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To keep this to the point, the ADC wants no meaningful rules or regulation and IMCA wants rules and regulations for everything. If anything IMCA is more ambiguous (sounds good means nothing) than the ADC. The truth is no rule they write is enforced unless it is profitable for their group.

Right now they are in a struggle to see whose, non-enforceable rules, wins out in the Gulf of Mexico. Which may be good for us the diver and tenders. It looks like they will be forced to work together to come up with a set of Standards for the Gulf of Mexico. IMCA has no clew about surface diving and I think the oil companies are smart enough to recognize this. Most of what we do in the Gulf if from the surface.

Those of us already in the business will most likely come into IMCA under a Grandfather Clause. New hires will have to conform to the new standard written by the ADC, our companies, and IMCA. Know it or not, most of our companies all ready belong to IMCA as well as the ADC. The oil companies also belong to IMCA so if we finally get a decent Standard, not to much regulation or not to little, we win. Training Standards, practical training, is the place to watch.

Guys until you see the Oil Companies putting their money where their mouths are, both organizations, the ADC and IMCA, are nothing more then cover your ass legal B S. for everyone but us, in the offshore industry. The guys locked down in prison have a term for it “Talking Out of Both Sides of Your Neck”. Below are a few examples of what I’m talking about

When the Federal Government began to enforce their DOT (Department of Transportation) Regulations on who can work on a DOT covered pipeline offshore, The Oil Companies where perfectly happy to have their offshore personnel and Diving Companies trained to the onshore standard. In things like “Back Filling a Ditch” Now when is the last time any of us back filled a pipeline ditch offshore. The truth is they don’t care as long as it looks good on paper.

Ask yourself how many times you have worked on a vessel too small for the job. Now if that isn’t a safety issue I don’t know what is. Yet the oil companies continue to get the smallest possible vessels available. What they care about is cheaper not safer.

Please let me know, when was last time you did a Recover of an Injured Diver Drill, if ever, in the middle of a job. How many of you have had a hands on class in things like, Live Boating, Jet Sleds Operations, Surface Diving DP Vessels, Chamber Operation, Communication, Supervisors Training or even how to use decompression tables. When the oil companies quit talking out of Both Sides of Their Neck, you’ll have those classes and more, on an on going basis. Not things like how to get on and off a crew boat and Blood Born Pathogens. Then and only then will we have a safer work place.

SAFETY IS A TRAINING ISSUE
And
Training Cost Money

R E S P O N S E:

Posted 4/13/2004
John, after reading your latest missive I have to say that we in the diving community are leaving too many voids in policy and procedure for the bean counters to step into. As a community/culture/or whatever the correct term is, we are at least in part the authors of our own fate. The apathy that prevails in our end of the industry, or lack of involvement is strangling progress for us. I think we have have to cultivate some vocal advocates for professional diving. Grab a little media attention, contribute to professional publications, or even local rags to point out the ineqities and possibilities for our profession. I don't mean one hand has to take it all on, but surely vocal and literate divers could get active or at least concede that we are under-represented. Diving is dramatic enough in the publics eye to garner at last passing interest to a degree a diver positive message could sneak thru. ADC/IMCA is a sign to us to fold or make our needs met or at least heard.

Regards, Bill Gardner

Posted 5/25/2004
John,

After reading your editorial about the IMCA and the ADCI about safety and Mr. Gardner's response of 4/13, it appears to me that the efforts are dying in a sea of opinion and written manifestos. It does not have to get this complicated if the dive companies involve their employees in analyzing what the real safety issues are and integrating them into a modified standard that actually applies to the diving industry. There is a real opportunity here to strengthen the GOM stand on diver safety and to prevent the industry from being saddled with a massive set of rules and regs that will be broken in the interest of production and staying in business. See my safety article in the May/June issue of Underwater. I enjoy reading your column. Thanks.

Steve Pfaff