SAFETY Situational Awareness Pt. 2 – It’s All in the Details – by Dan Orr, President, Dan Orr Consulting
As I addressed in my January ar- ticle in Scuba Diving Industry Maga- zine: Situational Awareness, being situationally aware while scuba div- ing, involves comprehending and understanding the dynamic circum- stances going on around us during
you and your diving companion is an essential component of diving safety. The maximum bottom time selected should take into account the no–decompression limits and what your dive plans are, not only that dive, but for the entire dive day. If you plan to make multiple dives that day, you may want to limit your bottom time so that you stay well below the no decompression limits. Dive computers now have bot- tom time limit warnings that can be pre-set before diving. If, however, you near your planned maximum bottom time, there should be communication between diving companions to make sure you do not violate that part of your dive plan. If you do happen to violate your maximum bottom time, there are things you can do to mitigate any increased risk. You can ascend to a shallower depth, making sure that your dive computer now adjusts, keeping you within the no-de- compression limits. You could also reduce your planned bot- tom time or extend your safety stop to help mitigate any increased risk for going beyond your planned maximum bottom time. These are all contingencies that should be discussed with your diving companions prior to diving. It may also be wise to develop and share any hand signals you would use to communicate your change in plans. 3. Depth, current, surge, visibility. Exposure to any of these can affect your safety. As previously discussed, your dive plan should include the maximum planned depth during the dive, however in the event you exceed your maximum bottom time, as with anything that causes changes in your dive plan, consider discussing with your diving companion how you can prevent any future violations of your dive plan, protocols or procedures. Diving against a current or dealing with the effect of surge caused by overhead wave action can cause a diver to work harder than they expected, increasing their consumption of breathing gas and, subsequently, in- creasing the amount of nitrogen absorbed by their tissue. That can potentially increase the risk of decompression sick- ness (DCS). Increasing the work of breathing can also in- crease the risk of immersion pulmonary edema (IPE). IPE was discussed in the December 2024 issue of Scuba Diving
a diving experience. The situationally aware diver gathers rel- evant information, analyzes it, and makes informed decisions in order to be prepared to successfully address any potential risks, hazards, or events that might affect their safety or the safety of those they dive with. Once a dive begins, the com- ponents of situational awareness should include, but not be limited to, such things as: 1. Breathing gas supply (Yours and your diving compan- ions). In research conducted by Divers Alert Network (DAN) and published in 2008, the number one triggering point when you “turn” the dive so that you and your diving companions have sufficient breathing gas to return to the planned exit point and to deal with any unforeseen emer- gencies. As an example, on a shore dive I was doing, we no- ticed that there was quite a bit of boat and jet ski traffic in the area where we had planned to dive. Therefore, we planned our dive using the “Rule of Thirds,” similar to what is used when diving in overhead environments (one-third of our breathing gas supply going out, one-third coming back and one-third in reserve). We also, of course, had our dive flag/float to indicate our presence. Divers should have agreed-upon hand signals to be used to communicate re- maining breathing gas supply and when to “turn” the dive and return to the exit point. Regularly communicating breathing gas supplies will help prevent anyone from running out of breathing gas during the dive. 2. Bottom time relative to your dive plan. Having a max- imum bottom time as part of your dive plan that applies to event in diving fatalities (41%) was “running out of breathing gas underwater.” As part of your dive plan, there should be a pre- determined and agreed-upon
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