Human Factors in Diving Skills Course Launched

[GLOC]

Not sure where to post this one but seeing as it about preventing accidents and incidents in the first place, I thought this would be the best place. If not, Mods feel free to move it.

Following the successful pilot of the Human Factors in Diving class last week with Phil Short, Tim Clements, Michael Thomas, Louise Hector and John Kendall, the website https://www.humanfactors.academy/ is now live. The next class is already full (8-9 Feb) but there are classes scheduled for March (2 x UK) and April (2 x USA, immediately after TekDiveUSA).

From the website:

Why do we need Human Factors Skills in Diving training?

How many diving accidents, incidents or near misses that you know about were down to the lack of technical skills or failure of equipment? I am betting not too many. Do these sound familiar?

"I didn't think that was going to happen"
"We didn't brief the plan, so I was surprised when he did that"
"We entered the wreck but no-one had talked about that"
"I thought that he had analysed the gas"

Doesn't happen to you? This attitude is a common human behaviour (fundamental attribution error and 'distancing through differencing') where we try to convince ourselves that we are different and these things happen to other people.

Recent research has shown that 44% of SCUBA diving incidents had complacency as a contributory factor, 39% overconfidence, 36% as error in judgement, 33% poor or failure to communicate...these are not technical failures...

What is the course about?

Human in the System has developed a course which blends theory, practical exercises, case studies and computer-based simulation to develop teamwork & cooperation, communications, situational awareness and decision-making skills in the context of diving thereby improving personal and team performance, and reducing the likelihood of an incident from occurring in the first place.

If you want to attend a course and its not on the list, please get in touch. I am aiming to run at least one class a month (primarily in the UK) and hope to run more. More than happy to travel to your location if you can get enough people interested and travel is covered at cost. Min class size is 4, optimum 5.

Regards

Gareth

 

[GLOC]

This page on the site provides free access to Human Factors in Diving presentations I have previously given at conferences in the UK and in Europe.

http://www.humanfactors.academy/store/iDaBbDeY

Regards

 

[GLOC]

Two brief interviews from Cat Braun, owner Tekstreme Diving and Richard Walker, Technical Training Director, GUE about their experiences on the Human Factors Skills in Diving course I ran two weeks ago at Chantelle's The Diver Medic in London. If you want to know why you should do this course, watch this short clip.


Dates for courses are listed here Human Factors Skills in Diving - Course Dates, the number of spaces on each class is listed next to the entry.

There are currently 5 spaces available immediately after @TEKDiveUSA in Miami, 1 on the first course (25/26 Apr) and 4 on the second course (27/28 Apr).

Regards

 

[GLOC]

One of the key pieces of feedback from the two courses was the need to understand what this course was about before attending.

Therefore, I wrote this blog What relevance does Human Factors have to SCUBA diving? article and I also produced an online course costing $45 for more than 2 hours of training including case studies and practical exercises. However, because is it Beneath the Sea this weekend, it is discounted by 50% using the code BTS2016-50 at checkout, valid until midnight UK time on Monday (4th April).

The online course is unique and specific to diving covering the mental skills needed to be more aware of your surroundings. Decision making, situational awareness, communications skills, teamwork, leadership/followership and how stress can both positively and negatively impact performance.

This is some feedback already received

"this course equips divers with the mental toolkit they need to dive safely and lays the foundations for ongoing self-guided improvement". It seems to be roughly equivalent to the 'mindset' part of a course like AN/DP (no drills and skills, no deco or gas theory) but with the scope extended beyond diving in a team or with buddy to cover your diving 'network' and its' culture..
I think the level of the course is spot-on, not too technical but not Noddy and Big Ears, and the further info sections mean it's possible to ramp up the depth/complexity as interest and comprehension allows...
Were I to be paired with a rent-a-buddy I'd be a lot more comfortable diving with them if I knew they'd taken this course."

"The course is running smoothly on my smart phone... This is fun! And right on target...Wow! You're bringing great content right out of the starting gate!..You've successfully introduced high-level concepts here! Kahane's work and ETTO... Appetizing teasers that should make divers want to learn more!..I'm enjoying this course way too much! This resource is cool water in the dry, hot desert, Gareth."

Any questions, just ask

There are still spaces on the second course after TekDiveUSA.

 

[Storker]

This page on the site provides free access to Human Factors in Diving presentations I have previously given at conferences in the UK and in Europe.

Presentation Videos

Regards

Great, thanks! As a former safety officer of my club, I'm always interested in perspectives in how to handle safety-related issues. Since I personally prefer to read rather than watch video, are you planning to release some kind of written material (PPs, compendiums) as well?

 

[Kevrumbo]

Looks like a very good application to Scuba Diving of the original tenets of Crew Resource Management (CRM) :

CRM training concepts have been modified for application to a wide range of activities where people must make dangerous time-critical decisions. These arenas include air traffic control, ship handling, firefighting, and medical operating rooms.

 

[GLOC]

Storker, yes, that is something likely to be on the cards and interesting to hear that that medium is still used In the meantime, many of the concepts are covered in the Blog I have here on the HF Academy site.

Thanks Kev, we are all human, as such we are all liable to the same mistakes, biases and behaviours. Therefore, the skills within CRM or Non-Technical Skills are easily transferable to other domains like diving. I spent 8 months (2 weeks on/off) teaching and coaching Well Operations CRM in the Middle East on and off the rig which also showed the applicability in other areas.

The presentation I gave this weekend at TekDiveUSA had an intentionally controversial title ("Incompetent and Unaware"), if only because most people do not understand their own weakness when it comes to knowledge and skills. Furthermore, they don't realise they don't realise that fact either!! They are in effect hit twice by the same stick!! Elena (mselenous) was at the presentation and has asked me to put a summary up on here for all to see as she thought it was that important.

I am delivering a class today and tomorrow but will put something up on Wednesday highlighting the issues, and how they can potentially be resolved. In the meantime, I put out a code for anyone at TekDiveUSA which is valid until this Friday (29th) which will allow you to get 75% off the online class. TDU16-75.

Whilst this subject has been talked about a bit, this is the first time that it has been brought together in a coherent manner.

If you have any questions, or comments, please post away. There is no such thing as a wrong question, only the one you wished you had asked!!

Regards

Gareth

 

[Radgal]

Gareth this is fantastic!! I'm excited to be part of the Feb 4-5, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. I've heard nothing but stellar feedback from my peers who have taken your course. And.... wait....there are new materials out?? It's even better than before which is hard to believe but ok! Looking forward to it! Meanwhile I'll study up on the resources you have made available.

 

[GLOC]

Yes Renee, I have also put a couple of short video clips together to show what the classes are about.

Introduction to Human Factors Skills in Diving - outline of the classes.

- snippet of the first online module on Human Error.

 

[Radgal]

Spot on Gareth!!