Diving Safety Officer Qualifications

[Thalassamania]

Report excerpts from the DSO Training Summit:

AAUS Diving Officer Competency Profile

Description of Work: The AAUS Diving Officer is a position that executes a research protocol in accordance with input from scientists or members of the mission team. This position provides the principal technical expertise and assistance on a wide range of disciplines necessary to conduct advanced underwater research or academic investigations safely and efficiently and to assist scientists in accomplishing specific research goals and objectives. Responsibilities involve operation and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation used in support of diving and in support of the underwater projects. Responsibilities may include assisting in training activities necessary to the project, as well as communication with scientists and administrators.

Competency Definition

Knowledge Professional Knowledge of: underwater scientific diving methods and techniques; scientific and technical methods used to conduct research or accomplish various mission objectives; related technology, instruments and equipment; safe scientific diving procedures, practices and standards; scientific diving history; and relevant health and safety regulations.

Professional Skills
Ability and skill necessary to: perform a variety of underwater tasks under adverse/difficult conditions; perform demonstration quality skills for training/instructional purposes; manage quality assurance/quality compliance issues with institutional diving policy; manage personnel; and understand risk management and exposure mitigation processes.

Planning and Organizing Work
Ability to serve as working diver, lead diver, dive supervisor, and/or mission coordinator during air, mixed gas, decompression, and/or saturation research diving operations involving a variety of diving technologies as appropriate for the organization. Ability to establish and maintain various record keeping systems.

Communication
Ability to communicate with scientists, academic administrators, mission team members, vendors and the general public. Ability to complete appropriate documentation, logs, inventory and reports.

Facility Management
Ability to provide oversight of technical programs and administrative activities of dive lockers, ancillary equipment, and facilities. Ability to coordinate and manage facilities, equipment, supplies, and related resources in compliance with health and safety regulations to maintain a safe working environment.

Equipment-Operation and Maintenance
Knowledge and capability to ensure the adherence to appropriate procedures for using and maintaining equipment or technical instruments associated with scientific diving operations to meet industry standards in a safe, efficient and effective manner.

Training/Instruction
Ability to instruct and train staff, students, scientists and other personnel in diving procedures, equipment use and equipment maintenance appropriately for the trainee's qualifications and professional needs.

Minimum Qualifications
College degree or equivalency and documented progressive managerial experience. Minimum of 200 logged dives of which at least 50 are scientific dives. Three years of lead diver experience recommended. Must be an active/current scientific diver.


The next set of recommendations addresses establishing a mechanism to certify that a scientific diver currently holding an internationally recognized scuba instructor certification is qualified to serve as a DSO of an AAUS organizational member.

To fulfill this goal the summit committee returned the following recommendations and course outlines:

"We propose that, upon BOD acceptance of the standards, all existing DSOs be encouraged to participate in the two-day certification course, offered regionally by the authorized examiners, or as a workshop preceding the annual symposium. The board can consider incentives for those who complete the training early, or penalties, including loss of OM status, for those who choose not to participate."

DSO Certification Course outline for Existing DSOs​

(Estimated to be conducted over a two-day period)​

Introduction to Course

Oral Presentation, (5 min/5 slide maximum)
DSO Diving Biography
DCB Make-up
Major Research Highlights (discretionary)
Program Statistics - course offerings, number of divers, number of annual dives

Diving Safety Officer Orientation (based upon AAUS Manual and Bylaws and New DSO Orientation presentation associated with Annual AAUS Symposium)

DSO Exam Review

As a skin diver, swim 900 yd (823 m) nonstop within 18 minutes (may be performed in a pool or open water).

Pool/Confined Water Teaching and Problem Solving Session

Set up/Suit up & Briefing

Demonstration/Evaluation of:
Three scuba skills, examples include those listed in Section 4.20 (Practical Training) of the AAUS Standards for Scientific Diving. Candidates will be expected to teach and evaluate requested skills.

Problem Solving/Remediation Exercise

Debriefing

Discussion

Open Water Session
Set up/Suit up & Briefing
Open water rescues, 30 min per rescue. Rescue exercise to include:
Scene survey
Diver contact
Ditch unconscious diver's weightbelt
Surface unconscious diver
Establish buoyancy for both unconscious diver and rescuer
Call for help
Establish airway
Tow ditch gear, artificial resuscitation (2 breaths every 10 s)
Assisted extraction
ABCs/EMS
Debriefing
Course Evaluation


"We propose that all new DSOs be required to complete the three day certification program within one year of being hired."

