OSHA Standards and PSD Teams: Are We Really Exempt?

/0 Commenti

By Michael S. Glenn

Public Safety diving is an amalgam of several different and varying forms of diving which joins the best of recreational courses, scientific principles and commercial standards. However, one question which is often addressed is this: do public safety divers fall under the standards and guidelines as laid out under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)? Simply stated, YES public safety and emergency response divers are governed under several different guidelines as outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). However, some provisions must be in place first.

OSHA is the governing body for “workplace safety”. Workplace safety is outlined as a relationship between employee and employer. As such, public safety and emergency dive units working directly under the control of an employer would be considered as being under OSHA’s control while dive team units and members from a private entity where there is no employee or employer relationship would not be initially considered under the control of OSHA. In addition, some states are not considered to be governed under OSHA jurisdictions as they have opted to create their own work place safety guidelines. These states are called State Plan States. State Plan States develop and enforce their own set of workplace safety guidelines. However, these standards must meet the same minimum standards that OSHA addresses or exceed them in order to be approved and institutionalized.

Public safety diving does not conform to one set platform for diving. As such, it is not traditionally governed under several standards in existence. In addition, the typical standard most divers reference when discussing OSHA adherence seems to be OSHA 29 CFR 1910.400 or Subpart T “Commercial Diving Standards”. While most readily recognize that within the first three paragraphs the standard simply states that this standard does not apply to public safety divers, this statement is somewhat misleading. Public safety divers operating in certain aspects may not be held to OSHA standards in whole. However, when conducting dives in waters where the current flow is over one knot (1kt. / 1.15mph) they are held to being tethered, as outlined in this standard. Further, when conducting salvage operations, where lift bags or lifting equipment is deployed, public safety divers are no longer working in a realm of public safety diving but in commercial salvage and again are held to the commercial standards as outlined in the OSHA guidelines.

While most discuss the commercial diving standards, OSHA outlines several other standards that everyone, including land based members, must adhere to. For example, OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1926.106, Working over or near water: Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment, clearly outlines that everyone working from boat or land in close proximity of the water must wear a life vest. This single standard addresses anyone standing or working near the water’s edge from tenders, surface support, decontamination teams, medical assistance, etc.

In 29 CFR 1910, Respiratory Protection: Personal Protective Equipment, the standard states: “In the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used pursuant to this section.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 (a) (1)) Further, the standard outlines that the respirator must be fit tested to the wearer. Several agencies, across the nation have interpreted that this standard applies to the use of their full face masks utilized in potentially contaminated water environments.

Another guideline laid out under OSHA that emergency response divers fall under includes 29 CFR 1910.1030, Bloodborne Pathogens Standard; this guideline sets out the minimum requirements for protection, exposure mitigation and reporting practices for anyone who can potentially come in contact with blood or biological pathogenic materials, as a diver will when performing human remains recoveries.

OSHA standards cover a vast majority of topics and details and one is hard pressed to find some aspect of the diving profession that is not covered under at least one guideline. However, what is important to remember is that OSHA’s guidelines are not enacted to harm or hamper an organization but to help protect them and their employees from unnecessary risk, injury or harm. This holds true for public safety dive teams. Regardless of your state’s position, as an OSHA controlled state or a State Plan State with its own occupational safety organization, every diver must meet some form of OSHA compliance in some form of its operations. In addition, civilian and non-affiliated public safety teams may find themselves operating under the control of a government or public body and would again find themselves needing to comply. It is the divers, dive team leaders and governing agency’s responsibility and duty to know their respective state’s position and guidelines. Knowing the guidelines and implementing their practice routinely will assist in the overall safety and professionalism of the team.

For further information on OSHA guidelines, please contact your local states department of occupational safety and health, or go to: https://www.osha.gov/. For research into specific codes, guidelines or topics go to: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=1&p_keyvalue=1910

About the author

Michael began his law enforcement career in July, 1990 and has served approximately 20 years as a law enforcement officer with several law enforcement agencies in North Carolina. Michael has enjoyed working briefly as a patrol officer but has devoted most of his career to criminal investigations and crime scene investigations.

Michael assumed the role of criminal investigator and crime scene investigator while employed with the Tabor City Police Department and maintained that position until 1998. He left Tabor City Police Department as a Detective Lieutenant and Assistant Chief of Police to join the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office. Michael was employed by Columbus County as a criminal investigator and crime scene investigator. Michael was initially assigned as the domestic violence investigator and later transferred to general crimes, fraud and cyber crimes. In addition, Michael was one of two detectives working on administrative investigations. Michael designed and established the department’s forensics processing lab and built the department’s working CSI program. In addition, Michael was instrumental in establishing the sheriff’s office underwater crime scene unit and acted as the dive team supervisor throughout his employment with the department. While employed with the sheriff’s office, Michael was instrumental in aiding in the building and equipping of the department’s first evidence processing facility and in establishing the basic protocols for evidence processing and submission.

Michael joined the North Carolina Justice Academy staff in February of 2007. In addition to his Academy duties, he also serves as a reserve police officer within Columbus County. Michael’s primary areas of concentration are in forensic technology courses including: basic and advanced crime scene investigation, fingerprint classification and comparison, chemical development of latent evidence, implementation strategies for forensic light source technologies deployment and incident reconstruction. Michael also serves as an instructor in underwater crime scene investigation and public safety diving. Michael is a certified scuba instructor and has authored several unique specialty programs in the field for public safety divers. In addition, Michael has been an invitational member on the US Navy’s Contaminated Water Diving Technical Working Group, as well as having published articles in H2Ops magazine and Law Enforcement Technologies on diving topics. Currently Michael has 3 training manuals in print and one on-line diving course for testifying in court for public safety divers.

