Canadian Association of Diving Contractors

We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Phil on May 13, after a brief illness. Phil’s inspiring life began in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1941 and he was adopted into the Kwakiutl nation. He had a passion for design and started creating diving gear as a young teenager, which led him to open his own dive shop in Western Canada. Over time, Phil’s innovative approach led him to develop equipment

and techniques for commercial, scientific, and military industries. He co-founded Oceaneering International, Inc. in the 1970s and spear headed CanDive Services – a highly regarded and multifaceted commercial diving company.

He gained widespread recognition for his work through media features in outlets such as National Geographic and Time.

Phil’s remarkable design achievements include the invention of the Newtsuit, a one-atmosphere diving suit with fully articulated rotary joints. His invention led to the creation of many subsequent atmospheric diving suits. He was also in the process of developing the Exosuit, a revolutionary ultra-lightweight powered exoskeleton that could have been used as a submarine escape device by the Canadian Department of Defense.

In addition to his groundbreaking work in the diving industry, Phil was also visionary in planning and designing underwater human settlements. He was working on Vent-Base Alpha, a cylindrical living space, powered by hydrothermal vent sources, that was to be built off the coast of Vancouver. A prototype was set to be developed as early as 2019.

Phil received numerous prestigious awards, including induction into the Diving Hall of Fame, the Lowell Thomas award from the Explorers Club in 2000, and appointment to the Order of Canada in 2017. The Diver Certification Board of Canada also presented him with a lifetime achievement award at the Underwater Show, and he was also a founding member and first president of the CADC.

Phil’s incredible legacy will continue to inspire future innovations in the diving industry. His impact on the world of design and exploration cannot be overstated – he will be greatly missed.

Seneca College – a publicly assisted postsecondary institution – has announced that they will be cancelling their Underwater Skills program. This decision was made WITHOUT stakeholder consultation about this action. Stakeholders include all commercial or occupational diving entities, public service safety divers, educators, military, and regulators.

(From Seneca College website March 29^th, 2023) website: “After an incredible 45 years preparing commercial divers for a wide variety of careers both locally and internationally, Seneca has made the difficult decision to cancel the Underwater Skills program. Applications are no longer being accepted into this program.”)

The impact of closing the program – without stakeholder consultation input or as to its impact – has serious repercussions in the industry regarding the training of qualified occupational divers in Ontario – and the Health and Safety issues associated with the training of personnel within the underwater industry in Ontario, nationally and internationally.

Currently the industry is struggling to find (and hire) qualified COMPETENT diving personnel with the skills and experience to necessary conduct safe diving operations in this province. It is a national crisis. It is a regulatory requirement – both provincially and nationally (Bill C-45) – to ensure worker safety by making sure that personnel are competent to a level of diving competence – in our case, it is to the Canadian Standards Associations Z275.4 Diving Competency Standard (with certification of this level of competency by the Diver Certification of Canada (DCBC)) as proof. Regulatory safety inspectors are looking for that certification of compliance and competence. The Seneca College Underwater Skills program provides the training to comply with this standard.

The Ontario MOL has recognized this and in fact, has partnered with Seneca to develop a special training program to identify health and safety issues in the diving industry so they can work safely in compliance to the Ontario Health and Safety regulation.  (See attached article CADC Magazine.)

Another serious situation is to diver health and safety in the Public Safety Divers. (Police, Fire, Search and Rescue). Seneca College UWS have been instrumental in the upgrading of the public safety diver training to comply to the diving competency standard (Z275.4) and developed a program to support specific training for a public safety diving program that supported that capability.  The Ontario Provincial Police Underwater Search and Recovery Dive Unit is an excellent example of an Ontario Public Safety dive group seeking and continually receiving education for the UWS.

With no stakeholder consultation or lead up to a potential closure by Seneca, they have left little to no time to plan or find alternative options to continue with critical investigative or public safety response such as drowning investigations, weapon and evidence searches and in water security that some agencies provide to local, Provincial, and federal government within Ontario.