"We propose that all new OMs must have their DSO certified within one year of acceptance to AAUS."

AAUS Diving Safety Officer Certification Course for New DSOs​

OVERVIEW

The Diving Safety Officer Certification Course (DSOCC) is designed to qualify a recreational scuba instructor either currently acting as an AAUS Organizational Member (OM), Diving Safety Officer (DSO), or any new or prospective DSO hire from an AAUS OM in good standing or an AAUS OM applicant, to the level necessary for the individual to be authorized as a DSO by the Diving Control Board (DCB) of an AAUS Organizational Member (OM). Candidates will be evaluated on their ability to teach scientific diving in compliance with AAUS Volume 1 Standards and receive orientation regarding the organization, administration, and management of scientific diving programs.

During a DSOCC, candidate performance shall be evaluated by at least two qualified evaluators. The DSOCC can be conducted in many formats, ranging in length from two days to an internship over an extended period.

PREREQUISITES FOR ENTERING THE COURSE
Candidate is sponsored by an AAUS OM in good standing or an OM Applicant;
Candidate is a current AAUS Scientific Diver;
Candidate has a minimum of 200 dives with at least 50 science dives (three years experience as a lead diver is recommended); and
Candidate has a current/renewed Scuba Instructor status from an internationally recognized certification agency.

Equipment. Candidates must provide their own instructor-level equipment suitable for teaching in open water.

COURSE POLICIES

Ratios. A full-time staff member is one who is available to candidates throughout the course and participates continuously in evaluations for the record. The minimum staff for this course is two, with a student to evaluator ratio not to exceed 4:1.

Hours. Academic- 14 hours estimated. Water- 12 hours estimated.

Open Water Dives. One open water dive plus an open water rescue is required.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS
Candidates are to demonstrate satisfactory knowledge, skills, fitness and attitude to teach scientific diving in accordance with AAUS standards.

Oral Presentations. Present an introductory presentation and at least one other graded classroom presentation.

The following skill requirements must be satisfactorily accomplished by the completion of the DSOCC for the candidate to qualify for DSO certification:

Demonstration Quality Skills:
As a skin diver, swim 900 yd (823 m) nonstop within 18 minutes (may be performed in a pool or open water).
While maintaining neutral buoyancy demonstrate air sharing, mask removal and replacement, and equipment doff and don.

In-Water Presentations. Present at least three, graded in-water presentations:
One graded confined water teaching presentation.
Two graded open water training presentations

Rescue Skills. Demonstrate a rescue of a submerged unresponsive scuba diver.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

New DSO Orientation Module
Risk Management Module
Program Management Module
Written Exam Review

Thoughts?

 

[Dtaine]

It's interesting that the DSO program would be a certification, whereas a scientific diver is not certified, but rather simply authorized under a program that meets AAUS standards.

I don't think that difference matters too much though.

I do think that requiring a DSO to be an instructor in another agency, plus qualified under an AAUS certification program is a bit absurd. If AAUS adopts a certification for DSO's, then they ought to drop the policy requiring a different agency's instructor rating.

 

[Thalassamania]

The science diving community created the recreational diving community back in the early and mid 1950s and has always had a safety record that is significantly better (by at least an order of magnitude) than the recreational community. It was in recognition of this safety record that OSHA granted the current exemption and the last thing that we should be doing is placing our fate and our safety programs in the hands of people from outside of our community, people who have not demonstrated that they can match what we are already doing.

The entire tradition of the science diving community rests on the basic premise that the institution is sovereign and knows best how to solve it's own problems. It think that it is absurd that a DSO (or for that matter any science diving personnel) be required to hold any sort of sports diving credential, such requirements are inappropriate and grant authority over science programs to groups that proven, time and time again, that they have no understanding of what we do and how we do it, and additionally are indifferent to our ability to get our work done.

I think that it would be wonderful to have training programs for DSOs to augment and enhance the mentoring that used to go on.

I think it an excellent idea for AAUS to take an accreditation role with respect to more than just reading over the manual.

Frankly, I think AAUS is at its best when it puts together consensual standards and then leaves it to the individual institutions to decide how to best meet those standards.

