connection, safety certification and resistance to harsh offshore conditions as parts of the product rather than incidental project problems.

The source is a trade-publication interview with an ELA executive. It is useful evidence of the company’s approach in 2017, but it is not an independent assessment of technical performance, comfort or whole-life environmental impact.

ELA describes one base type supporting various accommodation solutions. Its current 20-foot Offshore Allrounder retains external dimensions of 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm and is offered with fit-outs including living quarters, offices, meeting and dining rooms, locker rooms, recreation and fitness rooms, laundries, drying rooms, small galleys and sanitary facilities.

Those dimensions coincide with the ISO 668 1CCC 20-foot High Cube envelope used in current ExoSett engineering examples. ELA’s present product page does not call the module a 1CCC; this is an ExoSett dimensional comparison. ExoSett does not prescribe one universal module or dwelling size, and a purpose-built accommodation module is not a converted shipping container.

The deeper relevance is the combination of a defined physical product with varied interiors. Repeatable manufacture and transport need not determine a single use or layout.

The article connects standard dimensions with established transport and handling. ELA’s current Plug & Play material also describes centrally accessible connection boxes for power, communications, air conditioning and, where required, fresh water and wastewater.

This illustrates the importance of interfaces. A transportable room must not only fit a dimensional envelope; it must be liftable, securable, connectable, inspectable and capable of being disconnected again. Offshore certification addresses a demanding context, but it would not by itself establish compliance with the building, housing, fire or accessibility requirements of another application.

ELA demonstrates that a specialist manufacturer can concentrate on making complete, fitted accommodation modules. This is relevant to ExoSett’s proposed separation between independently developed accommodation and the infrastructure that supports it.

Within an ExoSett building, an accommodation frame would provide persistent structural support, while a separate service frame would provide circulation and shared service routes. An accommodation module could then be developed within defined interfaces without having to constitute the whole building system.

Companies with capabilities such as ELA’s show that relevant manufacturing expertise already exists. This observation does not mean that ELA products are currently compatible with ExoSett or that ELA is an ExoSett supplier or collaborator.

ELA’s current system can combine accommodation modules horizontally and vertically, using corner castings, twistlocks, bolts, gangways and stairway modules to form larger accommodation complexes. In those arrangements, the modules and associated access components make up much of the accommodation structure.

ExoSett proposes a different surrounding context. Its accommodation modules would be inserted into and removed from a long-lived external structure. The frame, circulation and shared services could remain when a module is replaced or refurbished, so the module need not act as the permanent building structure or circulation system.

This is not a claim that one approach is inherently better. Offshore installations and buildings have different requirements. The comparison helps clarify what ExoSett places outside the accommodation module and intends to retain over time.

ELA demonstrates that an established industry can manufacture fully fitted, repeatedly transportable rooms within the same 20-foot dimensional envelope used in current ExoSett engineering examples. Its catalogue also shows how a common physical module can support many uses.

ExoSett proposes a different building context: independently manufactured accommodation modules could sit within a persistent accommodation frame, while structural support, circulation and shared services are handled separately. Whether any existing product could be adapted to that context would require engineering, design, testing, certification and agreement with its manufacturer.

Read the original at Offshore Technology, return to Research and Reading, or explore Accommodation design.