The closure of the program means that the critical requirement of training of diving personnel to meet the demand to attain training to recognized a standard of competency (Z275.4 – Diving Competency) to meet regulatory occupational health and safety criteria , is severely limited in Ontario when in fact there is a critical shortage of personnel in the province who are qualified to do the job in spite of the high a demand for qualified personnel.  The training required to meet the demand will not be available. Incidents and accidents will happen due to inadequate training to recognized standards and enforcement by knowledgeable regulators.

The closing of the program also means that the training of MOL inspectors to identify Health and Safety issues in the industry – or the training of our public safety divers – creates a situation where an important branch of public service is in a position that they themselves may not be able to respond with qualified individuals. Both the regulatory authority (MOL Inspectors) and our public safety divers simply may not be qualified or competent to do their job.

Closing the program without consultation with the industry stakeholders appears to be short sighted. The implications for our industry in terms of diver health and safety are tremendous. There is a high demand for qualified people. There is a shortage of people.

Seneca College’s Underwater Skills program is recognized worldwide and their input to the development of diving safety standards is acknowledged by the industry as being important and significant. They continue to be a considerable contributor to diver safety development through their active involvement within the CSA Dive Standards group – with leadership roles in all major dive standards committees.

To address the serious concerns for the health, safety, and welfare of personnel within our industry, the MOL, public service agencies and industry must immediately and assertively urge the Seneca Board of Governors to consult with all stakeholders and reassess their decision accordingly.

NOTE: TO SIGN A PETITION TO CONTINUE THIS VITAL PROGRAM, GO TO https://chng.it/2DcmLf98kD

So you want to be a diver?

Many commercial divers have begun their career as a recreational SCUBA diver, and it dawns on them that they might be able to make a career out of it! Others have been in a trade of some type and are looking for a way to carry their skill  underwater. Others may have been drawn to it from a movie they saw or in an article where they read it was an exciting career with travel and making a lot of money.

So, will you be living the dream? Or will it be – in fact – a nightmare?

At the outset, one thing about a career in commercial diving is that it isn’t for everyone. As glamorous as the career may seem to be, the reality is quite different. Yes, there is travel. Yes, there is excitement and adventure. Yes, there is an opportunity to make money.

In the recreational SCUBA world, time spent underwater is usually an activity that’s under your control, at your chosen time and conditions. In the commercial world, however, the situation in many instances is not under your control. Things happen in the middle of the night at the most inconvenient time. It is not uncommon to be called out to a job during holidays and late at night. Divers are usually called upon to react to an emergency. They are told that it will last a day — maybe a week. But it lasts three months and you only brought one set of underwear. Being in the diving industry is like working in the fire department – you go when you are called and may stay till it is finished. That’s just the way it is.

DOWNLOAD OR VIEW ON LINE HERE!!!

IN THIS ISSUE:

The magazine’s cover story, ‘You Want to Become a Commercial Diver. What the Hell are You Thinking?’ we speak with four commercial divers who made it a lifetime career. See what they had to say. Dream? Or Nightmare?

The turnover at the various provincial Ministries of Labour over the years has resulted in the Ministry losing much of their diving knowledge and skill. Aaron Griffen of Seneca College’s Underwater Skills Program has been working with the Ontario Ministry of Labour over the last year, inviting them out to his dive sites whenever possible to help train up inspectors and give them more hands-on experience as to what it means to be a commercial diver in Canada. His article takes a deep dive into the benefits of maintaining a more collaborative and instructional approach, and what it means for diver safety in the Canadian diving industry and for the members of the Canadian Association of Diving Contractors (CADC).

In the feature, ‘If it’s Not Written Down, It Didn’t Happen: The Importance of Logbooks,’ David Parkes, CEO at the Diver Certification Board of Canada, writes about the importance of keeping your logbooks in order.

‘How to Sink Your Company Without Getting Wet’ – AON is an insurance brokerage that has a significant presence in the area of marine insurance. Brent Chorney at AON emphasizes the need for the commercial diving industry to have a comprehensive insurance policy, and his article covers some of the things that might not first come to mind. If you aren’t covered for an unexpected eventuality – you could sink your company! Read the fine print.

