Scuba Diving Checklist

[RTC'83]

What kind of checklist do you guys have? BWRAF has become automatic for me, but haw about dive planning, post dive, emergency kit etc.....

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Interesting fact: A DAN safety study supports that a written checklist is less likely to result in diving incidents & accidents.

I use the mnemonic PLANS SAVE. I created it when I was the training director of PSAI in honor of Hal Watts who is credited with the saying, "Plan your dive. Dive your plan."

Planning Phase
People: Who leads? Who follows? In what order? What are the responsibilities of each team member?
Logistics: "ADD up." Air/Gas we are diving? Depth (max/avg)? Deco (planned/bailout/worst case)?
Air Rule: All usable? Half gas? Thirds? Sixths? Rock bottom?
Navigation: "ADD the Nav." Azimuth/Compass? Direction or directional changes? Distance from shore, boat, entrance?
Signals: Hand? Light? Written? Rope/Line?

In-Water Checks
S-Drill (Full hose deployment or modified)
Air Leak "Bubble" Check (SCUBA, scooters, cameras)
Valve Drill (Full valve drill or modified)
Equipment Matching (head to toe or modified)

"If you are stupid enough to not follow any PLANS, at least do the SAVE, because it may save your life."

 

[TMHeimer]

As most of my dives are shallow solo shore dives I have two things on my list.
1. Gear up properly and slowly (make sure air is on, etc.).
2. Don't leave anything back in the house (not hard since everything I use winds up back in the same place in the house).

The odd (once yearly?) charter I take is different of course, in addition to the above.
That includes the usual planning/safety with the instabuddy and making darn sure my air is on before jumping in.

Emergency ("save a dive") kit--in car, or scaled down version on the boat.
Post dive procedure-- rinse all gear ASAP and beer.

 

[Bubblesong]

Interesting fact: A DAN safety study supports that a written checklist is less likely to result in diving incidents & accidents.

I use the mnemonic PLANS SAVE. I created it when the training director of PSAI in honor of Hal Watts who is credited with the saying, "Plan your dive. Dive your plan."

Planning Phase
People: Who leads? Who follows? In what order? What are the responsibilities of each team member?
Logistics ADD up: Air/Gas we are diving? Depth (max/avg)? Deco (planned/bailout/worst case)?
Air Rule: All usable? Half gas? Thirds? Sixths? Rock bottom?
Navigation: "ADD the Nav." Azimuth/Compass? Direction or directional changes? Distance from shore, boat, entrance?
Signals: Hand? Light? Written? Rope/Line?

In-Water Checks
S-Drill (Full hose deployment or modified)
Air Leak "Bubble" Check
Valve Drill (Full valve drill or modified)
Equipment Matching

"If you are stupid enough to not follow any PLANS, at least do the SAVE, because it may save your life."

What about printing this, or your custom checklist, on a teeshirt that you put on the morning of the dive, so you have your list handy, and your buddy can read it off to you.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

I have a check list that starts a couple days before the dive with things like checking battery, check bcd for leak, charge camera and lights, trim nails check emergency kit. The next section is packing—what do I need for this dive, what can I leave home. Just after the dive brief we do our plan- here in California there are no guides unless you hire one so me and my buddy decide where to go, when to turn, and how deep we will go. Position is always side by side with me on the right. We don’t have a post dive plan, other than get aboard and relax till next dive

 

[wildbill9]

Number of entry's MUST equal number of exits has always been on my list.....but that's just me

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Trace Malinowski
Trace old chap -- you posted :
"Interesting fact: A DAN safety study supports that a written checklist is less likely to result in diving incidents & accidents.

I use the mnemonic PLANS SAVE. I created it when I was the training director of PSAI in honor of Hal Watts who is credited with the saying, "Plan your dive. Dive your plan.
etc...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This very revenant phrase "Plan your dive. Dive your plan. was credited to an early NAUI Instructor by the name of Lou Fead from San Diego California. He promoted the phrase in several NAUI national conferences ( ie International Conference UW Education aka IQ) in the 1970s
He documented the phrase in his 1983 book "Easy Diver.." Waterloo Enterprises, ISBN -0-9610482-0-4, 175 pages Profusely illustrated with pictures and photographs It was a very popular book when introduced and even went in to a second printing
Chapter 3 is titled "Plan your dive and dive your plan."
I suspect Hal Watts some how latched on to the phrase from the book or Lou's many writings duriing that era in the formation of modern diving protocols
It is so important to preserve dive history but preserve it correctly and give credit where credit is do
Keep up the good work and great post - I enjoy reading them
Cheers from a hill in California over looking the blue Pacific ocean
SAM

 

[Trace Malinowski]

@Trace Malinowski
Trace old chap -- you posted :
"Interesting fact: A DAN safety study supports that a written checklist is less likely to result in diving incidents & accidents.

I use the mnemonic PLANS SAVE. I created it when I was the training director of PSAI in honor of Hal Watts who is credited with the saying, "Plan your dive. Dive your plan.
etc...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This very revenant phrase "Plan your dive. Dive your plan. was credited to an early NAUI Instructor by the name of Lou Fead from San Diego California. He promoted the phrase in several NAUI national conferences ( ie International Conference UW Education aka IQ) in the 1970s
He documented the phrase in his 1983 book "Easy Diver.." Waterloo Enterprises, ISBN -0-9610482-0-4, 175 pages Profusely illustrated with pictures and photographs It was a very popular book when introduced and even went in to a second printing
Chapter 3 is titled "Plan your dive and dive your plan."
I suspect Hal Watts some how latched on to the phrase from the book or Lou's many writings duriing that era in the formation of modern diving protocols
It is so important to preserve dive history but preserve it correctly and give credit where credit is do
Keep up the good work and great post - I enjoy reading them
Cheers from a hill in California over looking the blue Pacific ocean
SAM

Thanks Sam. I wonder who will take credit for, "PLANS SAVE?"