Impact case study database

Changing professional practice and guidance of government agencies, organisations and employers across the globe

Our research into the effects of seating in HSMC led to the publication, by Dobbins, of the High-Speed Craft Human Factors Engineering Design Guide in 2008. This raised awareness of the consequences of seating design in HSMC and stimulated policy and regulatory debates. In 2011 the guide led directly to the inclusion of seating guidance for HSMC in Marine Guidance Note 436 (M+F), a publication designed to inform industry standards and enhance maritime safety [ C1]. Since 2013, the guide and MGN436 (M+F) have informed 4 other Maritime & Coastguard Agency codes ( The Workboat Code (2^nd Edn), 2018 [ C2]; The Police Boat Code – Common Code, 2013; The Hovercraft Code, 2014; and The Rescue Boat Code, 2014). All relevant UK vessels and international vessels operating in UK waters are legally required to comply with these codes to gain certification.

The guide also informed The High-Speed Passenger Vessel Code (2019) produced by the Royal Yachting Association, British Marine, and the Passenger Boat Association. In 2017, the number of just a single class of boats impacted by this code – Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBS) – amounted to 41,000 craft in the UK alone. Tom Gunston, Chair of the British Standards Technical Committee on Human Response to Vibration and Mechanical Shock, confirms that our work was ‘transformative for the fast boat seating sector’ [ C3]. This insight is further supported by references to MGN436 (M+F) in marine accident investigation reports (e.g., C4 (2010 and 2016)), which echo UoC findings on seating design on marine safety. More broadly, our HSMC research has also stimulated policy debate within NATO who, in 2019, justified the needed for a NATO task group to further explore seating-related injury risks on HSMC [ C5].

Our research has informed a variety of armed forces training and selection practices. For instance, our research has been used to inform injury risk management during British Army Officer Cadet training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), affecting c. 600 UK and overseas recruits per annum. The research has also provided underlying methodologies used in the programme of research dedicated to understanding the impact of arduous training on females in ground-close combat roles. According to Professor Julie Greeves OBE, Principal Physiologist and Assistant Head of the Army Health Branch, this ‘research undertaken by the UoC has had significant impact in Defence by informing approaches to training at RMAS and other basic training Units […] and shaping wider initiatives on wearable technology’, within ‘the most comprehensive research that the UK Army has undertaken on its personnel in a Basic Training environment’. Our research has also had international reach, with methods that UoC researchers have developed used in collaborative research with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and now applied as injury risk screening tools in CAF Officer Cadet and Infantry training [ C6].

Our research in sport has challenged conventional knowledge and practices. Lake’s fundamental research challenging and shaping the use of force-plate data has been widely adopted by S&C research units in North America, Australia and Europe, increasing confidence in the accuracy of research findings [ C7]. In turn, via extensive dissemination efforts (including podcasts reaching audiences of over 6,000 S&C coaches), this research has also informed day-to-day monitoring and assessment practices in a range of sporting organisations across the world, increasing confidence in key training and competitions decisions [ C8]. The Sport Science Coordinator of the Miami Dolphins states that Lake’s research and dissemination activities enhanced decision-making processes concerning the readiness of their athletes to return to competition following injury. Light has impacted on the day-to-day practices of international elite sports organisations. 4 professional football academies in the UK and overseas have adopted the long-lever test based on UoC research and dissemination activity [ C9].

Informing procurement decisions and providing commercial advantage to businesses

The revisions to practice guidance and policy driven by our research findings have changed procurement decisions in a range of organisations, helping to enhance the commercial success of supplier companies. UoC research showing the importance of suspension seating on HSMC lead to the development of UK MoD and US Navy test performance codes, which inform current HSMC seat design and procurement patterns in military and search and rescue fleets [ C3, C10, C11]. In 2015, for example, the UK MoD purchased 60 vessels (420 seats @ c. GBP1,200 per unit). In a similar way, our research examining the efficacy of physical activity monitors has increased the procurement of Activinsights’s (a UK-Based SME specialising in digital health products; turnover c. GBP570,000) GENEActiv monitors [ C12]. Furthermore, the work that we have completed with CERVUS (a UK-based, veteran-owned SME specialising in data analytics and visualisation; turnover c. GBP2,000,000) has informed their design of various software systems and contributed to successful contract tendering amounting to c. GBP1,200,000 [ C13].

In sport, Lake’s research stimulated the 2017 start-up Hawkin Dynamics, a force plate manufacturing company, and has informed their product design and support services ever since. Lake’s research, dissemination activity and consultancy with this company has contributed to revenue growth and enhanced customer satisfaction [ C14]. Currently, the company employs 10 people and has an annual revenue of c. USD1,270,000.

Supporting technical and process innovations in commercial organisations

Through various research collaborations, consultancies and dissemination activities, UoC research has helped enhance the performance of existing businesses through the development of products, processes, and services. Our HSMC research was the catalyst for a successful start-up Human Factors company, STResearch Ltd, which incorporated our findings into its consultancy work [ C11]. In military contexts, our collaborations with CERVUS have upskilled staff members and led to refinements in their commercial software packages [ C13]. Activinsights also report that our research has informed enhancements to their product configurations and specifications [ C12]. Lake’s work with Hawkin Dynamics has informed the development of their software, guidance and support for customers, contributing to their growth as a company [ C14].