Attempt at enlightened DIR discussion

[GUEdiver]

To clarify things (I hope), GUE EDGE is your pre-dive review. If you are going on a big dive, more planning would have gone into it days before the dive itself. So the GUE EDGE is a procedure for making sure everything is ready, safe, and that the team is on the same page before submerging. Please realize (for those who have not been through a GUE class), that it is much more than a head-to-toe equipment match.

There are times when it has to be slighty adjusted according to the type of dive, environment, etc.

For example, on a boat dive, it is advantageous to go through GUE EDGE while the boat is still at the dock. That way you can have a clear discussion prior to riding on a noisy, moving boat. And you catch any equipment issues before the boat heads out. When you are almost to the dive site, minutes from splashing in, you climb into your kit, do your modified valve drill (flow check), modified s-drill, and off you go. Your bubble check happens as you descend (and should continue throughout the dive).

Prior to a cave dive, you have more lattitude for how and when you go through the GUE EDGE. Some folks do the bulk of the review at their vehicles, then do the flow check, s-drill, and bubble check when they get in the water. Others get in the water immediately to cool off and go through the whole thing there, realizing they will have to get out and walk back to their vehicle if they find something is missing or have an equipment issue. It's a choice.

The most important thing is that it is done in a complete manner. Sure, some people may not like the name, but it is an attempt to have something relatively easy to remember.

It is also key to write the bullet points of the plan (in GUE EDGE order) in your wetnotes. That way you can refer to them during the dive if necessary, plus it is a nice way to keep a running log of your dives, data that helps you plan for the future, etc.

I hope this helps. Best regards & fun, safe diving to all.

 

[Charlie99]

Are there any dives or circumstances that you would specifically use GUE EDGE, in the "standardized" order, where it would make a difference to "go by the book?"

If there is a specific predive checklist that each member of the team is familiar with, then going in a standard order makes it more obvious to all if something gets skipped. Yeah, this may be just a tiny item, but so are a lot of the other predefined ways of configuring gear and doing things. They all add up.

While I have never had a truly cohesive scuba diving team, there are several other things I have done in my life, much more dangerous than scuba diving, where the team mentality, everyone being on the same page, and everyone knowing who does what and when; altogether made a the difference between a smooth operation that met its goals and an unsafe mass of confusion.

Random, arbitrary changes to gear configuration OR procedures are contrary to an overall integrated team philosophy.

 

[KMD]

Random thoughts:

Gas planning probably needs to occur after a deco strategy has been determined so one can calculate the minimum gas reserves (Much like a deco strategy needs occur after exposure has been determined)

For ourselves in our classes the "E - Equipment" was taught to be equipment beyond the norms needed for the dive (I.e. We are going to do 2 jumps, and cross three T's so we need 1 reel, 5 cookies and 2 spools)

The actual equipment match itself was thrown in with the other safety procedures. (Mod-s, Mod valve, bubble check, Equipment check)

For myself, I like having the equipment check as a separate safety procedure, because it lets the team test all of their equipment to confirm that it is in working order and in place before the dive.

 

[TSandM]

Hey, coldsmoke, a LOT of "DIR" diving is rec diving -- at least, mine is! We don't go down with a goal most of the time -- We go down with a plan that sounds like, "Well, the wall's at 80 feet and runs north and south. We'll go down the anchor line and swim along the wall until we hit turn pressure, and then come back and do a minimum deco ascent." Because we know our tanks and our gas consumption rates for typical dives, and we know the depth we're talking about, then we know whether the dive will be limited by gas or time. I'm only good for a little over an hour on most dives before I get cold, so if the dive is shallow, it'll turn on time. If the dive is deeper, it'll turn on my husband's gas

So exposure, deco and gas are intimately interconnected. But your deco is always going to be determined by your depth and time, and your rock bottom is determined by your depth, and that determines how much of your gas you can use. Anyway, it's all related and it makes sense to me to do them in that order, although the real reason for having a mnemonic is just to make sure you don't leave anything out.

 

[pengwe]

I haven't worked out how to apply GUE EDGE yet. We do mostly shore, rec dives, and the planning is things like which entry and exit point to use, how much surface swimming are we going to do, which direction are we headed UW to find the reef, are there specific spots we want to check for critters. Is that all part of G?

U - I know what it stands for, but not how to use it. What are some examples of U type decisions or discussions? Lost buddy procedures?

EDG - we maybe discuss a max depth, and a turn pressure. Everything else is always the same.

E - has a big impact, so it's the thing we discuss first.

I always go over it in my head, prior to the dive, but I don't find it very useful for actual planning.

 

[Sloth]

G is purpose. This could be "we are going to practice skills" Or "lets go explore some caverns"

For U think team assignments. For example say you have a three man team. You assign everyone as 1, 2, or 3. 1 could call direction, 2 might shoot the SMB on a drift dive and 3 might call deco. It's easier to sort all this out above water

I think you would see more use for EDG when you dive with new people or with mismatched tanks as your turn pressure is SAC and tank type dependent. So you might have to do the math when diving with new buddies.

