Commercial diving businesses should always push for better safety, but sometimes learning the truth about their safety compliance can be tough. The Association of Diving Contractors International is a key resource for companies hoping to identify problem points, as their official audits can help businesses find ways to improve.
However, operators that aren't familiar with the audit process could be concerned, or even nervous, with what the auditor will find. In the latest issue of Underwater Magazine, Diving Consultant Captain Jon Hazelbaker offered reassurance, explaining that the audit is not a "pass/fail" process but a complex assessment of a company.
"A contractor isn't risking anything," Hazelbaker said. "They're only going to benefit from this because they're going to come away from it with full disclosure on exactly what part of their administration or personnel may be deficient and lacking compliance with ADCI, OSHA and USCG regulations with absolutely no downside to it."
"The audit is not a 'pass/fail' process."
In addition to an audit, dive managers can also consult the International Consensus Standards For Commercial Diving And Underwater Operations. Available online, this document features a description of the three different audit types the organization allows: self-audits, diving contractor audits and the saturation diving inspection and checklist protocol.
As the names imply, the latter two audits require an outside party for proper assessment, while the first can be done internally. The reports focus on aspects of professional diving with different degrees of specificity, concerning not only the state of equipment, but also the certification level of divers and supervisors.
Just as divers look to professionals for a proper audit, they can also work with companies that know insurance for commercial diving intimately for a better likelihood that they get the policy they need.