Page 250 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

 © Wessex Archaeology. Diver Supervision on board a research vessel of Wessex Archaeology, United Kingdom.
During the execution of the project, the diving safety officer is responsible for the health and safety of the divers, leads the safety briefings, conducts safety checks on equipment and divers.
Risk assessment
Once the project’s activities and logistics have been described in the project dive plan, then the principle hazards of these and of working in a marine environment, and the mitigation measures taken to avoid them, should be outlined. This assessment helps to identify and assess hazards systematically, to include control measures in the planning stage and to communicate safety information to all project members.
The risk assessment is probably best set out both in table format and in expanded descriptions. In table format, the hazards can be listed first, the likelihood of the incident occurring, the risks from those hazards described, the severity of the resulting injuries, the persons affected, and the mitigating measures. In some instances, the level of risk can be designated using a numerical scale (1 being the lowest risk and 5 being the highest risk, for example). It is considered best practice for diving supervisors to prepare a risk assessment for each part of the diving operation.
Examples of hazards usually included in a risk assessment are:
- Environment: weather conditions, currents, tides, winds, cold, heat, marine life, working in contaminated waters;
- Physical exertion: lifting of equipment, swim- ming, associated outdoor activities, general fatigue and lack of concentration;
- Dive equipment: malfunctions, use of com- pressor, communication lines, damaged dive equipment;
- Boat safety: ships in the area, transfer between vessels, divers in water around boats;
- Diving-related events: the character of the work such as surveying and sampling; the wielding of tools; sharp or rusted metal, entrapment due to collapsing structures or sediments, lines or equipment; lost diver; diver not fit to dive (fitness of diver); nitrogen narcosis; decompression illness.
The assessment of hazards, their risks, and mitigation procedures should be addressed in the orientation 249
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Safety