Founded in 1979, Connors Diving Services Ltd is eastern Canada’s premier marine service provider. Connors’ scope of activities has broadened to cover all aspects of commercial diving and marine services, and the company is now one of Canada’s leading in-shore diving companies. This issue features Connors Diving Services’ long history in the industry and what might be on the horizon for the company.

‘All You Need to Know About Filing a Notification of Project’ – Navigating the waters of Ontario’s commercial diving legislation can feel daunting, and there are numerous legal requirements to both understand and adhere to and many of those apply to multiple parties – even for those who may not be in the habit of getting wet. One such requirement is to provide notification to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (MLITSD) of the diving operation, prior to its beginning. Matt Neundorf of the MOL explains it all to use.

‘Safety & Regulations’ – In this update from Dave Geddes, CADC President and Chair of the CSA Sub-Committee for the Competency Standard for Diving Operations, Clinical Chamber Operators, and ROV Personnel, he updates readers about the latest on IHSA; WORKSAFE(s); and CSA Dive Standards.

And for those of us who have chosen the diving industry for a career, the smell of aviation fuel and the spinning up of a helicopter about to take off always gets the adrenaline going. We are off to another adventure. Hell, we would not trade it for the world!

DOWNLOAD OR VIEW ON LINE HERE!!!

Our undersea industry is exciting, challenging, and full of adventure. That allure is why many of us have chosen it both as a career and a lifestyle. There are so many different opportunities that one doesn’t really have to be a diver in the water to participate. No matter what you’re involved in, this is a rewarding industry to build a career.

One of our feature articles this issue is about the world of underwater filming and how things are improving related to safety and procedures, which haven’t always been a priority. Getting the shot sometimes trumps doing it safely. Is it worth it?

In one segment of my career, I am a professional documentary photographer—much of it underwater. I was on assignment for NATO’s Naval Special Forces—the Deep Diving group of Mine Countermeasures divers—off the coast of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. One particular task was to get a dramatic shot of the divers ascending from a 300 foot dive and get a silhouette of them hanging off the decompression line at 30 feet. They were on rebreathers and I was on SCUBA with a tank I grabbed off the bottle rack. It looked kind of worn, but hey, it contains air! I’m experienced! I can do this!

Seeking the “money” shot, I had been waiting alone— untethered—for about a half hour at 40 feet along the down line and could finally see them ascending out of the darkness. Hanging alone in over 400 feet of black water is very eerie for sure. They passed me and gave me a familiar but friendly one-fingered salute with a chuckle, and continued their ascent to the 30 foot stop. I got busy 10 feet below them and started shooting the silhouette shot and figured I should get one last image at a deeper depth. Down I went another 30 feet into the gloom and looked up. Perfect! Seventy feet. I swung the camera into position and then suddenly felt the “I’m-running-low-on-air!” feeling, with a long sucking draw of air on the inhale! Quick! Get the shot! One shot! Two shots!! Too late!!! Overstayed! I’m running out of air. NOW!

As I drew in a last hard sucking—near panic—inhale, “experience” kicked in with what seemed like a milli-second to spare. I recalled having the same sensation many years ago—you know, that breath you take when you draw down on a J-valve as you run out of air (J-valve being a valve that releases a reserve of air if properly activated). The old tank I had grabbed had a J-valve! With one last effort, I quickly undid the chest strap, did a hard shrug to bring the tank up, and reached as far back as I could to activate the valve. Got it! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTT was a welcome sound, and I drew a full breath and started heading up. I never said a word to anyone.

“Experience is what you have left after you screw up” resonated in my head. I had screwed up. Another “lucky day,” but I wondered how many I had left. What a helluva career!

Fast forward to today. The feature on page 17, Lights, Camera, Action: The End of the Cowboy Era for Diving in the Film Industry? ponders whether we’re seeing the last of the Wild West, in terms of diving for the film industry, where the importance of “getting the shot” may preclude in doing it safely. Things are changing and responsible production companies are taking safety seriously and using diving practices that follow proper regulations. This article by Aaron Griffin, Seneca College, will focus on how production companies can do things proper and safe. It will also touch on how CADC members are training graduates to work to these standards.

