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Safety Standards for Avalanche Rescue Shovels and Probes

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
An overview of some work that several organisations have been doing on shovels and probes. The goal is to produce some standards for general use.

https://www.theuiaa.org/uiaa/progress-on-safety-standards-for-avalanche-rescue-shovels-and-probes/

Quote:
In 2013, the UIAA Safety Commission (SafeCom) undertook the development of worldwide minimum standards for avalanche probes and shovels. Previously, formal requirements for avalanche shovels and probes only existed for participation in International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) ski touring races, mainly with the aim to ensure equal and fair racing conditions for all athletes.

While not legally binding, UIAA SafeCom standards represent a self-regulatory approach for the only worldwide, industry standard for mountain safety equipment. Initially, the avalanche rescue standards project focused on the now published UIAA 156 standard for avalanche rescue shovels; the final standard proposal on probes is expected to be ready for final voting by spring 2019.

UIAA federations as well as manufacturers of the respective products have voting rights within SafeCom. During both shovel and probe standard development projects, a laboratory and field reference database has been built up to correlate lab test results of generic product characteristics with failure modes in the field. For the avalanche shovel standard, laboratory testing has been carried out in the research lab of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) in Padova. The reference database included eight tests criteria: blade compression, direct and reverse cantilever bending, positive and negative three-points bending, interface tests in compression and extension as well as blade edge strength.

The practical field tests took place in multiple countries including users from Poland, Slovakia, France, Italy and Switzerland. Following the approach of MountainSafety.info, companion and organized rescuers from the user groups of alpine clubs (UIAA), mountain guides (IFMGA), mountain leaders (UIMLA), military mountaineering schools (IAMMS) and organized rescuers (ICAR) where included in the test series. 324 individual excavations leading to 45 laboratory cross-checked excavations per reference database test article were performed. Morphologic, safety relevant requirements such as blade surface and total length dimensions were derived from this dataset. The laboratory and field data showed good correlation, and three easily measurable, quantitative lab values were recognized to be able to identify the safety critical thresholds. Thus, the aim of an economically viable, technically feasible, reproducible test procedure has been reached. After a minor revision in spring 2018, UIAA Safety Label products are expected to be available on the market for the 2018/2019 winter season.

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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I wonder if any analysis of products already on the market will be published? Or whether manufacturers will be hoping to sell everyone a new shovel, even if it is identical to the previous model but with a new sticker.
(not suggesting for a moment this isn't a worthwhile exercise, just will manufacturers be upfront or try and make a quick buck)
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
It appears to be an update on the announcement last year. I started a thread:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=3098226&highlight=shovel#3098226
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