Professional diving
The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team.
Any person wishing to become a professional diver normally requires specific training that satisfies any regulatory agencies which have regional or national authority, such as US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive or South African Department of Employment and Labour.
A code of practice for professional diving is a document that complements occupational health and safety laws and regulations to provide detailed practical guidance on how to comply with legal obligations, and should be followed unless another solution with the same or better health and safety standard is in place,[6] or may be a document for the same purpose published by a self-regulating body to be followed by member organisations.
A workplace inspector can refer to a code of practice when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice, and they may be admissible in court proceedings.
Equivalent or better ways of achieving the required work health and safety may be possible, so compliance with codes of practice is not usually mandatory, providing that any alternative systems used provide a standard of health and safety equal to or better than those recommended by the code of practice.
It will refer to relevant legislation and codes of practice and will specify the organisation of the company and the chain of responsibility.
Professional diving operations are generally required to be documented for legal reasons related to contractual obligations and health and safety.
Government bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the UK Environment Agency carry out scientific diving to recover samples of water, marine organisms and sea, lake or riverbed material to examine for signs of pollution.
[7][10] Not all scientific divers are professionals; some are amateurs who assist with research or contribute observations on citizen science projects out of personal interest.
Equipment in this field is varied with scuba and surface supplied equipment used, depending on requirements, but rebreathers are often used for wildlife related work as they are normally quiet, release few or no bubbles and allow the diver a lengthy bottom time with a reduced risk of frightening off the subject.
Military divers may need equipment which does not reveal their position and avoids setting off explosives, and to this end, they may use rebreathers which produce less noise due to bubbles emitted from the equipment, and few or no bubbles on the surface, and which contain no magnetic components, and the face-mask may be fitted with anti-reflective glass.
Naval divers work to support maintenance and repair operations on ships and military installations.
In the US, many public safety divers are volunteers, but career law enforcement or fire rescue personnel also often take on these additional responsibilities as part of their occupation.
They may operate from dedicated dive centres at coastal sites, or through hotels in popular holiday resorts or simply from local swimming pools.
Initial training is carried out mainly on conventional open circuit scuba equipment[24][25][26] but with the increasing availability of recreational rebreathers, their use is also taught.
They are underwater tour guides, and as such are expected to know the level of certification and fitness needed for the planned dive, but are not generally considered responsible for ensuring that the customers are competent to the level of certification they hold, or for the personal safety of the customers during the dive.
The decision between wearing a full-face mask or a full diving helmet comes down to job requirements and personal preference; however, the impact protection and warmth offered by a full diving helmet makes it popular for underwater construction sites and cold water work.
[42] If diving at extreme depths, helium-based breathing gas mixtures are used to prevent nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity which would otherwise occur due to the high ambient pressure.
Most diver training follows procedures and schedules laid down in the associated training standard, in a formal training programme, and includes relevant foundational knowledge of the underlying theory, including some basic physics, physiology and environmental information, practical skills training in the selection and safe use of the associated equipment in the specified underwater environment, and assessment of the required skills and knowledge deemed necessary by the certification agency to allow the newly certified diver to dive within the specified range of conditions at an acceptable level of risk.
[23] The Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS) is an international commercial and occupational diver certification scheme administered on a cost-recovery basis by the ADAS Board under the direction of the Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
Certificates issued by the DCBC are recognized by Australia (ADAS), France, Norway, South Africa (DoL), the United Kingdom (HSE) and the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).
[50] In Poland "commercial diver" is a state-regulated profession and qualifications are awarded by the Maritime Office in Gdynia, according the Polish law of 17 October 2003.
[2] All commercial diver training is within the scope of the Diving Regulations, but recreational diver training and dive leading (divemasters) are specifically excluded from the regulations, though still subject to general provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
[51] In the UK, any person diving at work is required to hold a relevant qualification approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE commercial diver qualifications are recognized by Australia (ADAS), Canada (DCBC), France, Norway, South Africa (DoEL) and in part by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).
[citation needed] There are several HSE qualifications, each focusing on a different type of equipment or type of diving activity, for instance the HSE Scuba qualification only recognises the holder's competence to dive using scuba equipment.
[citation needed] In addition to practical skills training, there is classroom work, with divers learning subjects such as basic physics and physiology of diving and the use of decompression tables.
First Aid courses are normally also a requirement for trainee divers, with the emphasis placed on dealing with decompression and other diving related injuries.
[citation needed] Other countries known to have nationally regulated training and registration systems: A Master's degree titled Engineer Diver, for a professional who has the capacities, skills and knowledge needed to plan, manage and successfully execute an underwater operation concerning engineering practice, was proposed in 2007.
[52] Examples of businesses that might benefit from the proposed qualification are civil infrastructures contractors (above and below water) where inspections, and maintenance projects are carried out periodically.
