THE HUMAN DIVER BLOG

How safe is your diving?

AUTHOR: Gareth Lock   CATEGORY: TEAMWORK   LANGUAGE: English

What does safe mean to you? The dictionary defines safe as “protected from or not exposed to danger or risk; not likely to be harmed or lost” and in the context of diving, we often think about the physical risks. These can include decompression sickness, animal-induced injuries, separated from the team/boat, entanglement, lost within a cave system or running out of gas. These are all credible negative outcomes which we should be concerned about. In fact, a number of these appear in the 2008 research paper from DAN (Common causes of open-circuit recreational diving fatalities) which examined triggers, disabling event/injuries and causes of death in diving, and so they should be definitely considered as part of our risk management plans and diving plans. But is this the only safety you should be considering during training or 'fun' dives?

The Importance of Decision Making in Setting Goals: Ensuring “The Juice is worth the Squeeze”

AUTHOR: GUY SHOCKEY   CATEGORY: LEADERSHIP   LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

It would be difficult to imagine a life that didn’t involve goals. Goals provide inspiration, direction and motivation for nearly everything we do. Goal setting is responsible for nearly all the amazing things that we do, from walking on the moon to diving into the Marianas Trench. In a simpler form, goals get us out of bed in the morning and help us put food on our table. Goals and goal setting are synonymous with human nature and part of who and what we are. Indeed, goal setting is almost always viewed as a positive act on our part and something that drives us to accomplish things.

In this article Guy compares the loss of eight high-altitude mountaineers including 2 world-class mountain guides to running a diver training programme or your own diving?

Counter-errorism in Diving: Applying Human Factors Training to Recreational Diving

AUTHOR: Darryl Owen   CATEGORY: Human Factors Non-Technical Skills   LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

This article was originally published in the Emirates Diving Association magazine on 1 Mar 2020.

There is a growing focus on Human Factors and non-technical skills in the global diving industry, much of which is being driven by Gareth Lock, the UK-based founder of the system described on www.thehumandiver. com. His book ‘Under Pressure’ has helped thousands of people worldwide to take a fresh look at the way they think about diving.

You may be wondering what human factors and non-technical skills are, as it’s not something we talk much about locally.

To demystify these terms, let’s first talk about what they are not. These are not diving qualifications – they are not going to take you deeper or teach you about new diving equipment or diving skills (hence the term ‘non- technical skills’) and they are definitely not ‘just another cert card’ to add to your collection.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

AUTHOR: Helene Pellerin   CATEGORY: Decision-making Human Factors    LANGUAGE: English

Quebec, Canada, Wintertime – A couple of young people were driving from Quebec City to the Parc National des Monts-Valin, a paradise for snowshoeing. They were following the directions on their GPS - Global Positioning System - until the car got stuck in the snow… lots of snow. They tried to shovel it, but it just got worse… They were stuck on a snowmobile trail! How could this have happened? They were strictly following the indications of their GPS! Maybe that is the reason… they were strictly following the indications of their GPS. They were relying on the geolocation tool 100%, without any question… worse… without any thinking!

Helene draws parallels with this 'obvious' issue and the diving world.