Adventure-Ocean
Contributor
After 20 years of diving with Marine Biologists we made very slow progress enforcing a dive safety program. We had little problems from the incoming students. They followed a very strict criteria before ever getting to dive and were watched closely until they finished they're scientific diving training.
Over the years our problems were with the professors and long term post grad student with projects. We did not have enough marine techs to dive with everyone who needed a buddy so the students and professors would buddy up for their research dive. When two divers go into the water with different agendas, the safety aspect of having a buddy can get pretty strained. Whether collecting data or samples, their attention is on their work. Just being two divers in the water together doesn't offer support unless they are being aware of their roll as a buddy. Like looking up occasionally.
In one instance the Director of our facility (my boss) came climbing out of the water into the boat to change batteries in his camera and left his buddy at about 40 ft down and 30 or 40 ft away. He didn't see that as breaking the buddy rule. On another project one of the professors started doing a 100 yard transect study with him starting on one side and the student on the other. They were not visible of each other through half the dive. These professors have 20 or more years of diving and tons of training. Generally these breaches are not necessarily putting anyone into immediate danger but they are clearly against the rules of any dive safety program in the United States.
Our responsibility was to the university and to maintain a strict safety diving program. Our scientific diving professors priority was always the science with a respectful recognition of safety.
I would enjoy hearing from others who have safety supervised underwater work. Maintaining the highest safety standard while production is the reason they're diving brings special challenges I'd like to hear more about. Adventure-Ocean
Over the years our problems were with the professors and long term post grad student with projects. We did not have enough marine techs to dive with everyone who needed a buddy so the students and professors would buddy up for their research dive. When two divers go into the water with different agendas, the safety aspect of having a buddy can get pretty strained. Whether collecting data or samples, their attention is on their work. Just being two divers in the water together doesn't offer support unless they are being aware of their roll as a buddy. Like looking up occasionally.
In one instance the Director of our facility (my boss) came climbing out of the water into the boat to change batteries in his camera and left his buddy at about 40 ft down and 30 or 40 ft away. He didn't see that as breaking the buddy rule. On another project one of the professors started doing a 100 yard transect study with him starting on one side and the student on the other. They were not visible of each other through half the dive. These professors have 20 or more years of diving and tons of training. Generally these breaches are not necessarily putting anyone into immediate danger but they are clearly against the rules of any dive safety program in the United States.
Our responsibility was to the university and to maintain a strict safety diving program. Our scientific diving professors priority was always the science with a respectful recognition of safety.
I would enjoy hearing from others who have safety supervised underwater work. Maintaining the highest safety standard while production is the reason they're diving brings special challenges I'd like to hear more about. Adventure-Ocean