Exhibit or Aquarium Diver Specialty

[Thalassamania]

Community standards: AAUS.
Government standards: Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) - Table of Contents

Butler paper on OSHA.

 

[rligon]

Just to clarify, Aquarium Divers are the subject of all of chapter 8 of the AAUS standards for scientific diving (http://data.memberclicks.com/site/aaus/AAUS_Nov_2006.pdf). They are not covered by OSHA, because they are not doing commercial diving. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums provides accreditation for Zoos and Aquariums, and their standards specify the rules to be followed by aquariums that use divers (http://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation/Accreditation Standards.pdf).

 

[Thalassamania]

Just to clarify, Aquarium Divers are the subject of all of chapter 8 of the AAUS standards for scientific diving (http://data.memberclicks.com/site/aaus/AAUS_Nov_2006.pdf).

Yes. AAUS has specific standards for aquariums.

They are not covered by OSHA, because they are not doing commercial diving.

You misunderstand, they are doing a type of commercial diving, however, OSHA permits the use of the AAUS standards provide as an ALTERNATIVE to the OSHA standards. An aquarium may choose which one to follow, AAUS or OSHA. If they fail to follow the AAUS standards then they are, in fact, covered by (and required to use) the OSHA Commercial diving standards.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums provides accreditation for Zoos and Aquariums, and their standards specify the rules to be followed by aquariums that use divers (http://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation/Accreditation%20Standards.pdf).

And what does the AZA say? Why, remarkably, they say exactly what I just said:

11.7. Diving

11.7.1. Institutions which utilize underwater diving with compressed air (SCUBA or surfacesupplied) as a part of regular operations and/or maintenance shall meet minimal operational safety standards for such diving. Such institutions must comply with the applicable laws for their location and size of institution and should follow the standards mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for commercial diving.

Alternatively, such institutions may elect to claim an exemption from the OSHA standards for “scientific diving”. If such an exemption is claimed, the institution must operate under the auspices of a diving manual commensurate with the consensual standards of the scientific diving community (modeled after or approved by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences [AAUS]), and under the control of a diving safety board or committee which has full institutional authority to ensure compliance with diving safety standards.

 

[muddiver]

Please, what "community standards" and what "government mandated standards"? Thank you.

There is risk in every human activity; there is also this lawsuit-happy country we live in. If one is unwilling to take any risk, one should not dive, or drive, or live...

I'm sorry, but you have no idea what your talking about. I recommend that you stop while your behind.

 

[garyfotodiver]

I'm sorry, but you have no idea what your talking about. I recommend that you stop while your behind.

You shouldn't be sorry; it is a sign of weakness. Just ask John Wayne.

However the original poster asked a question that applied only to his organization, not to the entire world.

When I have a chance, I will consult 29 CFR to see what there is that applies to divers. Nevertheless, I am certain that the Virginia Aquarium has these issues already covered.

I also will ask at my local civic aquarium about what they do with their tank divers. Ought to be interesting.

 

[garyfotodiver]

Oh, here is what I found on the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois website about their volunteer dive programs:

"Caribbean Reef Diver
Our most popular program gives highly qualified divers the opportunity to hand-feed the animals in our Caribbean Reef exhibit while giving public presentations. Because of the popularity of this program, there is often a waiting list. A prospective diver must meet minimum scuba requirements (30 hours logged open-water diving) and successfully complete a scripted audition before beginning to train for this position. All volunteer divers must be at least 21 years old.
Marine Mammal Diver
Qualified divers who have logged at least 30 hours of open-water dive time, including at least five hours of cold-water diving, assist our Marine Mammals staff with early-morning cleaning dives in the Oceanarium. These divers work to ensure that our facility provides the best possible environment for our marine mammals. Positions are available seven days a week between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. The minimum commitment is six months for weekday volunteers and one year for weekend volunteers. Back-up divers are also accepted into this program. All volunteer divers must be at least 21 years old.
Wild Reef Diver
Volunteers who are qualified to dive in Wild Reef are given the opportunity to perform cleaning and other maintenance in several of the exhibit’s habitats. Wild Reef is one of Shedd’s newest and most popular exhibits. The animals and their surroundings are patterned after the beautiful coral reefs found in the Philippines. Wild Reef divers must have at least 30 hours of logged open-water diving and rescue certification."

I also examined their volunteer application and did not find any specific requests for dive certification. There is a general request for special training, etc. And here is a link to view the application: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/shedd-volunteer_application.pdf

My whole point about this is it is not new, it has been done before, and with a little ingenuity and common-sense, the original poster ought to be capable of solving his problem.

I do not like ad hominem debates and usually refrain from participating in them.

