Specific fixes only close the gaps the last diving incident revealed. Drawing on Mike Mason's lost diver review and research into recurring failure conditions, learn how divers can spot weak signals and build team capacity before things go wrong.
Divers practise technical skills often, but non-technical skills like awareness and team monitoring are an afterthought. Research shows we misjudge them and they may fade. Structured debriefs, like THD's DEBrIEF model in the Wetnotes, close the gap.
Why do we look for what a diver did wrong? Research into the 'Bogeyman' shows how the belief that 'bad things happen to bad people' keeps compliance looking safe while the adaptations and local ingenuity that make diving work stay hidden - a secret.
Criticising safety slogans is easy. This is the harder half: who is harmed when diving goes wrong, what they need, whose duty it is to provide it, and the five competencies I would put on the graphic instead of 'safety first'.
Human factors, non-technical skills and learning from emergent outcomes for the divers who refuse the bad-apple story.
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© 2026 The Human Diver