Dive Planning, Risk Assessment, and Operational Procedures
The plan precedes the dive
The exam tests whether planning is task-specific. A dive plan states the objective, the location, the maximum depth and bottom time, the breathing apparatus, the decompression method, the team, the communications, and the abort criteria. A risk assessment identifies hazards, rates likelihood and severity, and records controls and residual risk. The supervisor briefs the team before the dive and confirms understanding.
Elements inspectors look for
- Hazard identification for the specific site: current, entrapment, contaminated water, vessel traffic, overhead, lockout/tagout.
- Defined operational limits and a go/no-go decision point.
- A contingency for lost communications, fouled diver, equipment failure, and deteriorating weather.
- Gas planning that matches depth, time, and reserve.
- A written pre-dive briefing and attendance record.
- Authority to abort without penalty.
Generic job safety analyses copied between jobs are a warning sign. The plan should reflect today's task, today's team, and today's conditions.
Worked example
A team plans an intake inspection at a wastewater plant. The job safety analysis lists entanglement and poor visibility but no isolation step. Reasoning: the hazard is named but not controlled. Lockout/tagout of the pump, a tending line, a standby diver, and a contaminated-water protocol are missing. The plan is not ready for approval. The supervisor should add isolation verification, a contamination assessment, and abort criteria before the dive.
Traps that cost marks
- Accepting a plan with no stop criteria.
- Treating a generic job safety analysis as site-specific planning.
- Omitting lost-communication and fouled-diver contingencies.
- Planning after the dive and backfilling records.