Dive Safety Plans: What Yours Must Contain

By Ray Whitfield, ADCI-certified commercial dive supervisor. Reviewed by Dana Whitcombe, technical reviewer.

Commercial Diving Contractors Alabama | Commercial Diving Contractors Alaska August 2016, Lake Powell intake tower. #2 diver went quiet for forty-five seconds at 110 feet. I remember staring at the depth gauge, feeling the second hand move, before the tender caught the line pull signal. That's what a safety plan is for—not the paper, but the instinct you follow when the paper isn't in your hands. Over 28 years on dams, bridges, water tanks and power plant intakes, I've written more safety plans than I count. Some are forty pages, some are ten. The good ones all share the same skeleton. The bad ones are missing one of a few critical pieces. This is about those pieces. What I'll tell you is plain. I'm not a lawyer or a compliance consultant. I'm the guy who signs the dive log and yells 'Go' on the comms. But I know what works.

The Dive Team: Who's In the Water, Who's on Deck

First, the plan has to name names. Not just 'supervisor'—Raymond Lachapelle, because if I get hit by a truck, someone has to take over. ADCI and OSHA both require a designated person-in-charge, a dive supervisor, a standby diver, a tender, and a dive medical technician (DMT) on most sites. For a two-man dive team, the DMT can be the supervisor, but only if he's got a current certification and the right equipment. I've seen a plan that listed 'DMT trained'—that's not a thing. You're either current or you're not. The standby diver is not a helper. He's suited, geared, and ready to go in the water within seconds. His job is to rescue the diver, not to hand tools. In that Lake Powell incident, my standby was already in the water—because the plan called for it whenever working below 100 feet. That's a call you make based on depth and current. When you're on an intake, the suction can hold a man against the grate. That changes the rescue math. And one time I saw a supervisor have the standby diver running the compressor. I shut the job down. It took two hours to get a second compressor on site, but that's the rule: standby diver is not a gopher.

Equipment and Redundancy: The Things You Check Twice

Your plan must list every piece of life-support gear: the full-face mask or helmet, the umbilical, the air supply, the communications, the depth gauge, the pneumo. And it has to state the minimum performance standards. For example, Kirby Morgan 37 helmets are standard on the inland jobs I run, but you still inspect the exhalation valve every time. The plan should reference manufacturer's manuals and require pre-dive functional checks. We use a ½-inch Gates air hose for the primary and a secondary bailout bottle with a 15-cubic-foot supply. Air supply is where I see shortcuts. The plan has to require a primary air source with a reserve, plus an independent backup. On a typical job, that's a diesel compressor on the dock, a backup diesel compressor, and a high-pressure cascade with a reserve volume. I calculate the volume needed from the depth and duration. The paperwork has to show that someone has done that math. Communications is its own monster. Wire mics on the umbilical and a backup hardwire or through-water comms. Also line pull signals—everyone has to know them. My Lake Powell thing ended with one pull for 'OK' and three for 'haul up.' You never know when the mic dies.

Emergency Action Plan: The Part You Actually Hope You Never Need

The EAP is the blood and guts. It has to include the nearest recompression chamber, with driving directions, direct phone number, and activation protocol. I've seen a plan that said 'transport to the closest chamber'—that's not a plan. You call the chamber supervisor, get a doctor on the line, and you start the emergency box. The plan has to state who calls, in what order, and what phrases you use. For example, 'We have a diver with suspected DCS symptoms, at depth such and such, we need evacuation.' It also has to cover lost diver, embolism, hypothermia, and trauma. And it has to be rehearsed. Not just read. We do a drill before every job—takes thirty minutes, and everyone hates it, but I've been through it for real enough times. The plan must specify the decompression tables you're using—Navy tables or a commercial version—and the supervisor's authority to call for more conservative tables. Same for altitude adjustments. A lake at 5,000 feet is different. The plan covers that.

Site-Specific Hazards and Contingencies

Every site has its own personality. The plan must identify hazards—suction intakes, high current, underwater cables, murky water, bridge pilings, cold thermoclines. And it has to say how you mitigate each. For instance, on a dam intake, we install a trash rack guard and have a diver shut down the plant? Actually, you can't always shut down, so you might use a tether and a screen, and you mark a safe zone. Each plant is different, so the plan has to be written for the location, not generic. This is where I get the most pushback. Contractors want to use the same plan for every job. But that's not how it works. You have to have a master plan and a site-specific appendix. If the plan doesn't mention the fact that you're diving in front of a spillway gate, you're going to die in a hypothetical. Power plants: entrained suction is the big one. Tanks: confined space rules kick in. Bridges: traffic, boat wakes, and contaminated sediment. The plan has to anticipate the top three worst-case scenarios and have a specific response.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should a dive safety plan be reviewed? At least annually, but more often if you change equipment, location, or if it's a long-duration job. I update mine for every new site appendix. And after any accident or near-miss, you revise the plan immediately. Who is responsible for the safety plan? The dive supervisor, ultimately. But the employer has to provide the resources. The supervisor writes or approves the plan, and stands accountable for enforcing it. Do I need a recompression chamber on the job site? Not always, but you need guaranteed access to one. The plan must document how you get the diver to a chamber, and that transportation is available within a reasonable time. Some remote jobs require a chamber on site. It depends on depth, gas, and distance. Can I download a template? You can find templates, but a generic plan is worthless. You have to make it site-specific and check it against OSHA and ADCI requirements. I've seen too many accidents happen when someone used a cut-and-paste plan.