This issues’ cover story, which starts on page 15, is Divers Without a Helmet: Waterless Work. This important article is written for those who are training to be a diver but love the idea of a job in the industry, without getting wet. You can still hone your skills, finish your training, and find a job you’ll love. This article by Richard Engel, ASI Group, will look at the technical requirements of working in this field, from understanding a project’s needs and executing detailed planning, to ensuring the safest processes are in place.

In a “stop-the-presses” kind of way, we realized that in 2022 the CADC has been in existence for 40 years! We celebrate the event in an article on page 23 called CADC – Forty Years of Diving Safety. Make sure to check it out to learn about our colourful past and our accomplishments to date. I’m confident there will be many more to come!

Choosing a Professional Diving Company talks about how an underwater contractor ignorant of current safety standards and regulations can expose the employer to serious (and expensive) civil and criminal liability. Bill C-45 of the Criminal Code of Canada states it is the legal duty of employers and those directing work to take reasonable measures to protect employees and the public, and if not, a company could be charged with criminal negligence. Find out if it’s worth the risk on page 26 (it’s not!), in this article by Doug Elsey, Executive director of the CADC.

We are excited to feature CADC member Canpac Marine Services Inc. in the article Connected Coast: Canpac Marine Services Inc. Based in the Port of Vancouver, Canpac Marine’s focus delivering safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for inspection services, repairs, maintenance, and construction of marine assets from surface to 2,000 metres of water depth. Learn more on page 29.

On page 32, David Parkes, CEO of the Diver Certification Board of Canada, talks about the importance of certification to divers, diving companies, and the industry as a whole.

This is just a snapshot of what you’ll find in this edition. Enjoy the read and stay safe!

Both Downloadable PDF and Online viewing are here: CADC – Magazine Summer 2022 HERE!

Lets start with a little bit of CADC’s colourful history. Our association was formed forty years ago in 1982 when the   National Energy Board (NEB), led by Jan Merta, summoned as many Canadian contractors as possible during an Underwater Canada conference in Toronto. He wanted to “chat.”

The scene in the meeting room was reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. All the usual suspects—consisting of most of the major diving companies from across Canada—gathered like a disorganized bunch of saber-rattling renegades and cynical pirates; backs to the wall and trusting no one! This was quite typical at that time.

The message from Merta was quite clear. He advised us that lots of upcoming work off the East Coast and the Arctic was coming, but NONE of us would get any work unless we belonged to an organized commercial diving association. As a representative of the NEB, he himself would not talk to individual contractors who were not part of an organized group. To accomplish this, he offered seed money to organize an association.

In a few months, the non-profit Canadian Association of Diving Contractors (CADC) was formed. Phil Nuytten from Vancouver based Can-Dive Oceaneering was elected the first president and LT-CDR Fred Cox, a retired military diving officer, was chosen to be the group’s first executive director.

The initial membership in the mid 80s hovered between 15 and 20 members. The group was comprised of larger contractors interested in the offshore oil and gas sector in the Arctic and off the East Coast.

In the 90s, advances in computer technology and the growth of the internet changed everything.  We could finally reach all the diving contractors across the country. Under the leadership and guidance of accomplished, seasoned industry members serving in the roles of as CADC president, membership grew from that core group of to the present membership of over 70!

In 1999, the NEB announced that they would cease certifying occupational divers and accrediting occupational diver training. They asked industry to set up a replacement certification system that was acceptable to the NEB, the provinces, and the international community. It was decided that the CADC would create a certification agency that was independent and separate from the CADC. This became the Divers Certification Board of Canada and the resulting diver certification scheme based on the diver competency standard CSA Z275.4.

During the evolution of the CADC, a mission statement was developed to guide the organization’s goals: “The Canadian Association of Diving Contractors (CADC) will represent its member’s common interests with regards to safety and environmental standards, client satisfaction, and government intervention within our industry. The CADC will actively promote the use of its members and will supply its members with information and tools to ensure their competence, improve their performance and safety.”

