The Importance of Drills

Any time we task workers with something that exposes them to a known risk like diving or working at heights, it is critically important that we provide training and equipment to make sure they can be safely recovered from where they are working. For divers, that means the team needs to be able to recover an unconscious or badly injured diver from the worksite to the surface without causing further injury. If the team is working at height, like on top of a water tower, the team needs to be able to safely recover and lower an injured worker to the ground for further treatment.

Practicing rescue from heights

Many diving contractors carry recovery equipment but may never perform an actual drill to make sure it will work when needed. Some questions:

1: Will a recovery tripod actually fit over the entry hatch on a tall water tower?

2: Is dive team manning sufficient to support a standby diver and a recovery tender at the same time, while the dive supervisor remains on the radio?

3: How can an injured worker be safely lowered to the ground from a 150' tall water tower with a significant injury?

4: Do all team members know how all the emergency equipment works, and is the equipment staged in a quickly accessible spot for fast deployment?

Injured diver recovery drill

We can say from experience, diving worksite emergencies develop very rapidly, and adequate response requires training and familiarization for all team members to ensure a successful outcome. That requires periodic live drills with the actual personnel and equipment used in the field. Clients can help ensure they are hiring a responsible contractor by asking them to provide evidence of drills performed to show they provide equipment and training to rescue their own workers in case of an incident at the worksite. This has also been a significant contributing factor in commercial diving incidents where the contractor did not have adequate personnel, training or equipment to rescue their diver and had to rely on EMS.

Recovering the diver to a place of safety

IUS personnel perform regular rescue drills, and IUS dive teams discuss injured diver recovery at the start of every diving project. Clients should insist that the diving contractor has a workable plan in place including training and equipment to recover a diver or other workers from any reasonably foreseeable accident.

Administering oxygen to a stricken diver while waiting for EMS.