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A Message from the Executive Director
My
last message focused
on the ADCI's Strategic
Plan and its implementation
for 2007 and beyond. One
of the items that I mentioned was
the proposed draft for the 6th Ed.
of the Consensus Standards for
Commercial Diving and Underwater
Operations. Changes over
the last 5 - 10 years in our industry
have warranted the revision of
our source document.
Of course, when embarking
on any revision of this magnitude
it is important to remember that
there is a defined process for
review, approval, and finally ratification.
Once the first draft has
been completed, it will go before
the Board of Directors for review
and approval.
Once the draft has successfully
progressed from this point,
it will be posted for review by all
industry stakeholders. This review
period for comments and suggested
input is tentatively slated
for a period of no less than six to
eight months.
At the conclusion of this
period, the second draft will be
put forth before the Membership
for ratification. It is hoped
that the document will be ratified
sometime before 2010. However,
we must be very careful not to set
a timeline that is too accelerated.
Some of the changes that we
are looking to implement involve
major expenditures in equipment,
especially in the area of saturation
diving. This will require fair
and realistic timelines and dates
for when these new recommended
standards will take effect. I
want to take this opportunity to
elaborate on some of the proposed
changes to date.
PROPOSED CHANGES
The first area that will be
changed is the overall format of
the Consensus Standards. It will
be more user-friendly; the format
will no longer require users to
refer to three separate areas to
access all the information.
For example, if you wanted
to obtain all information relative
to surface-supplied air diving, all
one would have to do is go to
that section.
In addition, there will be an
expanded reference section at the
back with such items as:
-
Generic Excursion Files;
Bums and Sums
- Callout List for UHMS,
NEDU, and DAN
- Work Day Formulas
- List of all Hyperbaric Med.
Facilities
- Bailout Calculations
- Four major Line Pulls
- First Aid Kit Contents
Checklist
- Recommended Drills
- Emergency Tap Codes
- Condensed Rigging Guidelines
- Burning Guidelines
- Metrology Formulas and
Tables
The overall new proposed
format will be set up as such:
- Table of Contents
- General Provisions
- Personnel Requirements
- Commercial Diving
- Scuba
- Surface-Supplied
- Air
- Mixed Gas
- Saturation
- Equipment and Systems
- ROV (Remote Operated
Vehicles)
- ADS (Advanced Diving
Systems)
- Dynamic Positioning
- Appendix
- Reference Documents
A FEW SPECIFICS
There will also be some
guideline changes to all applications
of diving, from scuba to
saturation. I will just highlight a
few of these changes, while saving
the specifics for the General
Membership Meeting at UI 2008.
With scuba there will be a
new proposed operational maximum
of 100 feet (30m). There
will also be a requirement for
two-way communications.
For mixed-gas diving there
will be a requirement for an
open-bottom bell, equipped with
a manifold, emergency breathing
equipment, gauges and
excursion umbilicals of calculated
length; necessitating the presence
of an in-water tender at the bell.
In the event that an open-bottom
bell cannot be deployed because
operations are conducted in a
physically confining space with
limited ingress, an alternative
supply (excluding the diver's
umbilical) of emergency gas must
be provided.
For saturation diving there will
be a new recommended requirement
for a hyperbaric emergency
system, excluding the bell. This
will also have specific parameters
for emergency on-board gas and
the need for a portable LSCS (Life
Support Control System), located
within 24 hours of the of the dive
site.
There will be requirements for
all LARS (Launch and Recovery
Systems) to be man-rated,
a secondary system for bell
recovery, as well as a redundant
power supply. There will be new
manning requirements for all
applications of surface supplied
diving applications.
NEW BELL CLASSIFICATIONS
Other areas for revision will
include the elimination of the
classing system for different types
of diving bells. The need for
this arose, as there are different
interpretations for what constitutes
a Class I vs. Class II diving
bell, domestically and outside of
the US.
Since we are an international
association, we need to have language
in our source document
which illustrates universality. We
will now use literal terms for bells
and stages - closed bell, open
bell, open bell with manifold,
stage, etc.
On that same note, there will
be overall wording changes to
reflect true international representation.
Constant references
to the USCG and OSHA will be
dialed down, as these have no
relevance for many members
outside of the US.
Instead, we will lean on such
general references as Flag State
and National Regulatory Authorities,
as well as IMO, ABS, DNV,
etc.
A requirement for a third
source of emergency gas (in-water)
for the diver on any planned
in-water decompression dive will
also be incorporated into the 6th
Ed. draft.