Roughly translated, the CADC is the voice of its members in matters that affect the underwater service industry and forms an umbrella group to act in unison on matters that affect our industry. Its an organization that binds our underwater services members across a vast country; to provide information to our members; to keep them informed; to intervene when they request our help with government issues and matters of safety.

In 2016, the organization voted for member compliance to at least minimum safety standards (CSA Dive Standards) – or better – when there are no standards or regulations in place. This is a condition of membership with the CADC and insures a basic level of acceptable best practices of diver safety. CADC acts on violations of these standards and helps members correct deficiencies. Violations to these standards can be grounds for suspension or termination of CADC membership.

Today, CADC continues to attend CSA Diving Standards and provincial health and safety meetings representing our members. CADC members are in several key positions on these committees. We produce the CADC Magazine to promote our membership to clients and to inform clients on dive safety, regulations, standards, and professionalism required by CADC membership and members. We support a database of qualified divers (via UnderwaterJOBS.com to which CADC has access). We scan job opportunities/tenders for CADC members and alert them weekly on what may be of interest to them. We provide an industry mailing list for instant communication among members. We act in the best interest of our membership and the industry, directed by our Board of Directors, who are voted in by our members to represent them. We are the collective voice that keeps our industry members informed, safe, efficient, and professional.

So, how have we done over the years?

• The CADC has been instrumental in preventing ships from entering Eastern Canadian waters to insist on more Canadian content (many contractors entered joint ventures to get work); we forced the issue, which provided Canadian companies more opportunities.
• We helped forge safety standards and regulations that are workable for our industry.
• We take on provincial and federal regulators when ill-conceived laws aren’t in our best interest or question them if they do nothing to enhance safety.
• We spawned the formation of the Diver Certification Board of Canada (DCBC) as a spin off from CADC.
• We promote hiring only divers who follow CSA Competency Standards, of which DCBC issues certification for.
• We take on government agencies over the hiring of foreign personnel when qualified Canadian divers and companies are available.
• We facilitate and encourage foreign companies to joint venture with qualified Canadian contractors to provide services.
• We constantly answer questions for new divers / companies entering the industry and address the concerns of our members.
• We monitor controversial changes in the CSA Diving Standards and unworkable regulatory requirements.
• We supply guidance and tools to our members for compliance with diving safety standards and regulations.

In all, we simply strive to make our industry professional, ethical, and safe – and workable.

The CADC is not about individual companies; it is about a group striving for professionalism in an industry. Para-phrasing a famous quote, “Ask not what your association can do for you. Ask what you can do for the association” – this is about the sum, not the parts.

Why is our association important to our industry? Simply, our association looks after the best interests of its members for a professional, safe, and workable industry – with its members controlling what those interests are or should be.

For over 40 years, we have been doing this. The underwater services industry we work in today has significantly been influenced by our organization and its members. We have a voice within it. We will continue to do this into the future.

Not bad for a bunch of renegade pirates who met in 1982 and forged a relationship to work together today! A success story for sure! Lives have been saved.

(Pre-Release of Article in the Summer CADC magazine.)

ADCI has released a Delt-P Diving Checklist to the industry. A shout-out to ADCI and OSHA (amongst others) who contributed to the document. The document also has links to other references from other organizations including CADC

“Canadian Association of Diving Contractors (CADC) – Guideline for Diving Operations on Dams and Other Worksites Where Delta-P Hazards May Exist. October 17, 2011. http://www.cadc.ca/downloads/DeltaPHazards_CADC.pdf”

BACKGROUND

Between June 2019 and July 2021, there were five diving fatalities that occurred at power-generation facilities as a result of differential pressure (Delta-P). At the request of the OSHA’s Office of Maritime Enforcement, the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) formed a task force consisting of ADCI, OSHA, contractors, the USACE, sonar experts, and facility operators to address the hazards associated with Delta-P.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this checklist is to provide best industry practices in a clear and complete format for dive operations at power-generating facilities where Delta-P hazards exist. It is a guide for those responsible for creating Dive Procedures and Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). It consists of three sections:

• A checklist for planning and execution when diving in areas with potential for Delta-P.
  A list of relevant terminology useful in the discussion of Delta-P.
  A list of resources for planning Delta-P diving operations.

