Scientific and methodological principles for justifying training standards in body armor

Avetisian Vadim

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5986-2794

Lisniak Andrey

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5526-1513

Shevchenko Serhii

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6740-9252

Ostapov Kostiantyn

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1275-741X

Senchykhyn Iurii

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5983-2747

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52363/2524-0226-2025-42-10

Keywords: personal protective equipment, body armor, ballistic vest, helmet, fire and rescue units, standards

Аnnotation

A statistical assessment method was developed to evaluate the impact of ballistic protective equipment on the performance of operational standards by firefighters-rescuers. The method is based on a within-subject experimental design with repeated measurements under two conditions: without protective gear and while wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. To cover different types of physical and coordination load, a set of training exercises was selected and grouped into three categories: donning equipment (dynamic dressing actions), tasks involving fine motor coordination, and dynamic deployment with equipment handling. Each participant performed the exercises in both conditionswith and without protective gearwhile maintaining fixed rest intervals between trials. Several valid trials were recorded for each exercise, and a representative time was calculated for each participant. Primary indicators included the completion time under both conditions; secondary indicators comprised the relative increase in time and the correction coefficient (k) for each exercise. During data processing, the normality of differences was tested using the Shapiro–Wilk test, followed by a dependent samples t-test to evaluate statistical significance. The magnitude of the effect was quantified by Cohen’s d for paired measurements and interpreted using conventional thresholds (small, medium, large). For practical application, exercise-specific correction coefficients (k) were proposed as multiplicative factors to adjust existing time standards. The methodology was tested on a group of firefighters performing a standardized set of exercises. It was found that ballistic protection caused the greatest delay in actions involving donning equipment and active movement, while having minimal influence on fine-motor tasks requiring precision and coordination. The proposed procedure provides a formalized and statistically grounded approach for assessing the effect of protective equipment, and the obtained coefficients enable the integration of results into the system of operational standards to adjust performance time considering the use of ballistic protection.

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