The Pre-Dive Conversation That Prevents Most Change Orders
By Priya Raghunathan, Port authority procurement analyst. Reviewed by Dana Whitcombe, technical reviewer.
Commercial Diving Contractors Alabama | Commercial Diving Contractors Alaska Tuesday, March 14, 6:30 AM, Pier 27, San Francisco. The dive boat was on station but the current was running sideways at two knots. The crew had already spent an hour staging equipment because the crane was tied up on the opposite side of the pier. The RFP had specified a 'structural inspection of the fender pile.' It did not mention the current, the crane position, or the fact that the pile had a 40-degree list. By noon I had witnessed my first change order in progress: a six-hour mobilization re-rig that the contractor billed as a 'change in conditions.' That was the day I started having a pre-dive conversation before every awarded underwater services contract. The pre-dive conversation is not a meet-and-greet. It is a disciplined, agenda-driven meeting between the port's procurement analyst, the port's marine superintendent, and the diving contractor's project manager and dive supervisor. It happens after the award and before any mobilization. Its purpose is to surface every assumption that could turn into a change order, then write it down so the assumption becomes either a shared fact or a priced option.
Start with the water, not the paperwork
The most expensive change orders I've seen were caused by wrong assumptions about physical conditions. In one case, the RFP described the site as 'sheltered harbor.' The contractor assumed benign conditions and priced a 3-day dive window. In reality, the harbor has a 1.5-foot tidal exchange that turns the berth into a sluice. The dive supervisor hadn't done a site assessment because the RFP didn't ask for one. We added a three-day delay and a change order for 'extra stand-by time.' Now I always open the pre-dive conversation with a specific question: 'Has anyone from your team put eyes on this water in the last two weeks?' And I ask them to describe the current, visibility, and bottom material, not just rely on the RFP's one-sentence description. I also ask for their dive plan's weather window. If their plan says 'weather permitting' without specifying the wind speed or current threshold, we're not done yet. The goal is to get the contractor to admit what they don't know, so we can decide together whether to build that uncertainty into the price or schedule.
Define 'done' in plain words
A port authority RFP might say 'underwater inspection of the pier buttress.' But does the client want a visual pass, physical probing, or ultrasonic thickness measurements? The contractor may have priced a visual survey, and then the port's marine superintendent says 'we need that pile sounded for deterioration.' That's a change order. In the pre-dive conversation, I ask the contractor to restate the scope of work in their own words. I ask them to specify what an ideal final report would contain: photographs, video logs, measurements, notes on marine growth? And I ask whether the RFP's language could be interpreted in more than one way. If there's ambiguity, we resolve it there. I remember a job where the RFP said 'remove all protruding fasteners from the fender system.' One diver interpreted 'protruding' as anything sticking out more than two inches. The other diver removed every bolt that wasn't flush. That ambiguity wasn't a change order because we caught it in the conversation and agreed on a criterion.
Ask about equipment and access assumptions
Diving contractors often have a standard set of equipment and a standard way of deploying it. Your port may not fit that standard. For example, the RFP assumes the dive boat can come alongside the work platform, but a containership is berthed there on the day of the job. Or the contractor assumes they can use the port's crane, but the port's crane is scheduled for another job. One change order I had was for a contractor who priced using their own generator, but the port's electrical permit required a certified electrician to connect it. That's a change order you can't blame on the contractor. In the pre-dive conversation, I walk the contractor through the site access conditions step by step: where the dive boat will moor, how the equipment will be transported to the edge, whether there's a berthing fee, and what power and water facilities are available. I also ask the contractor to list the assumptions they made in their bid. The conversation is the time to say 'we don't have a crane on that side' to prevent a change order later.
Make the conversation stick
The pre-dive conversation is only useful if it changes the contract. After the meeting, I issue a summary of decisions and open items. That summary is attached to the contract as an addendum. It includes the agreed-upon definition of the scope, the specific site conditions that were discussed, the contractor's assumptions that were accepted, and a list of items that remain unresolved with a price for each if they arise. I also require the contractor's dive plan and risk assessment to be submitted within five working days of the meeting. If the contractor is unwilling to engage in this conversation, that's a red flag. I've seen contractors who refuse to send their dive supervisor to the meeting and send a sales rep instead. That's a sign that the project management is disconnected from the field operations. The pre-dive conversation is not just about avoiding change orders; it's about building a shared mental model of the job. When both sides' understanding aligns, the work goes faster and the client gets what they paid for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the pre-dive conversation happen before or after the RFP is issued? After the award, but ideally before final scheduling and mobilization. If you're a contractor bidding on a job, you can request a pre-bid site visit. That's different. This conversation is for the post-award, pre-mobilization phase, when both sides are committed and the goal is alignment. What if the contractor's assumptions are different from the port's? How do we resolve? You don't resolve it in the meeting. You document the difference and decide who bears the risk. The RFP and the contract govern. If an assumption turns out to be false, the conversation's notes will show that it was known and not addressed. That's why the written summary is essential. Is this just for big, complex underwater services jobs? No. Even a ten-thousand-dollar dive job for a propeller clear can have a change order. The smaller the job, the more proportionally painful a change order can be. A thirty-minute conversation is cheap insurance.