Need Seasoned Psd Opinions Please

[SO-OKDIVER]

I am a rescue/recovery diver with the local sheriff's department. Our department has undergone some manpower changes somewhat recently. Seasoned guys have moved on to other things and some have quit. We have gained new members and are recruiting as well. I have only been on the team for about 1 1/2 years. The great thing about new blood is there is a renewed passion that comes with us. We as a team have decided to revamp a few things and try to get things more organized, as well as streamline processes. We want to increase all around training and training dives. So that's a little vague background so here is my question. I have been elected as the safety officer and it has been left up to me on how I want to approach this task. I am trying to get and keep up to date personel records, personal training records/training needed, making sure equipment, processes, and safety requirments are kept up to date. This exact position is new to me and I want to do it to the best of my abilities but not trying to complicate things either. Is there anyone out there that has been in my shoes? How did you acoplish this? Any good suggestions? Thanks for any input.

 

[sheeper]

boy is that a lot of ground to cover. Where are you located?

feel free to PM me...happy to talk with you and see if i can offer any advice...

 

[Jared0425]

As Sheeper said, that is a big task to cover. Depending on your time allowance, you may find yourself over your head and end up streamlining the process, especially if you are doing this by yourself. The key to everything as you know are logs. We keep pretty detailed logs on everything from required individual diver total bottom time both with unit and personal along with medical clearences. We catalog ALL equipment with maintenance logs from tech and purchases. Following PSD guidelines and procedures are well known and accessible in books and other publications. Do not overburden yourself and be a one man team, that's how things get overlooked and overcomplicated. Once you get into the swing of things, then you can take on more tasks if you can handle it without undue stress.

 

[SO-OKDIVER]

I'm located in southern oklahoma. I'll clarify a few things. We still have seasoned members/officers. Another fellow was voted in as equipment officer so he and I will work together but he will take care of equipment. I am the safety officer and at the moment I am starting this by getting paperwork together such as each divers certs, needed training, medical issues, each members number of dives, ect. I want to make sure we are up to par with dive flags, only qualified divers taking on specific tasks, tenders trained properly, ect. This is just a start. Im just a little inexperienced on the things I should consider.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Perhaps I can be of assistance to you on the divers flag....I recently posted this as a partial response to the "Dive flag awareness "

I also commend you for the correct size of your dive flag-- So many manufactures consider a dive flag as anything red with a white stripe. Not So ! ..Its original configuration as established and agreed upon in the developmental stages was to be 5 units wide X 4 Units high X a 1 unit diagonal stripe, later changes to a square configuration for ease of production. Some day some one with be injured fling what is representative of a dive flag and some sharp attorney will declare it a red & white rag.

FYI...... I have been known as an "expert witness " since 1957.....surprisingly the first case was a shooting death with a spear gun..the defense declared a spear gun was a toy --it was proven other wise.

However, my milestone case was in 1962 when a diver who was displaying a then 5 years old divers flag was struck by a boat and injured. I was called as the only expert witness, certainly an awesome responsibility but we prevailed and the red and white flag was identified in a court of law as a recognized flag of diving activity

As an ex Captain USAF, Korean war I salute you with 21 guns for your support of veterans.-- They certainly deserve more than they are receiving.

Good luck with your new position...The sign over our Squadron Headquarters stated Illigitamae non carburubdum (Spelling ??) but translates to "don't let the bastards grind you down"--you have a responsibility so perform to the best of your abilities-- Please advise if I can be of further assistance

SDM

SDM

 

[akdeepdiver]

While not a PSD, I have been on the HAZMAT side of the house for over ten years. Both are similar in equipment, training, safety, and records. In fact a lot of things cross over. Feel free to PM, email, or call me and I would be happy to chat. I can give you some of my lessons learned as plans officer, safety officer, and other roles I have filled. Anything I can do in order to make your life easier (why reinvent the wheel) I'm happy to pass on. In addition, im pretty local to you (currently in AR, but moving in 2 months to Wichita Falls, TX) so its easy to get ahold of me.
V/R
Myles