Page 246 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

and directs the diving aspects of the project. Prior to the start of the project, the Dive Supervisor conducts reconnaissance of the site, operating facilities and emergency facilities, as well as draws up the project dive plan. They are also responsible for checking diver qualifications and medical qualifications, co- llating paperwork associated with the diving aspects of the project, and assembling the equipment to be used and the initial safety checks. During diving operations, the dive supervisor is responsible for the health and safety of the divers and leads the safety briefings. The supervisor conducts safety checks on equipment and divers. She or he delineates all other roles of the diving operations and determines if a diver is fit to dive or other persons are able to carry out their roles, and the supervisor can cancel diving. In addition, the dive supervisor can control boat traffic or designate someone to do this.
Diver: this person undertakes a task on a project following the techniques required for the activity at hand. If diving is self-contained, it should be organized following the buddy system, and no diver should be left alone unless a system is used that allows for this, such as diver-to-surface communication. Under certain conditions, especially when heavy equipment is deployed or the work is integrated with ongoing dredging and construction, diver-to-surface communication is an absolute requirement. SCUBA may then not be the right choice of diving system.
Safety/standby diver: during diving operations, this diver is fully kitted up. A safety/standby diver only enters the water in case of emergency to assist divers and/or recover divers.
Roles on a project can be further diversified depen- ding on the dive system used. For example, using surface-supply equipment (SSE) and/or diver-to- surface communication, a tender will be used to assist in kitting up the diver and to hold the lines and communicate with the diver throughout the duration of their dive. The tender has no other responsibilities whilst fulfilling this role. In projects where a decompression or treatment chamber is present, a chamber operator will also be an assigned role. In
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Safety