Copies of the checklist can be obtained at the ADCI website under the Safety & Education link.

Click here for the Delta P Checklist for Contractors.

ADCI Delta-P_Diving_Checklist.01.28.22.FINAL

Toolbox Talk: The Importance of Having a Daily One
By Sarah Jenkins, Health & Safety Coordinator, Canadyne Navigation

An occupational health and safety plan is quite a large document. It usually includes everything from a health and safety policy to emergency procedures and safe work practices. Having a health and safety plan in place is only half of the battle, though. Your job isn’t finished just by having the documents. The information within the documents must be properly communicated to every diver on-site.

Just like many other situations in life, proper communication about a company’s health and safety plan helps prevent many a misunderstanding. One of the most under-rated parts of a health and safety plan is communication. You can have all the policies, procedures, and protocols in the world—but if you don’t communicate them properly to your dive team, you have nothing.

The most beneficial way of communicating the safety plan is through toolbox talks. Toolbox talks are informal, recorded discussions typically held at the beginning of a workday. The beauty of toolbox talks is they lead to an opportunity for discussion. They give employees the ability to recognize and control the hazards in their workplace.

Occupational health and safety is so much more than dictating rules and regulations to your team. The informality of a toolbox talk allows dive crew members to feel comfortable asking questions, requesting clarification, and adding their own input. It’s also worth noting the importance of leaving time at the end of the toolbox talk for team members to bring up their own safety concerns, should they have any. Toolbox talk topics can vary from general safe work practices and / or company policies, to occupational health and safety regulations explained in more depth or jobsite specific hazards.

Participation is what makes the safety plan effective. If team members feel they can actively participate in the safety plan, you’re creating a safety culture that’s inclusive. Allowing team members to participate in daily toolbox talks will give them the autonomy to bring up safety concerns without fear of punishment. It enforces the, “If you see something, say something” mentality of safety, which is so important.

Commercial diving is high-risk. There are many hazards associated with it. Toolbox talks allow each member of the dive team to have the dive plan properly communicated to them. There are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind that can help make your daily toolbox talks more effective for every member of your team, including:

1. By preparing toolbox talks in advance, you can ensure you’re familiar and comfortable with the content, which will help you be able to communicate it clearly to your audience. Read through the material you’ve researched and prepared ahead of time. You’ll be able to portray the information much more clearly if you aren’t presenting it for the very first time.
2. By sticking to material that’s relevant to your jobsite and workplace, you’ll keep your audience engaged and relating to the content.
3. By getting into the habit of doing toolbox talks daily, you’re reminding your dive crew that health and safety is a priority on the jobsite.
4. By keeping your toolbox talks short and one-topic focused, you’re less likely to lose the attention-span of your team.
5. By having divers demonstrate safe work practices, you can see they understand the topic you’re discussing.

It’s important for the dive crew to see that management is committed to health and safety. Something as small as taking five minutes to present a toolbox talk every morning reminds workers that management is committed to their safety and well-being on site. If you’re willing to skip the toolbox talk because you “don’t have time,” you’re sending a message to your workers that productivity is valued more than your safety culture.

Occupational health and safety on site takes a village. It starts with the management’s commitment to establishing a positive safety culture on-site. It continues with the three rights of workers: the right to refuse, the right to know, and the right to participate. The right to participate in decisions that could affect their health and safety will help keep your dive crew engaged in their safety program. When an employee has the proper tools and techniques to work safely, they’re more likely to sustain these behaviours and pass them on to new hires.

Toolbox talks are one tool (of many) within occupational health and safety practices that can help protect and educate your dive crew.

Sarah Jenkins is health and safety coordinator at Canadyne Navigation, a CADC marine construction and diving company based out of Carleton Place, Ontario

Do We Need More Occupational Divers? 

By David Parkes, CEO, Diver Certification Board of Canada

Over the past few months, I’ve spoken to many contractors who tell me that they can’t find enough occupational divers to meet their requirements. These contractors aren’t in one specific area of Canada, but rather span from coast to coast. Since speaking to the contractors, I’ve spoken to various dive schools and provincial regulators to try and gain an understanding as to why there is a shortage. I’ve been told there are many reasons.

