Dive Management

Steve Cox

History• 1979 – RN Ship’s Diver and Supervisor

• 1979 – 2005 – Went diving!• 2005-2012 – OIC JSSADC• Today – Diving Officer PDCSAC

• BSAC Instructor Trainer• Contract Instructor JSSADC• BSAC DTP Review Team - DM• CCF Dive Team

• BSAC NI and FCD, PADI OWSI

When I’m not diving - So keep your speed down!

Contents of My Mess Tin

The SADS Scheme

BSAC Dive Management Training

Some thoughts on the future of teaching and assessing DM

The Sub Aqua Diving Supervisor

The Gold Standard in Sports Diving

Is it?

If so - Why?

Back to Basics

• SADS system is based on the BSAC Diver Training Programme (DTP)

• We add the MOD regulations

• Plus Dynamic Dive Management training

BSAC DTP

• A lot of DM training across the Diver Grades

• It starts at Ocean Diver level – but not everyone realises that!

• Dive Leader and Advanced Diver are the cornerstones of DM training

• They are the grades we use to underpin the SADS system

Team DM

Buddy DM

Personal DM

Competency

Dive P

lannin

g

DiveManager

BuddyDiver

Triangle of Responsibility

What do we do that is Different?

Centralised Training

A Single Training Team – trained to teach and assess DM

A strength and a weakness?

Critical Difference

Dynamic Dive Management

The way the SADS courses and assessment use the BSAC DTP

What about us?

Are we different?

Do we learn differently based on our military training?

A Traditional View

We do use drills to deal with emergencies extensively

The D Question

The SADS

• Not hierarchal

• Qualification based

• The LCpl SADS with the CO and RSM diving

The Big Issue

• Getting enough SADS into the system

• Getting them early enough

The SADS Value

SADS put your hands up

Hands down if you did NOT have passing the assessment reported on your OJAR/SJAR

Has it ever appeared on your report?

So What?We have 150 SADS registered today

(Of those about 15 work in the Centres/DST)

135 SADS

41 are BSADS

The “Non-availables”/ASI

The Balancing Act

AT Authorities need “Bums on Seats”

We need some “headline” expeditions

Lots of divers on courses and expeditions

The Out of Balance Bit!• The SADS to make all this happen come

from the Single Service Associations

• The vast majority of Service divers are not in the Associations

• The Associations have about 2,000 members – 0.97% of the Services

• SADS are about 6% of Association divers

Force Structure 2020Same percentage of divers gives us about 1300 Association members

Same percentage of SADS gives about 80 SADS

More AT in the programme as contingent ops have finished (ish!)

Need to up the conversion rate to SADS

Linked Issues

Time off to get to the AT Centres (ESADS package requires two weeks to complete)

Getting the students from the courses into the Associations

The SADS Value

Demanding leadership and management qualification (not rank based)

Get it on the OJAR/SJAR and sell it

Non-contingent era – target the junior leader with something that can help get

them promoted

The Gold Standard?

• Maybe a bit arrogant

• Maybe a bit complacent

• But it is a proven system that works well for us today

The Diving World is Changing too!

The BSAC DTP Review

Dive Management

Components of DM• Dive Planning

• Dive Briefing

• Site Set up and Management

• Practical Rescue Management

• Post Dive Activities

A Missing Component

We do teach Advanced Instructors to teach DM in the new AI course

I’m not sure we teach Dynamic Dive Management as well as we could

A Possible BSAC Outcome

Dive Management modules at:

Entry Level (Personal DM)

Development Level (Buddy DM)

Leadership Level (Team DM)

Advanced Level (Team DM)

Delivered by OWIs and AIs

BSAC Instructors trained to deliver

Dive Management at those levels

Opportunity for the SADS Scheme?

Could we deliver the Branch SADS through Distributed Training?

BSAC DM qualification plus a presentation on BR2806 (5)

Practical Session – Dynamic Dive Management

Expedition SADS

ESADS Development Course delivered through Distributed Training by appropriately qualified instructors (ESADS/AI?)

ESADS Assessor to attend as Quality Assurance

ESADS Assessment held centrally at JSSADC

Training the Trainer

SADS Refresher Course

Add a training module

Add a two or three day Train the SADS Trainer course to the JSSADC programme

DST to provide the BR2806 (5) training module

Possible Advantages

Less time away from units for candidates

More courses

Quality Assurance in place

Utilizes the new BSAC DTP to support the training of SADS

Non Diver Dive Manager

There is a demand within the BSAC

- Role for families/friends

- Role for those who want to dive but medically can’t

What would you need to teach in addition to the DM skills to achieve this?

The Centres• Deliver the courses to support the AT

Scheme• Help deliver the “Bums on Seats” • Deliver the Instructors for Distributed

Training• Deliver the diving equivalent of the Ocean

Racers – CCR, TRIMIX, Advanced Diving Techniques

• Deliver the ESADS Assessment

This is only one thought on a possible way ahead!

The Services are changing – what will Force 2020 actually look like?

The BSAC DTP is changing – delivery in 2016/17 is the target

Now is the time for thinking and discussion to be ahead of the curve

My Aim – to stimulate that discussion

• I’ve offered just one option – there are plenty more you will come up that will be better

• I can only offer one guarantee – change will happen and it is better to shape the battlespace ahead of the event.

I’ve left questions for you to consider

Questions For Me?