June 26, 2018 - DAN is about to launch a new HIRA (Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment) project on a global level. This project helps owners, staff and dive professionals identify hazards before they lead to injuries or losses.

By using an educational approach, we actually make it possible for business owners and dive professionals to mitigate risks themselves and keep improving safety over time. However, in order to achieve this, we need specialists (industry advisors), who can help these owners and professionals in understanding how to mitigate the actual risks present in their working environment.

Therefore, the first team of European DAN Diving Safety Advisors were trained in Brussels, Belgium (May 30 through June 3, 2018). With participants coming from 8 different European countries, it will now be possible to provide support in at least 8 languages to dive centres and professionals wanting to become part of the HIRA project.

Over an intense 5-day period, Mr Francois Burman, President of DAN Southern Africa and Director of Underwater & Hyperbaric Safety for DAN America, presented a total of 19 lectures, and led a total of 4 practical field assessments. These lectures included topics such as: risk assessment and mitigation, noise and lightning ergonomics, fire safety, air quality and breathing air compressors, ecological aspects, recompression chambers, sustainable business planning, occupational Health and Safety, Emergency Action Plans, development of a safety manual and how to do a HIRA.

Additionally, 5 medical videos, presented by Dr Frans Cronjé, were shown. After each lecture a quiz was done to make sure participants understood the key aspects of each lecture. The practical sessions (risk assessments) were done thanks to the help of 4 Belgian Dive centres. Each of these differed in what they do and offer, making it possible for the course candidates to get trained in performing a range of risk assessments in several areas of a dive operation. These included risk assessments in, for example, the pool area, an actual dive site, compressor rooms and cylinder filling stations, classrooms, retail shop areas and equipment & maintenance workshops. In addition, staff and occupational health and safety practices were assessed. The variety of dive operations made it possible for the candidates to apply what was learned during the lectures and made it possible for them to discuss issues with the business owners, all who were positive and open towards the new HIRA project.

Currently, the DAN Diving Safety Advisor Course is organized for internal DAN collaborators only. However, the strategy is to set up courses for selected groups of experienced dive professionals, who after the course can actually become Diving Safety Officers in the dive centres they work for. This would make it possible for dive centres to have a specially trained professional to provide safety management of all aspects of a dive operation.

For more information about the HIRA (Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment) project, write to hira@daneurope.org