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P
articipation in dive research has consistently
provided DAN® with opportunities to
discover and better understand dive
incidents and has thus helped us design
more effective prevention strategies. But
information alone does not effect change;
what we learn must be shared, and what’s shared must
be put into practice. Education is the key to better
preparation, and that saves lives.
Over the past few years DAN has significantly increased
the number of health and safety resources we’ve made
available to the dive community, and we’ve updated both
our printed and digital safety materials to make them more
accessible and easier to understand. The information DAN
offers is strategically segmented and presented in formats
applicable to every diver, from the new open-water student
to the veteran instructor with decades of experience, and
from the warm-water sport diver to those who explore
the deepest caves. Our objective is to extend our reach
— we believe that to have the greatest impact on safety,
education must happen at every level.
As divers we are responsible for learning new health
and safety practices and periodically refreshing our skills.
This is an investment that will help each of us better
prepare for whatever type of diving we intend to do.
Continuing education provides opportunities to reassess
personal strengths and limitations, enhance watermanship
and update the knowledge on which we base our critical
thinking.
DAN.org ,Alert Diver
, Ask a Medic and other
DAN resources give you the tools to evaluate and confirm
readiness before every dive — a very worthwhile exercise
in risk management.
The cooperative relationship DAN enjoys with dive
training agencies is a boon to the dive community.
The training agencies are on the front lines, working
directly with divers to educate them about physics,
physiology, equipment, rescue techniques and emergency
management. DAN’s relationship with these organizations
is symbiotic; for example, training agencies provide
divers with in-water practice responding to emergencies
under the watchful eye of dive professionals. DAN case
summaries complement this training by safely exposing
both the diver and the dive professional to a variety of real-
life emergency situations from which to learn. In concert
this experience and knowledge stimulate critical thinking
and improve readiness.
Such collaboration is apparent in the relationships
DAN has built with the Professional Association of
Diving Instructors (PADI) and the National Association
of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). We have worked
closely with PADI to disseminate DAN content through
their online newsletters, printed materials and social
media channels. They also distribute our dive-safety
messages directly to their professional members. A new
joint initiative by DAN and NAUI will offer DAN’s first-
aid training programs and an online instructor-upgrade
program to NAUI divers and dive professionals. NAUI will
also work with DAN to disseminate our health and safety
resources. Discussions with other training agencies are in
progress, and DAN looks forward to alliances with all who
wish to promote safer diving.
Allying with like-minded organizations to share our
information not only directly benefits divers, it also
establishes a solid network for communication. As dive
research and education continue to evolve, we look forward
to enhanced partnerships with stakeholders within and
outside the dive industry. Our collective experiences create
an incredible resource that we are committed to sharing.
AD
Safety as a
Collaborative
Effort
By Bill Ziefle
“DAN has significantly increased
the number of health and safety
resources we’ve made available
to the dive community, and we’ve
updated both our printed and
digital safety materials to make
them more accessible and easier
to understand.”
10
|
WINTER 2016
FROM THE
SAFETY STOP
PERSPECTIVES