CERTIFICATIONS
Other areas of focus are harness
upgrades, (with leg straps
and a positive buckling device
with "D" rings specifically designated
for the safe recovery of
an injured diver), as well as the
streamlining of the three levels
of certification for Entry Level
Tender/Diver, Diver, and Diving
Supervisor. These three diving
certification levels will be brought
up to date with the current assessment,
formal training, and
field experience requirements, or
any combination of the three.
Another certification that has
been discussed over the past few
years has been that of the Life
Support Technician. No longer
will an LST be required in the
manning of surface-supplied
HeO2 operations. If a company
wants to utilize an LST in HeO2
operations, they can, as an LST
will be certified to work on any
given diving assignment, from
saturation to surface-supplied air.
This certification will require
the successful completion of an
online assessment, similar to
that taken by diving supervisor
candidates. There will also be a
field-hour requirement, in addition
to the assessment that will be
necessary for issuance of the LST
certification.
At a minimum, an LST will be
certified to be employed primarily
to control and constantly monitor
the hyperbaric environment and
system in which divers live while
saturation diving.
Also in the realm of saturation
diving is the newly defined role
of the Saturation Technician. The
Saturation Technician is responsible
for the setup, maintenance,
and repair of the saturation
diving complex. In the draft of
the 6th Ed., we will have a new and detailed
description of this individual's responsibilities
and requirements.
There are also revisions to Equipment and
Systems, Procedures for Hand-Held Power
Tools, Welding and Burning Procedures,
Emergency Procedures, and Live Boating.
As you can see, there are too many details
to cover in this writing. It is an exciting process
that brings forth everything which comes about
when attempting to make a change of this
magnitude. The amount of learning, compromise,
and communication that has taken place
within the focus group responsible for coming
up with the first draft will make this a positive
and memorable lifetime experience.
So far presentations on the Proposed
Draft of 6th Edition have been given at ADCI
chapter meetings internationally and in the
US. Presentations have been shared at various
operator safety meetings, and a detailed account
will also be made at UI 2008.
I want to thank the General Members of
the Executive Committee; Bill Crowley, Tim
Beaver, Mike Brown, Craig Fortenbery, and
Claudio Castro for the professional and personal
sacrifices that they have given the association
in this effort. For those of you involved
in undertakings such as this, I offer this little
piece of advice that I came across not too long
ago: "It is important to take criticism seriously,
but not personally. Once you start taking it
personally then you are incapable of taking it
seriously. Then you're not capable of sorting
through what's accurate and inaccurate."
More to come. Be safe. UW
East Coast Chapter Report
Tom Eason, Chair
I hope all member companies and their
staffs are off to a safe and prosperous year.
The beginning of the year is a great time to
evaluate job safety and catch up on equipment
maintenance and personnel qualifications. A
compliant and safe operation is in everyone's
best interest, from the company owner to the
diver at the end of the hose, and extending to
the client paying for the services.
As we begin a new year consider conducting
a self-audit to ensure your company's
personnel and equipment are in compliance
with OSHA and the ADCI Consensus Standards.
Performing this audit annually is a great
tool for evaluating your company's policies and
procedures.
It is time to make plans for this year's
events, including the combined meetings of
the East Coast and Midwest Chapters at the
Inland/Coastal conference. Any thoughts on
where to have these or any additional meetings
or presentations would be appreciated.
I encourage you to visit www.adc-int.org
and check out the SAFETY NOTICE link and
learn from others.
If you have not been receiving Chapter
information via email, please forward your updated
email address and contact information,
and don't forget that ADCI Headquarters also
needs this to communicate with the members.
For chapter information, assistance or comments
please don't hesitate to contact our Vice
Chairman, Wendell Swilley, at info@hullcleaning.
com or 352-373-6301, or me at tom@
easondiving.com or 843-747-0548.
Asia Pacific Chapter Report
Randy Davis, Chair
Business wise, it looks as if the upswing that
started in 2005 will continue through 2008.
Work is the same as I reported in the last issue,
with a great deal of work going on in our
chapter for 2007, both offshore and inland. As
I write this in the middle of December we are
slowing down somewhat, due only to the fact
that this time of the year over here is our bad
weather period. Most major projects will start
or continue in March of 2008. The day rates for
personnel and equipment are still the highest
they have ever been in Asia.
We will again have a shortage of experienced
personnel next year, though the number
of qualified divers has gone up, with a record
number of Asians attending dive schools, especially
in Australia. Now we contractors have to
get the clients to allow us to have a few more
trainees on jobs to get them some experience.
The Chapter held its 2007 Annual General
Meeting on December 8 in Macau SAR,
Peoples' Republic of China. Twenty-five people
attended, including representatives from 15
member companies, one client company, two...
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