Checklists: If surgical teams don't comply, what hope do divers have?

[The Chairman]

steps to build or 6 steps from a built unit to splash?

I see the build and the splash as different checklists. Those are awesome build lists.

A short but intelligent Splash list should verify the Build list with simple checks.

 

[rjack321]

I started with a TDI laminated credit card thing as my splash check (IANTD makes one too). Rebreather Checklist - SDI | TDI | ERDI

I zip tied a loop of bungie to it and clipped it off with a double ender on me. But that CC was hard to store on the dive and I honestly wasn't diligent about it. I recently switched to the stickers @doctormike wrote up as my splash checklist. Even though its not a perfect fit for me, that negative is superseded by being in sticker form on my shearwater where it's both accessible and I don't need to unclip or store anything.

 

[The Chairman]

I recently switched to the stickers @doctormike wrote up as my splash checklist.

Link???

 

[rjack321]

Link???

These! Checklist Sticker
They were $0.05 each for the plain non-reflective white ones. I got 200 because shipping from the Philippines was as much or more than the stickers. If you want some of them to try I am happy to send you some of my extras.

 

[taimen]

I was just going to add that as a recent rebreater trainee I immediately switched to sticker pre splash checklist inspired by doctormike.

 

[Diver-Drex]

I have developed my own checklist, I’m a checklist kinda guy. It’s not perfect but it’s better than BWRAF.

Air - analyzed, marked, MOD, valves open, breathe each reg and watch spg
Buoyancy - inflate, oral inflate, operate dumps, weights on, check releases
Communication - hand signals, light signals, slate or wet notes
Dive Plan - objective, route, max depth, max time, turn pressure, rock bottom
Emergency Procedures - lost buddy, OOG, entanglement, DSMB deployment
And last is a reminder that anyone can call the dive at any time for any reason.

I actually use going through this mentally as a relaxation exercise so I have it engrained. People I dive with, including instabbuddies go along without problems. I’ve had two instabuddies ask me to write it out for them after the dive was done. I also had a few give me a weird look but no one has not accommodated me.

 

[wnissen]

To me, that’s a bit of a mad checklist. It’s too specific. It’s still good to use your brain.

Here’s a tip: start from the head and finish at your fins.

People can and should use what method works for them. I share your concern that excessive specificity can cause you to overlook the big picture. This is a concern in aviation, as we have seen with various crashes that were primarily caused by the pitot tubes (airspeed indicators) giving incorrect values and the pilots using troubleshooting checklists against "faults" that were imaginary.

The mental factors that cause error, though, are very much present in diving. Being rushed, change in procedures, complacency, etc. Lots of the DAN fatality/injury reports have no apparent cause beyond medical issues, but lots also read like NTSB accident reports or surgical post-mortems.

For me, personally, I have a tendency to forget things, and the last thing I want is to realize that my alternate reg is stuck under a strap because I didn't check. Or even something benign like not putting my tank weights in.

 

[GJC]

My checklist that I keep on a sticker on my wrist slate:


Buddy Checklist
Site Survey
□ Current, Visibility, Boat traffic
Emergency Plan
□ Out of Air plan
□ Lost Buddy plan
□ Nearest O2
□ Nearest Phone
Activity
□ Activity and Objective
□ Buddy Roles
□ Hand Signals
□ Entry, Exit, Dive Pattern
□ Limits for Depth, Time
□ Air Plan, Limits
Buoyancy
□ Weight Release locations
□ BC inflates/deflates
□ BC Release locations
Air
□ Cam Band secure
□ Valve open, PSI, MOD
□ Regulators work
□ Locate Alternate Regulators
Gear
□ Mask, Fins
□ Knife, SMB, Light, Signals
□ Computer on, O2 set
□ All Gear secured
In Water Check
□ Buoyancy OK
□ Reg breath OK
□ Bubble check
□ Computer/Gauges work
□ Equipment secure

 

[doctormike]

I have developed my own checklist, I’m a checklist kinda guy. It’s not perfect but it’s better than BWRAF.

Air - analyzed, marked, MOD, valves open, breathe each reg and watch spg
Buoyancy - inflate, oral inflate, operate dumps, weights on, check releases
Communication - hand signals, light signals, slate or wet notes
Dive Plan - objective, route, max depth, max time, turn pressure, rock bottom
Emergency Procedures - lost buddy, OOG, entanglement, DSMB deployment
And last is a reminder that anyone can call the dive at any time for any reason.

I actually use going through this mentally as a relaxation exercise so I have it engrained. People I dive with, including instabbuddies go along without problems. I’ve had two instabuddies ask me to write it out for them after the dive was done. I also had a few give me a weird look but no one has not accommodated me.

Three things -

One, I don't think that any sort of mnemonic is a good substitute for a physical checklist. The whole point of the checklist is that it is a backstop for a problem with your brain. If you are rushed, angry, sick, nervous, preoccupied with new gear or just not focused, it is ALWAYS going to ask you about the same things.

Two, I'm mostly hoping to change rebreather culture by getting people to adopt a very simple pre-jump checklist, which is done while you are in your unit, and which should pick up common errors like those in the recent tragedy in Hawaii. This is not to be confused with the much more extensive build checklists, which vary a lot from unit to unit. While these are critical, leaving out a step at this stage by relying on memory is likely to be picked up downstream with the positive and negative tests, and the prebreathe. So if we are trying to change the culture, I would work on the simple pre-jump checklist first.

Three, while I don't mean to imply that you can't have a life threatening gear problem on OC, and while I think that a good buddy check is great, my recent evangelism about stickers is basically a CCR thing. For any of the failures picked up by BWRAF or any variant, there is one crucial difference - the diver will be aware of the failure. This is not the case with a rebreather. It is very possible to get in the water and the next thing they know, someone is resuscitating you, if you are lucky. So by making it into a sticker, it's just there on your unit, always, easy to see, and you don't need a free hand to hold it like you do with that little TDI card. Hopefully, lists like this will become "cool" even for experienced rebreather divers.

 

[doctormike]

My checklist that I keep on a sticker on my wrist slate:


Buddy Checklist
Site Survey
□ Current, Visibility, Boat traffic
Emergency Plan
□ Out of Air plan
□ Lost Buddy plan
□ Nearest O2
□ Nearest Phone
Activity
□ Activity and Objective
□ Buddy Roles
□ Hand Signals
□ Entry, Exit, Dive Pattern
□ Limits for Depth, Time
□ Air Plan, Limits
Buoyancy
□ Weight Release locations
□ BC inflates/deflates
□ BC Release locations
Air
□ Cam Band secure
□ Valve open, PSI, MOD
□ Regulators work
□ Locate Alternate Regulators
Gear
□ Mask, Fins
□ Knife, SMB, Light, Signals
□ Computer on, O2 set
□ All Gear secured
In Water Check
□ Buoyancy OK
□ Reg breath OK
□ Bubble check
□ Computer/Gauges work
□ Equipment secure

It's great that you are focused on safety, but that seems excessive. And the problem with excessive is that people are much more likely to just forget about it after a while.

I'm a surgeon - this is a similar problem in the OR.