predive safety check and missed details

[utnapistim]

hi all,

Thinking back I've seen a few small mistakes that could have been caught in the pre-dive safety check (the BWRAF thingy for PADI), so I was wondering if any others that have gone through any incidents like that care to share what they've seen (so I might get some more ideas what else to look for).

I will try to start this:

I missed a (consecutive) dive because one of my BC valves were unscrewed and I noticed I couldn't inflate my BCD right before giant stride (I was the last to jump in). We hadn't done the safety check because it was the second dive that day and "kind-of" skipped it . By the time I realized what the problem was, I had doffed the gear and everyone else had started the dive allready.

I also had to re-strap a tank for a diver (not my buddy) starting at around 10m depth as it became undone during the water entry and it was hanging on the PI hose. This one could have ended badly because we were at the second dive and while I was re-strapping it I didn't think to check for depth (by the time I finished we were close to 30m and our plan was 20m max).


Anyone else?

 

[rottielover]

"I also had to re-strap a tank" - Nylon Band?

I've seen this a couple times now, we were taught to wet the tank band cause the nylon will stretch a bit when it get's wet. Thus if you strap on a tank with a dry band, once you hit the water it will stretch just enough to make the tank slip. If you pre-wet the band you *usually* won't have this problem.

Both times I've seen it, the buddy just torq'd down the band a bit and they continued the dive. That's not to say that it couldn't turn into a serious issue...

One thing my wife and I refuse to skip is the BWRAF check, if you make sure to do it before every dive it will eventually become "reflex", you'll start doing it without saying something like "Begin With Review And Friend" in your head

 

[gregorio]

Seen in Phillipines : BWRAF, Bruce Willis Ruins All Films.
Altough I don't agree, this is too funny!

Be Wise, Ruin A Friend...

any other?

 

[utnapistim]

"I also had to re-strap a tank" - Nylon Band?

I'm not sure; My point was that I don't think they (they buddy pair) even checked the way the tank was strapped, and the strap was placed diagonally on the tank.

One thing my wife and I refuse to skip is the BWRAF check, if you make sure to do it before every dive it will eventually become "reflex", you'll start doing it without saying something like "Begin With Review And Friend" in your head

I know that it can (should) become a reflex; What I meant with this thread was that, during the safety check most divers I've been buddied with inflate and deflate with the power inflator, look (or not) where the weights are, look at the releases (but don't touch them), and ask you to breath once (if, at all).

Basically they just "get it over with".

I know that a lot more things CAN go wrong (like my tank-strap example above) and I was hoping that people who've seen accidents (or just ... incidents) that could have been prevented with a more thorough safety check would care to give examples.

 

[utnapistim]

Seen in Phillipines : BWRAF, Bruce Willis Ruins All Films.
Altough I don't agree, this is too funny!

Be Wise, Ruin A Friend...

any other?

There are much more, but I'd rather not turn this thread into a list of achronyms (if you search for BWRAF you should find a list of threads on this though).

 

[pwl]

Seen in Phillipines : BWRAF, Bruce Willis Ruins All Films.
Altough I don't agree, this is too funny!

Be Wise, Ruin A Friend...

any other?

there's a zillion. many not for publication

i was taught "Beer Wine, Rum And Fun" - makes students laugh


ob useful: the trick/difficulty seems to be, once you're comfortable with diving & your buddy, maintaining the check and feeling like you've actually done it properly .

sometimes things can become so automatic they don't seem so urgent anymore - not sure if that's a good thing, and seems more likely to lead to missing something.


one thing i've started doing is "customising" the Final check - for me, it's "do i have my computer on?" (yes, left that behind a few times ), for my buddy it's "are your glasses off?" (...before we walk all the way down those stairs and across the rocks, oh that's why you could see so well.....)

 

[rottielover]

Well in my examples, I don't think that in this case the pre-dive check would have caught anything, since the tank release would appear tight since the band streches after it's wet... Maybe a step needs to be added, "ask your buddy if they wet themselves first" lol

There should probably be a "bubble/tank" check after your in the water taught in classes?