Suggestion on certification cards (PADI, NAUI, etc)

[mike_s]

Instead of issuing a card for each class you take, why doesn't
PADI, NAUI, etc issue "one card" with a list of the classes you've
taken on the card?

It wouldn't be that hard to do and actually seems like it
would be cheaper for them because then they'd only have
to have one type of card instead of several.

Like states do for driver licenses, etc. The Military does the
same thing. It's drivers license has a list/certification for
every course/vehicle you've passed.


I just thought this would make much more sense than having
to carry your AOW card for deeper dives and your Nitrox card
for Nitrox dives, etc.

 

[Damselfish]

PADI makes cards combining Nitrox and OW, AOW, Rescue, or Master. No specialties, but there's few cases you'd carry those cards around anyway. When I originally got mail about this it said "for a limited time only" but that was last year and they're still available. Of course they don't just send you one of these when you complete a course, you get them through replacement cards for an additional fee.

 

[mike_s]

Of course they don't just send you one of these when you complete a course, you get them through replacement cards for an additional fee.

ahhh.... always a 'fee' involved in the scuba industry

 

[Bill51]

It’s entirely too logical for the dive industry to actually catch up with the FAA where we get one pilot’s license with our ratings listed on the back side.

 

[divemastergreg]

PADI makes money off cards. Some people are card collectors. Go figure.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

PADI makes money off cards. Some people are card collectors. Go figure.

Every agency makes money off of certification cards ... I have cards from YMCA, NAUI, SDI, TDI, DAN, and GUE ... and none of them are free. The cost of some are included in the price of your class ... but if you have to get them replaced, it's gonna cost ya.

This is for two reasons ... 1) it's a basic (though minor) revenue source for the agencies, and 2) it prevents people from getting careless with their cards because "hey, it's free ... I'll just call up the agency and get another one.

People like to complain about companies actually charging money for products and services ... but in my experience, every time you try to offer something to your customers for free it just encourages people to be wasteful and careless, such that it costs more money than it should to be able to continue the offer. Put a monetary value on a product, and people tend to be more careful with how they (ab)use it.

Oh ... to answer the original question ... I suspect it is due more to how records are kept by the various agencies than anything else. To do as you suggest would require a database to be kept ... which most agencies now do, but legacy systems cost money to update, and if the cost of updating exceeds the cost of maintaining the status quo, then there's a legitimate business reason why they don't do it.

Personally, I'd like to see it ... I've got a drawer full of cards at home that I'll probably never even look at again ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Wristshot]

Instead of issuing a card for each class you take, why doesn't PADI, NAUI, etc issue "one card" with a list of the classes you've taken on the card?

It wouldn't be that hard to do and actually seems like it would be cheaper for them because then they'd only have to have one type of card instead of several.

So how do you envision this working? (Not arguing, just trying to understand - unlike some people, I want to understand before I consider arguing)

In your "plan", if I took OW now, and then took AOW a year later, and then I followed up with Nitrox another year later, how many cards do I get? You can't be suggesting that I wait until after I take all the classes before I can get any cards. So they need to give me my OW now, right? Okay, a year from now when I take my AOW, do they issue me a new card that has both OW and AOW? That's two cards, right? Then in 2007 when I take Nitrox (or Rescue or whatever) what do they give me? Do I get a new card with OW, AOW & Nitrox all on one card? Wouldn't that still be a total of three cards that they issued to me? Same as if they issued one card for each certification.

Yeah, it would put all my certs on one card, but how would that benefit them? The various certs I have seen have been simply printed on the same base card.

Do you suggest that I send in my OW & AOW card and they add the Nitrox to it? What do I use for a c-card while mine is in transit?

Either I am missing something about your point here, or you didn't think this through all the way. All the certs on one card is a nice idea, but I don't see how the implementation would work.

Wristshot

 

[del_mo]

And then add to the confusion difference certifications from different agencies. Otherwise, it seems like a good idea!

 

[Scottri]

SSI listed several of my specialties on one card. I think they said the limit was 5 due to the size of the card and the font they used.

 

[CIBDiving]

Well what comes to mind for me is a drivers license - I have a CDL-B, I don't need a class D license ( that's a normal one issued). If I go get a CDL-A license I don't need to show a CDL-B it's covered in the A.
same thing if you have an AOW, you Automaticly have a OW. can't speak for all agencies but if you have a rescue card you already have an OW and an AOW, if you're a DM, you're Obviously quallified as OW, eh?. the only difference here between a drivers license and a C card is you don't surrender the old C Card when it's outmoded like they insist you do a DL.

Nitrox busts this as you can get that cert at any 'diving' level so that needs to come as a seperate card OR as a replacement card with an "endorsment".
The trouble comes in when you're a certified diver with one agency and you get your nitrox with a different one.

Now who issues what card and why?

for a DL it's easy you surrender all other licenses and are reissued a new card from the latest "certifying" state - of course Taxes pay for that.
There could be an insurance issue as well - would the issuer of the new card be responable for the training on ALL the certifications represented on that card?