Thats how I was taught to look at it anyway.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

So anyone care to propose a new acronym?

Just think of the clout you'd have claiming rights to this new acronym. I gotta think a while for mine.

Hunter

In the NSS Cave Diving Manual edited by Prosser and Grey, the mnemonic "SEA-BAG" was used for dive on-site dive planning after conditions have been evaluated. I use this plan with a couple slight modifications I've noted below.

"SEA" is conducted before gearing up and entering the water:

Signals - Hand signals, Light signals, Touch contact signals, Slate or notebook abbreviations and use.

Emergency Procedures - Accident management

Activities - SADDDD (The NSS Manual breaks activities into ADDD, but having been trained by GUE I've added the S for Sequence and a D for Deco. The ADDD is then Air planning, Duration of dive, Depths of dive, Distance of penetration.) I think the principle of primacy makes me prefer the SADDDD I learned in GUE classes to the new GUE EDGE.

Once in the water or ready to enter the water if conditions don't permit the exercises in the water the "BAG" portion is performed.

Buoyancy check - BCD and hoses function properly, drysuit works (added), divers are weighted properly and can achieve neutral buoyancy and proper trim (book suggests it, but we skip this step until later).

Air - Manifold valves turned completely on, both regulators checked breathing in the water, air pressures and turn pressures verified, deco plans in notes or on slates.

Gear - Matching exercise including necessary and optional equipment, bubble check and S-drill.

I think SEABAG-SADDDD-SAVED when going through pre-dive checks. I'll do the SEA including the SADDDD then the BAG portion and in case we missed any of the final checks the SAVED is S-Drill, Air and Valves (bubble check), Equipment and then "Descend" or "Dive" checking trim and buoyancy. If diving with known team members we just do quick surface checks for deployable long hoses, dunk manifolds to check for bubbles, etc. If diving with new team members, then we do these checks underwater to check for trim, buoyancy, skill at S-drills, and valve drills.

For dive planning in advance, I use a worksheet given out by Terrence Tysall using the mnemonic On Dives the Important Goal is that every Team member Must Live. You don't have to remember that in the field, but beforehand it reminds you why you are painstakingly planning by hand and checking against deco software and making adjustments either way.

Oxygen = CNS%, OTU's, etc.
Decompression = gases, ppO2's MOD's, dive & deco planning, etc.
Inert Gas Narcosis = EAD's, END's etc.
Gas Management = RMV, Depth Adjusted RMV, dissimilar tanks, turn pressures, etc.
Thermal = wetsuits, drysuits, underwear, wetsuit layering, etc.
Mission = what is the purpose of the dive?
Logistics = what you'll need to set up the dive and pertains to expeditions in which compressors, chambers, and tanks will need to be transported as well as just doing local diving with dive center support.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Oh, for those who came into GUE with the new GUE EDGE and who aren't familiar with the old SADDDDD, it stands for:

Sequence = Who leads? Who follows? What are the responsibilities of each member of the team?

Air = Turn pressures? Rock Bottom? Duration - Max time? Bailout time?

Deco = Min. deco? Actual deco? Bailout deco?

Distance = How far into a cave or wreck? How far from shore? Etc.

Depth = Max & average depths of the dive?

Direction = navigational plan?

Dive = "git-er-done"

 

[Kevrumbo]

SADDDDD morph'd into 5thD-X's "Ready to Go Diving" mnemonic acronym:

Ready - Responsibility of the team and each member;
Go - Gas MODs, Management & Contingencies;
Diving - (the Five "D's", as in 5thD-X):
Depth
Direction
Distance
Duration
and Deco.

(The GUE EDGE silliness soon came afterward )

 

[TSandM]

I guess what this discussion shows is that mnemonics are useful when you have a checklist of things to go through, and don't want to miss any!

pengwe, those are good questions. This is how we do it: The "G" starts with the purpose of the dive -- Practice? Tourism? Taking pictures? But we include the navigational plan here, too. "U" is team. It can be as simple as "Who's leading?" Or, if the dive is deeper or more complex, this is where you allot tasks. Who's carrying the reel? Who's going to shoot a bag if we have to do a free ascent? Who's calling deco? If I'm diving with a non-DIR buddy, this is also where I go over positioning, buddy separation protocols, and signals -- Anything that has to do with team function.

EDG is always the same? Are your dives always the same length? If you do dives to different depths, your deco will be different (although the principle of how you decide it is the same). I assume you always dive the same size tanks and they're always filled to roughly the same pressure, and that does make gas planning easier. But you still have to talk about it. But you're right -- On simple recreational dives, the whole GUE EDGE thing goes VERY quickly!

I had the interesting experience of being the experienced diver in a team of three, the other two of whom I'd never met or dived with, at a site neither of them had ever seen before. I actually found the GUE EDGE structure very useful for developing a "DM-type" dive briefing, and making sure I didn't miss anything.