Accident analysis during AOW?

[DivemasterDennis]

Accident analysis is a great way to teach safety in EVERY dive class, from open water through every level thereafter. A "here's what happened, why did it happen, and how could it have been prevented" discussion fits every class, and should, IMHO, be a part of every class. In some situations, a fourth question is raised, "How could it have been dealt with better?" One does not have to "scare" anyone with these discussions. Awareness of safe diving practices, and what to do in unforeseen emergencies, should make divers more comfortable, and less apprehensive, about diving.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Bob DBF]

I'm with Jim on this one. I believe it is impossible to take a calculated risk without learning to calculate. If you don't think there is risk in diving, try breathing water and you will find it is not a viable option.

Of course there is not the time to include this in a weekend OW class, but then again there is not the time to make them competent OW divers. My hat is off to the instructors that take the time to produce good OW divers, you can see it even before they hit the water.




Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[redacted]

Hazards associated with scuba diving (especially related to the level of instruction) and the related risk reduction measures should be addressed in all scuba training. No need to go beyond that into formal training on accident analysis and waste expensive class time.

 

[Quero]

I do "analysis" with every student diver, even the DSDs, but not in a formalized "accident analysis" sort of way. What happens is that the diver generally has some issue or frustration that could potentially lead to a mishap, and when the dive is over, they want to talk about the "why" of what happened or what they felt as well as how to prevent it from happening again or from escalating. That's when we do the "analysis." It's focused specifically on the student's immediate needs rather than being based on some abstract "what if" or an in-depth dissection of a particular incident. For that kind of accident analysis, I send people to SB to read and learn, so my poll answer was "That's what SBs A&I forum is for" though I can see I'm in a clear minority here!

 

[TSandM]

Quero, I sort of agree with you, and I didn't vote. I do think a more formal approach to accident analysis is appropriate at the Rescue level.

 

[CamG]

You know as I pondered this thread I realized that my OW class our instructor built in a appropriate accident analysis into most of the 18 basic skills.
He intelligently used the analysis to emphasize the validity of skill mastery to manage the risk of diving.
The stories did not make us fearful but reinforced the serious nature of scuba.

By the time we got to AOW we were acutely aware as a helicopter landed and took a diver to the chamber.
It is a fact that if you fail to head the rules and not train to manage the risks you can get hurt.
Sorry that is not scary just the terms we all accept as divers.

The time constraints of training never came into play with MSDT Mark he went over and above in a timely manor.
When we left OW we understood what buoyancy, trim, and the relation of proper weighting to both.
AOW was a natural extension of OW and taught separately but quite complementary.
It is this progressive mentorship that divers were constructed and skill sets mastered leading to progressively better dives.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[Quero]

Quero, I sort of agree with you, and I didn't vote. I do think a more formal approach to accident analysis is appropriate at the Rescue level.

I know what you mean. In the Rescue course, I do discuss specific accidents quite a lot, in much the way you described in an earlier post when you talked about "stories." And I give people the DAN article about the triggers for accident analysis to read. However, I don't have a specific worksheet or anything truly formal (in the sense of filling out a "form" or following a particular procedure) about accident analysis that I do. While there are forms and worksheets included in the course, these are descriptive and not analytical in scope. If there's something like a formal accident analysis module out there for rescue diver students I'd love to see it.

 

[DevonDiver]

On every course, open water and above, explain why skills are taught and, in that context, the benefits of doing them right and the consequences of doing them wrong - using real world examples. I guess you can call that 'accident analysis'.

I think it's important to avoid the "...or you will die!" mentality when dealing with the issue of accidents within the context of entry-level training (OW & AOW). That said, I disagree with presenting training in a form of 'denial' that actively avoids any mention of 'unpleasantness'. Diving is fun... and the emphasis of initial training should reflect that... but not at the expense of instilling a motivation to dive safely.

Of course, the personality/psychology of the individual student has a bearing on this. I have a goal to create an appropriate and realistic amount of confidence in the student by the end of the course. Over-confident students can often benefit from a dose of reality - their over-confidence is often rooted in a failure to consider risks or consequences in relation to themselves. In contrast, under-confident students typically dwell on the risks and consequences too much, so there is little benefit from emphasizing those issues during training. It is better to reinforce a positive message in those cases - demonstrating how the taught skills can be relied upon to create safety.

I save formal 'accident analysis' until Rescue Diver - that's an exercise that I've added to my training. I present accident case studies (normally drawn from the BSAC annual accident reports) and encourage rescue students to assess what happened using cause-effect, with an emphasis on how the accident could have been avoided or resolved at various stages. I feel that this encourages more critical thinking in respect of risk assessment and also effectively emphasizes issues like stress management, adherence to taught protocols and the benefit of decisive and timely action.

 

[haumana ronin]

I kind of liked the "...and you could die" approach I received, especially since it was usually followed by the "...but here are the physics explained and training you need so you dont." Of course, in a short OW class, none of those could be mastered, but it did get me curious to learn more.

:zen:

 

[koozemani]

I know what you mean. In the Rescue course, I do discuss specific accidents quite a lot, in much the way you described in an earlier post when you talked about "stories." And I give people the DAN article about the triggers for accident analysis to read. However, I don't have a specific worksheet or anything truly formal (in the sense of filling out a "form" or following a particular procedure) about accident analysis that I do. While there are forms and worksheets included in the course, these are descriptive and not analytical in scope. If there's something like a formal accident analysis module out there for rescue diver students I'd love to see it.

The telling of "stories" is where I was leaning toward. Short of this becoming it's own cert, telling a story and discussing the sequence of events that lead to the eventual outcome. If for no other reason then to get your students to think about what theY would/should do if they find themselves in a similar situation.

I agree with DevonDiver that the ...or you will die approach doesn't help anyone.

As I'm typing this my 9 yr old, who recently went through a Scuba Rangers camp, asked what j was typing. I was able to come up with a simple generic OOA story. He immediately was able to identify the initial mistake that lead to the cascade of diver mistakes. A simple discussion between instructor and student would go a long way toward making better divers.