 

[muddiver]

Looks to me loke the board is getting lazy and accepting rec inst certs so that new "qualified" DSO's do not have to be recruted or trained the old fashion way.

 

[Dtaine]

The science diving community created the recreational diving community back in the early and mid 1950s and has always had a safety record that is significantly better (by at least an order of magnitude) than the recreational community. It was in recognition of this safety record that OSHA granted the current exemption and the last thing that we should be doing is placing our fate and our safety programs in the hands of people from outside of our community, people who have not demonstrated that they can match what we are already doing.

The entire tradition of the science diving community rests on the basic premise that the institution is sovereign and knows best how to solve it's own problems. It think that it is absurd that a DSO (or for that matter any science diving personnel) be required to hold any sort of sports diving credential, such requirements are inappropriate and grant authority over science programs to groups that proven, time and time again, that they have no understanding of what we do and how we do it, and additionally are indifferent to our ability to get our work done.

I think that it would be wonderful to have training programs for DSOs to augment and enhance the mentoring that used to go on.

I think it an excellent idea for AAUS to take an accreditation role with respect to more than just reading over the manual.

Frankly, I think AAUS is at its best when it puts together consensual standards and then leaves it to the individual institutions to decide how to best meet those standards.

I couldn't agree more; currently I'm going through an authorization program at the University of Miami and what I've found is that the whole approach to the diving and training is more comprehensive and includes much more information than any of the recreational courses I've done (PADI OW, AOW, and Deep Spec.). What I don't like about a requirement for DSO candidates to hold an instructor rating with another organization is that it seems to put experienced scientific divers at a disadvantage to OW instructors who've more recently moved into the scientific field. A researcher with 20 plus years of experience would have to first go through the instructor training of another agency for the sole purpose of qualifying to get a DSO certification. That just seems absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary to me.

 

[Thalassamania]

I couldn't agree more; currently I'm going through an authorization program at the University of Miami and what I've found is that the whole approach to the diving and training is more comprehensive and includes much more information than any of the recreational courses I've done (PADI OW, AOW, and Deep Spec.). What I don't like about a requirement for DSO candidates to hold an instructor rating with another organization is that it seems to put experienced scientific divers at a disadvantage to OW instructors who've more recently moved into the scientific field. A researcher with 20 plus years of experience would have to first go through the instructor training of another agency for the sole purpose of qualifying to get a DSO certification. That just seems absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary to me.

You hit the nail on the head. It really burns be up to see job offers for DSO or Operations Diving Supervisors that require recreational agency certification and insurance! This is especially a problem with the aquaria, whom I not sure should even be part of AAUS. They have a funny mix, a few of their divers are diving scientists who are performing legitimate underwater research tasks, but most, IMHO, are collections, maintenance or husbandry divers (they should be classified "commercial") or educational (they should be classified recreational leadership).

 

[Dtaine]

You hit the nail on the head. It really burns be up to see job offers for DSO or Operations Diving Supervisors that require recreational agency certification and insurance! This is especially a problem with the aquaria, whom I not sure should even be part of AAUS. They have a funny mix, a few of their divers are diving scientists who are performing legitimate underwater research tasks, but most, IMHO, are collections, maintenance or husbandry divers (they should be classified "commercial") or educational (they should be classified recreational leadership).

Hmmm, now that's interesting, I hadn't even thought about that group of divers. I guess being AAUS members, and following those standards, is easier for them than trying to get a different kind of OSHA exemption.

 

[Thalassamania]

Tell me how on earth these two positions could be considered "scientific divers?"

Here are the criteria:

The final rule at 29 CFR 1910.401(a)(2)(iv), which became effective on November 26, 1982, exempts any diving operation which is defined as scientific diving that is under the direction and control of a diving program containing at least the following elements:

(A) Diving safety manual which includes at a minimum: Procedures covering all diving operations specific to the program; procedures for emergency care, including recompression and evacuation; and criteria for diver training and certification.

(B) Diving control (safety) board, with the majority of its members being active divers, which shall at a minimum have the authority to: approve and monitor diving projects; review and revise the diving safety manual; ensure compliance with the manual; certify the depths to which a diver has been trained; take disciplinary action for unsafe practices; and assure adherence to the buddy system (a diver is accompanied by and is in continuous contact with another diver in the water) for SCUBA diving.

