Designing equipment that has to perform at significant depth is one thing. Proving that it will, before it ever leaves the workshop, is another.
Why we work with NOC
As part of an ongoing R&D programme, our team took new equipment to the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton for pressure testing at depth. NOC operates one of the most capable hyperbaric and pressure-test facilities in the region — the kind of facility you do not want to recreate yourself, and the kind you want to be able to call on when you are pushing a design into deeper water.
What the testing told us
The collaboration gave us controlled, repeatable conditions, validated against world-class instrumentation, and the chance to compare design assumptions against measured behaviour. Equipment was taken through its expected operating envelope and beyond, with results captured for our internal qualification record. Working with NOC means our products reach the customer with their depth performance properly characterised, rather than estimated.
Serious R&D, serious partners
It also reinforces something we have always believed at Special Projects: serious R&D benefits from serious partners. The UK has world-class research infrastructure on its doorstep. Using it well — and giving back to it where we can — is part of how we keep our products honest.