Risk Management for Diving Operations: How to enhance the safety and proficiency of diving teams

"Risk Management for Diving Operations is an essential source for Dive Supervisors and great value to any professional/science diver's working library." Ed O’Brien, Dive Operations Manager, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "This is a long overdue and often ignored topic in the Recreational diving world that needs to be understood and applied; this book will enable that to happen." Phil Short. Dark Water Exploration Ltd. Explorers Club Fellow. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. This book will assess the best risk management strategies for diving operations, filling some critical gaps in knowledge in this subject and providing a sound and scientific approach to the proposed theme. No “zero risk” activities exist, but we should aim for a “zero accident” goal. Divers are exposed to risks of different natures. Some are related to the divers’ actions and other human factors involved in the operations. Others originate from the challenging underwater environment in which divers operate. The book is structured into 14 chapters, each assessing a specific risk. Each chapter is supported by an extensive bibliography with cross-references within the text, making it easy for the reader to access the specific bibliographical element. The risks covered include the ones linked to human factors, including stress, panic, fatigue, and loss of situational awareness, and those related to the diving environment, including cold, polluted water, depth, DCS, oxygen toxicity, and visibility. A summary of the main topics is provided at the beginning of each chapter, allowing for a quick overview of the presented arguments. A “lesson learned” section will provide practical advice based on the information presented at the end of each chapter. Some diving accidents have been analyzed following a specific method aimed at identifying the root causes of the accident and how the accident could have been avoided. The final chapters describe how to develop a sound and safe diving plan and a comprehensive risk assessment.