Setting up a commercial dive team

DIVEOPS PRO does not set the size or make-up of a dive team. Both depend on the diving mode, the jurisdiction, the client's specification and your project risk assessment. This article explains the usual roles and points you to the published standards that define them.

Where we mention a minimum, we quote the source and section. Always check the current edition. Nothing here approves any team plan.

The roles

Team composition by diving mode

For each mode we list only what the standards cover. For the actual minimum team, see the standard.

Scuba (only where permitted)

Many offshore codes and clients do not allow scuba for commercial work, and some jurisdictions restrict it. Check first whether your client or regulator allows it at all.

See:

• OSHA 1910.424 (scuba: limits, standby diver, tending or buddy);
• HSE L104 (inland/inshore) and L103 (offshore);
• the ADCI Consensus Standards;
• AS/NZS 2299.1.

Surface-supplied air

See OSHA 1910.425, HSE L103/L104, IMCA D 014, ADCI, AS/NZS 2299.1 and NORSOK U-100. They set out:

• the supervisor, diver, standby diver and tending arrangements;
• the conditions that change the team, such as depth, decompression and chamber requirements.

Nitrox (surface-supplied)

Depending on the standard and the jurisdiction, nitrox may be treated as surface-supplied diving with extra requirements for gas handling and oxygen competence, or as mixed-gas diving. Do not assume which: check the definitions in the standard that applies to you. See IMCA D 014, ADCI, the HSE ACoPs and AS/NZS 2299.1.

OSHA Subpart T does not use the word "nitrox". Read the Subpart T definitions (1910.402) and the mixed-gas section (1910.426) in their current text, and ask OSHA how Subpart T applies to your case.

Mixed gas (surface-supplied and wet bell)

See OSHA 1910.426, IMCA D 014, HSE L103, ADCI and NORSOK U-100. They cover the extra roles (gas handling, bell operation) and the facility requirements.

Saturation

See IMCA D 014 and the related IMCA documents, HSE L103, NORSOK U-100:2023 and ADCI.

A saturation team works in shifts and, in general terms, typically includes:

• bell divers and a bellman;
• dive supervisors and life support supervisors;
• LSTs and technicians;
• medical support.

The standard and the client's specification decide the numbers.

Contaminated water, enclosed spaces, Delta-P

These hazards change the team and the precautions in every mode. See the hazard sections of the sources above and the IMCA Delta-P guidance.

Practical steps

1. Find out the jurisdiction and the client's standard. For example, a contract may require IMCA D 014 or ADCI.
2. Read the team section of the current edition of that standard.
3. Do the project risk assessment and diving project plan. The team may need to be larger than the minimum.
4. Check each team member's qualifications and medical with the issuer. DIVEOPS PRO verifies nothing.
5. Record the team in the dive plan and the supervisor's records. In DIVEOPS PRO, those records are a digital companion to your official records; they do not replace them.

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General information, not legal, medical or safety advice. Your legal duties, the applicable standard and your own risk assessment govern. See the standard. Rules and standards change: check the current official text.