In addition to the final rule, Appendix B to 29 CFR Part 1910, Subpart T - Commercial Diving Operations, titled "Guidelines for Scientific Diving," became effective on January 9, 1985. This appendix provides guidelines that are used in conjunction with the final rule to determine those scientific diving programs that are exempt from OSHA's diving standard. The guidelines are as follows:

1. "The Diving Control (safety) Board consists of a majority of active scientific divers and has autonomous and absolute authority over the scientific diving program's operations."
2. "The purpose of the project using scientific diving is the advancement of science; therefore, information and data resulting from the project are non-proprietary."
3. "The tasks of a scientific diver are those of an observer and data gatherer. Construction and trouble-shooting tasks traditionally associated with commercial diving are not included within scientific diving."
4. "Scientific divers, based on the nature of their activities, must use scientific expertise in studying the underwater environment and, therefore, are scientists or scientists in training.

While they may appear to meet items 1 and 2, though I doubt that they meet the spirit, I can not see them meeting items 3 or 4.

Come join our dive master team. We are hiring for part time positions working every other Saturday or Sunday. Salary is $8.50 per hour. This position works with our dive team creating memorable experiences for our dive guests.

Position Description:

XXXXXXX Aquarium Dive Masters are responsible for performing all interpretive educational dive programs to include daily dive shows wearing a full face mask in our Coral Reef and Shark Bay exhibits. Divemasters support these programs as both diver and surface tender. Guest Dive Experience programs provide a dynamic opportunity to inspire our guests by providing them an in-water diving experience. Both Dive With the Sharks (For certified divers) and Swim with the Fish (for non-divers and certified divers) are conducted with a priority on guest safety, customer service and a quality, educational experience. Dive Masters will perform the functions of safety diver, photographer and greeter in a rotational capacity. Dive Masters also support our exhibit maintenance program in the form of working diver and surface tender. All Florida Aquarium dive programs are conducted to ensure that all programming presented is engaging, innovative and effective, as determined by evaluation, and in direct support of the mission of The XXXXXXX Aquarium.
Requirements:

• Dive Master Certification or equivalent from a internationally recognized SCUBA training organization
• Current certification in First Aid, CPR and Oxygen administration
• Underwater liability insurance required
• Good presentation and public speaking skills
• Previous experience diving with sharks preferred
• Previous experience working with children's water safety programs a plus

Benefits:

• Partial reimbursement of annual underwater liability insurance
• Partial reimbursement of annual agency membership dues (example: NAUI, PADI, SSI, etc...)
• Two (2) 3mm wetsuits upon hire. (one time benefit - additional suits must be purchased)

XXXXXX Aquarium is seeking applications for two (2) Assistant Dive Safety Officer/Divemaster position openings. Both are temporary positions with no benefits starting at $13.35 per hour/$23,496.00 per year based on 11 months of full-time employment with additional pay for holiday work. Both weekend and holiday work will be required. Both positions report to Dive Safety Officer, one (1) position will start on May 1, 2009 and other on May 22, 2009. Applicants not selected for first position opening will automatically be considered for second position with no additional submittals or interviews required. Work includes exhibit/offshore diving up to 8 times per week, supervising volunteer dive teams, filling dive cylinders, collecting animals, assist with maintaining animal life support systems, meeting animal nutritional/medical needs, monitoring water quality, and conducting live animal education programs. Minimum requirements include Instructor and/or Divemaster designation with current liability insurance (proof of both required prior to hiring) with nationally recognized SCUBA certification agency (NAUI, PADI, SSI etc.) Prefer additional experience working with captive marine animals, ability to work under adverse conditions, ability to lift up to 50 lbs, work as a team member under adverse conditions, and willingness to learn. Candidate must have a valid state driver¡Çs license, social security number, and be a United States Citizen and/or have a valid work visa (proof of each required prior to hiring).

 

[muddiver]

It would be perfectly fine and just as easy for aquaria divers to work under OSHA guidelines. They just think that since the majority of them are volunteers that it qualifies them to be "Scientific Divers".

Like you said, they do collection, husbandry and maintenance work, not true research. Sounds like commercial divers to me. They just need to have their own training program and all is good.

 

[Thalassamania]

I don't see that OSHA would present any more inconvenience for their divers than it does for their other workers.