Although we graduate approximately 130 new divers every year in Canada, not all of them stay in the industry. Some try it for a while and then leave to find a less onerous job—one that doesn’t require them to work at all hours of the day in cold or dark conditions. Some get married and then go looking for a job that will allow them to come home for dinner in the evening—every evening. Some feel they aren’t paid enough, given the availability of other trades requiring similar skills.

Not all contractors treat their employees as well as they might. Word gets around, and schools may be hesitant to recommend them to their graduates. But even contractors with good reputations have difficulty attracting and retaining all of the divers they need. Is it just the nature of the beast? When young people look at diving, do they see a romantic, challenging job that attracts them to the dive school, only to discover, upon graduation, that working as a diver often means moving away from home and working long hours for days, or even weeks, at a stretch?

It’s difficult to calculate the attrition of new divers in Canada; however, the Diver Certification Board of Canada (DCBC) is probably the only organization in Canada that has a historical database with sufficient information to try to make that calculation.

To prove that thesis, we took the statistics available to us in the years from 2016 through 2018. During those three years, we certified 402 Canadian dive school graduates, while in the years from 2018 to 2021, we renewed the two-year certificates of only 251 of those

graduates. This seems to indicate we have an attrition rate of 37.5 per cent. However, 50 of the graduates who didn’t renew are from British Columbia, 60 are from Ontario, and 12 are from Quebec, where Rimouski graduates don’t need to keep their DCBC certificate current. If we assume half of those divers are still working, even though their certificates have expired, then the attrition rate falls to 22 per cent.

The situation is far worse in the United States. I discussed the issue of attrition of new divers in the U.S. with Phil Newsum, executive director of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI). Phil is confident that ADCI has an accurate handle on the attrition situation in the U.S., and it isn’t good. Attrition there is in the order of 65 to 70 per cent, i.e., about 70 per cent of dive school graduates leave the industry within two years of graduation, many within six months of graduation.

Phil says there are two main reasons they quit. One reason is that many grads are vets whose training is funded by the federal government; the other is the nature of the job. When someone retires from the armed forces, they’re eligible for about $70,000 worth or training. Assuming diver training costs them about $30,000, they still have lots of training money to burn off. Rather than going to work as a diver immediately after graduation from dive school, they may go on to train as a welder or machinist, just as a back-up career. In such a case, they may follow the newer career, given that working conditions could be considered more conducive to family life. This high rate of attrition, combined with the recent closure of two dive schools, has created a distinct shortage of diving personnel in the US.

Is it possible divers don’t know where the good jobs are? Or that contractors don’t know that good, qualified divers are out there looking for work? Is there a need for a diver-specific jobs website? Or perhaps a rebuild of CADC’s “Underwater Jobs” website? Or do we simply need more occupational divers—or even another dive school?

We’ll take the opportunity to debate this issue on the last day of the Canadian Underwater Conference and Exhibition (CUCE), using the same format we use at every conference. We’ll have a panel discussion involving four or five industry experts who are facilitated by a moderator. Each expert will be given three or four minutes to express their opinion on the subject, followed by questions from the moderator and then questions from the floor. NOTE: CONFERENCE CANCELLED

The bottom line comes down to these questions:

Do we need to make the career more attractive in terms of working conditions and salaries?

Do we need to find a better way to connect contractors who are looking for divers with those divers who are looking for work?

• Do we simply need to graduate more divers?

David Parkes is CEO of the Diver Certification Board of Canada.

(Article is a reprint from the Winter 2021-22 CADC Magazine.)

NOTE: In a response to this situation, CADC – as a supporter – has completely sanctioned a total rebuild of the the UnderwaterJOBS.com website. Check it out for job listings. Registration is free.

As we transition from Winter 2021 over to Winter 2022, it seems from all reports from members that it’s been a busy year for our underwater industry in Canada and the U.S.

