All Episodes
Episodes
SH237: Decision Making: Normalisation of Deviance in Rebreather Cave Diving
In this episode, we explore how easy it is for divers to drift into unsafe habits when risky behaviour seems to have no consequences, especially in small or high-performing cave and technical diving teams. A real...
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SH236: Reframing The Dirty Dozen - Part 4
In this episode, we finish exploring the “Dirty Dozen” human factors that contribute to mistakes in diving by looking at fatigue, lack of assertiveness and norms. These factors influence how divers think and behave,...
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SH235: Reframing The Dirty Dozen - Part 3
In this episode, we continue exploring the “Dirty Dozen,” a set of human factors that can lead to mistakes in diving, by looking at pressure, lack of awareness, and lack of knowledge. These factors affect divers of...
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SH234: Reframing The Dirty Dozen - Part 2
In Part 2 of this blog, we delve into three more of the "Dirty Dozen" human factors—stress, complacency, and lack of teamwork—and explore their impact on diver performance and safety. Stress, whether acute or chronic,...
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SH233: Reframing The Dirty Dozen - Part 1
This week’s episode explores the interplay between human factors and system design in diving safety, using the “Dirty Dozen” as a framework to highlight key risks like poor communication, distraction, and lack of...
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SH232: Instructor Toxicity: Why one bad apple really does spoil the bunch
This blog by Pedro Paulo Cunha explores the critical role of leadership in dive safety, highlighting how a toxic leader at a dive resort created a culture of fear, harassment, and stress that compromised both staff...
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SH231: What do you mean, the damn box is missing again?
Andrzej Gornicki reflects on the challenges of teamwork and organisation in diving operations, sharing lessons from his experience running a dive centre. Through real-life stories, he highlights how logistical...
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SH230: What We Get Wrong About Psychological Safety in Diving
Psychological safety is more than a buzzword—it's a critical team skill in high-risk environments like diving. Often misunderstood, it's not about being nice or avoiding discomfort, but about fostering an environment...
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SH229: Debriefing a Challenging Dive- a real-life experience
Join us as we dive into a fascinating debrief from a Human Factors in Diving liveaboard trip, where a challenging dive sparked discussions on team communication, decision-making, and safety. A sandy slope, strong...
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SH228: Designing Checklists that work. Slowing down to get it right.
Mike Mason explores how effective decision-making in diving depends on both intuitive (System 1) and analytical (System 2) thinking, highlighting the crucial role of checklists in bridging the gap between these...
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SH227: Navigating Online Narratives and Learning from Feedback in Diving
In this episode of The Human Diver, Mike Mason and I dive into the complexities of online storytelling, the double-edged nature of sharing experiences, and the power of constructive debriefing. We explore how...
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SH226: 'They Lost Situation Awareness'
The phrase "loss of situation awareness" is often misused as a simplistic explanation for diving incidents, focusing on blame rather than understanding the context and contributing factors. Situation awareness...
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