 

[Thalassamania]

Oh, here is what I found on the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois website about their volunteer dive programs:

"Caribbean Reef Diver
Our most popular program gives highly qualified divers the opportunity to hand-feed the animals in our Caribbean Reef exhibit while giving public presentations. Because of the popularity of this program, there is often a waiting list. A prospective diver must meet minimum scuba requirements (30 hours logged open-water diving) and successfully complete a scripted audition before beginning to train for this position. All volunteer divers must be at least 21 years old.
Marine Mammal Diver
Qualified divers who have logged at least 30 hours of open-water dive time, including at least five hours of cold-water diving, assist our Marine Mammals staff with early-morning cleaning dives in the Oceanarium. These divers work to ensure that our facility provides the best possible environment for our marine mammals. Positions are available seven days a week between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. The minimum commitment is six months for weekday volunteers and one year for weekend volunteers. Back-up divers are also accepted into this program. All volunteer divers must be at least 21 years old.
Wild Reef Diver
Volunteers who are qualified to dive in Wild Reef are given the opportunity to perform cleaning and other maintenance in several of the exhibit’s habitats. Wild Reef is one of Shedd’s newest and most popular exhibits. The animals and their surroundings are patterned after the beautiful coral reefs found in the Philippines. Wild Reef divers must have at least 30 hours of logged open-water diving and rescue certification."

I also examined their volunteer application and did not find any specific requests for dive certification. There is a general request for special training, etc. And here is a link to view the application: http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/shedd-volunteer_application.pdf

My whole point about this is it is not new, it has been done before, and with a little ingenuity and common-sense, the original poster ought to be capable of solving his problem.

I do not like ad hominem debates and usually refrain from participating in them.

You are running your rachet about things that you know nothing what-so-ever about. It really doesn't matter what Shedd or any other aquarium does, I posted what the actual rules and regulations are and if you don't like them, that's your problem ... let's try and not make it other people's by confusing matters.

I was one of the handful of DSOs that shepherded the scientific diving exemption to 29 CFR through the OSHA maze so I know what I am talking about.

 

[garyfotodiver]

As I said, I do not usually engage in ad hominem debates, but in this case I will make an exception... Nowhere did the original poster mention anything about "scientific diving". This is volunteer diving, and he was interested, as he wrote, in something to keep his volunteers. That is what I wrote to.

You, in particular, in other posts of yours that I have read over the years, tend to make everything personal, in an, "It is ME versus the world" attitude. That's your business. Now you may very well be the BEST scuba diver in the world. I am not qualified to judge that. But you DO have a tremendous amount to learn about respect for other opinions. I doubt you will, and that is a shame. Or perhaps not. One usually gets what one deserves in this world.

And you may also very well be an irritated Greek sea goddess. Please do not take your irritation out on the rest of us.

Netdoc, or another moderator, you are free to remove me from this board, if you wish. I, for one, am tired of the verbal bullying that you allow.

 

[Thalassamania]

As I said, I do not usually engage in ad hominem debates, but in this case I will make an exception... Nowhere did the original poster mention anything about "scientific diving". This is volunteer diving, and he was interested, as he wrote, in something to keep his volunteers. That is what I wrote to.

You don’t seem to know what ad hominem means. It is when somewhat attempts to discredit an opinion by discrediting the person expressing the opinion rather than taking on the details of the opinion itself. For example, it would be an ad hominem argument if one were to suggest that no opinion on OSHA expressed by someone who is not well enough educated to understand what an ad hominem argument is should be taken seriously.

Once again, to the point, pay or lack there of (e.g., "volunteers") does not change the status from scientific diving or commercial diving into something else. There is no "volunteer" exemption from OSHA, and many legal opinions on just this topic have been sought over the years, they are unanimous, divers in aquariums, paid or unpaid, are scientific divers if they qualify for the exemption or they are commercial divers if they do not. There are no other options. Many recreational divers and instructors continuously try to ignore this simple fact because it interferes with their fun or their rice bowl … but that doesn’t change reality, it just creates unwarranted liability exposure for institutions that don’t know an better and who do not closely examine the issue.

You, in particular, in other posts of yours that I have read over the years, tend to make everything personal, in an, "It is ME versus the world" attitude. That's your business. Now you may very well be the BEST scuba diver in the world. I am not qualified to judge that. But you DO have a tremendous amount to learn about respect for other opinions. I doubt you will, and that is a shame. Or perhaps not. One usually gets what one deserves in this world.

Talk about ad hominem! That is an ad hominem argument if ever I read one. You do not even mention the topic, you just go after me personally.

I have no respect for your opinion on this particular subject because you happen to be dead wrong. It is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact, it is no different that if you held an opinion that in base ten, two plus two is five.

But, in the case, your opinion is worse than wrong, it is downright dangerous, the legal equivalent to an institution of telling a diver to ascend and hold his breath. That must be corrected, even if it does ruffle your feathers, sorry about that.

 

[Dr Neil]

There are two types of certification: External (eg. SSI) and Internal, where the organization sets the requirements and the training course.

Devise a course, a good course, provide a certificate (eg. Certified Virginia Aquarium Diver), and make some logo t-shirts. This provides an incentive. You could require retraining every couple of years.

Good Luck with your project!

The Virginia Aquarium has an extensive training program for the volunteer divers. This starts with tryouts and safety training in a swimming pool.

All new team members then have in-water training in one of the aquariums. New team members must be on the team for at least 6 months before trying out for one of the other aquariums.

To stay active on the team, we also require a minimum number of dives per year. We also require 1st aid, cpr, and in-water backboard training every two years.

Our dilemma is losing volunteers. At the Virginia Aquarium, some of this can be attributed to the transiency of many of our divers. We have a large number of team members who are members of the armed forces.

Our big concern is the number of hours we put into training a diver but we only keep them for an average of 100 hours of volunteer time. If we can offer an incentive for team members like a specialty course, perhaps we can keep them longer.