Our cover is all about that season called winter, which we, in the northern hemisphere, experience every year at this time. It has a lot to do with ice. I remember my first ice dive in the boonies of Northern Ontario on Lake Superior. Wearing an ill-fitting wetsuit, we figured it’d be fun to go out, chip a hole in the ice, and see what was under there! At the time, it was around -20°C. The spot we picked was near a rocky shore among broken ice. We quickly found out the extreme cold over the last month had created three feet of ice to chop through.

After a few hours, we ended up with a four-foot-diameter funnel hole—four feet at the top and less than three feet at the bottom. The only way in was feet-first, holding your arms at your side and having someone step on your head to pop you through the bottom of the ice hole. We didn’t really think about the exit or have a plan if something went wrong. Visions of travelling through the birth canal flooded my thoughts as the foot on my head pushed me down, and I considered this might not be a good idea. Nevertheless, I popped out of the hole and stared through an icy face mask.

Blurry vision. Lips freezing. Cold water down my back. And the most amazing sight I’d ever seen, as light from the surface reflected through the broken ice chunks near the shore. It was like being in Superman’s Fortress of Ice. Amazing. Unforgettable. Little did I know then, this dive was the beginning of a career in commercial dive operations in, on, and under Canadian ice-covered waters.

Our cover story offers a look at 50 years above and below the ice in Canada. The story chronicles several significant pioneering expeditions in underwater living experiments and deep diving in the early 1970s; some under six feet of ice in the high Arctic! I was fortunate enough to be a part of that team as we demonstrated a capability to operate under Canadian ice-covered waters. Much of the cold-water technology we have today was inspired by those early days. What was that journey like? What was it like to LIVE under the ice? Follow the journey on page 16, where we highlight a bit of history in the development of commercial diving in Canada.

Being a busy year for contractors, a common concern from our members is the lack of qualified occupational divers to meet their requirements. This is a problem across the entire country, and not only in Canada but in the U.S., too. The reason for this shortage is discussed on page 25 in Do We Need More Occupational Divers? by David Parkes of the Diver Certification Board of Canada.

Discussions of personnel shortages over the year sparked a need for a serious upgrade to the UnderwaterJOBS.com website that Canadian Association of Diving Contractors (CADC) has supported. (Full disclosure: I, Doug Elsey, have been the webmaster of this site since its beginning.) The site has been completely updated and is compatible with mobile smartphones. It looks simple, but don’t let that fool you. If you need a diver with DCBC / CSA dive certification, who knows how to weld and lives in Nova Scotia (or anywhere else in the world!) and is available, the UnderwaterJOBS.com site will find that person in seconds, all from a smartphone! Read about the changes on page 10 and sign up for it! It’s free to register for jobseekers and employers.

In 2017, the CADC introduced the Diving Safety Self-Audit Program to provide a way for CADC members to demonstrate they’re working in a safe manner and complying with the CSA Diving Standards. On page 29, we update readers on the CADC’s new diving safety self-audit based on the new Diving Operations Standard Z275.2-20.

Four women in Ontario Power Generation’s Advanced Inspection and Maintenance division broke new ground as they set out on one of the company’s first-ever, all-female dives this summer. The crew geared up to conduct maintenance work on Pickering Nuclear’s Fish Diversion System, a 2,000-foot net that prevents fish from entering the plant’s cooling systems. Learn more on page 22 by reading OPG’s Female Divers Take the Plunge to Break Barriers.

On page 32, Our Members at Work photo spread shows images of an industry, from members’ diving jobs.

One of the most underrated parts of a health and safety plan is communication. You can have all the policies, procedures, and protocols in the world—but if you don’t communicate them properly to your dive team, you have nothing. As you’ll learn on page 33 in ToolBox Talk: The Importance of Having a Daily One, the most beneficial way of communicating the safety plan is through toolbox talks. They lead to an opportunity for discussion, giving employees the ability to recognize and control the hazards in their workplace and allowing dive crew members to ask questions, request clarification, and add their own input.

It’s your industry. Be heard. Be safe.

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION: CADC Mag WINTER 2021-22 FINAL SMALL

VIEW THE ONLINE VERSION OF THE  MAGAZINE HERE: CADC Magazine | Winter 2021-2022 (matrixgroupinc.net)

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