Michael has been awarded his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Training and Standards Division, as well as, completed the North Carolina Justice Academy’s Public Safety Diver’s Certificate Program.

To learn more how ERDI can benefit you and your Team please visit [blogurl]index.php?did=2&site=4

North East State Police Administration Conference (NESPAC) Selects ERDI

/0 Commenti

In the post 9-11 era, documentable training has become important as part of Homeland Security.

NESPAC, North East State Police Administrators Conference, has selected ERDI as the primary public safety diver training agency. NESPAC includes the New England states as well as New York. New York State Police have utilized ERDI for over 2 years and brings ERDI instructors and training facilities to the group.

According to Trooper Tom Barden, NYSP’s Division Dive Officer, all new divers joining any NESPAC team will undergo the same curriculum of training. Previously, new members were selected from certified divers and military divers and received “on the job” training. In the post 9-11 era, proper documentable training has become important as part of Homeland Security.

“ERDI is being called upon for its public safety dive training and its recognized certification in this field,” stated Trooper Barden.

NYSP has operated its dive team since 1934, consisting of Troopers who also perform regular patrol and administrative duties.

To learn more about the NYSP, please visit https://troopers.ny.gov/
To join the growing ranks of ERDI divers, visit [blogurl]index.php?did=2&site=4

On the “Road” Less Traveled with Technical Gear

/0 Commenti

On the “Road” Less Traveled with Technical Gear

With the right approach, traveling with a Rebreather may be easier then you think!

Few, if any, dive destinations are able to provide the experienced tech diver with a complete list of rental gear. It is simply impractical for a resort — even a tech-friendly one that is part of the TDI family — to underwrite the sort of inventory that would satisfy all the needs of customers whose idea of what constitutes the “right kit” covers a broad spectrum of equipment from numerous manufacturers.

Most of the techies I know will drive a vehicle packed with their own kit whenever possible, and when flying is the only option, will pack one or two articles of clothing and use up the rest of their baggage allowance transporting their own dive gear.

The situation is more critical for CCR divers, especially those whose travel plans start at an airport security line-up.

The special challenges for a CCR diver include unit specific training and certification; a diver can only use the machine he or she has experience diving with and other machines are off the menu without an additional orientation program.

This effectively means that rental CCR units at one’s destination are an unlikely option. At several thousand dollars/pounds/euro a pop, CCRs represent a huge investment for a dive shop’s rental department; offering more than one or two types or models is rare. The bottom line is that the vast majority of divers will take their personal CCR on vacation with them because there is NO rental unit available. Even in the cases where there is a rental available, many CCR divers prefer to take their own unit – It’s a comfort thing.

Some CCR units are compact and use up only a portion of a diver’s baggage allowance. Others accrue excess baggage fees right from the outset. Also, several units require specific cylinders and or valves which translates into yet more weight.

Quite apart from the logistical challenges of packing a CCR, cylinders (which MUST have the valves removed), CO2 scrubber material (we suggest shipping well beforehand), regs for bailout bottles, and the required assortment of spare parts and supplies for a safe and happy dive time, there are some other issues worth considering.

The first is that a rebreather – especially the unit head – can simply look weird when viewed through an airport scanner. I have had luck with CCR and dive lights, to the point where the x-ray tech has piped up “who is the cave diver?” when my carry-on has been travelling on the belt. But this is the exception. Expect to have to explain what you are travelling with.

Here are some suggestions with regard to that challenge.

When I travel with a rebreather, I create a “This is life-support” document. It is a simple statement on headed note paper with every attempt to make it look as official as possible. The document states that the equipment is scuba gear. That it is safe for travel and conforms to airline guidelines. It explains that the scrubber head contains electronics (if it does) and gas sensors (I am careful to avoid ANY mention of oxygen based on past experiences dealing with people in authority who failed high-school chemistry). It states that there is no compressed gas, no harmful liquids or chemicals: just the business end of a couple of regulator first stages and some tubing.

The first time I used it (a few years back) the TSA agent I presented it to said something like: “Oh, we’ve seen these before” and I was cleared in minutes.

The other “trick” that seems to work is wrapping some portion of the unit in a wetsuit or with something else that screams out DIVE GEAR. There seems to be nothing quite as reassuring for someone faced with this mysterious lump of kit as something they recognize. What works is giving the folks checking your kit an opportunity to guess what the heck it is. Most of all, take the time to explain to them what it is you are going away to do, and be polite (Public Relations 101!).

A buddy of mine was called back to security at a US airport (Honolulu) to explain his checked baggage, which contained – among other things — his scrubber packed complete with its head and stuffed with Tshirts and underwear. It seems the tech searching the bags thought it was a scuba cylinder containing compressed gas and the handset was a pressure gauge. When confronted, my friend said, “hey, that’s an understandable mistake…” rather than “NO, you’re wrong!” The final outcome? He was back in the lounge drinking coffee within a couple of minutes and his baggage made it the rest of the way to Truk Lagoon.

You, too, may have read horror stories about trying to get through customs with scrubber material, which for those who are unfamiliar with it, is a white powdery material. I have never tried it and will probably never attempt it anytime in the future. There are several shipping options that, to me at least, seem more reliable and less costly. If there is no sorb available where you are heading – which with the growing interest in CCR is becoming less and less common – using FedEx, UPS, DHL or another reputable company can be the best alternative.

Start the shipping process early and ask about duty and import taxes before committing, and in some destinations, be prepared to pay a little extra for “handling fees”.

All in all, airline travel with a CCR is more complicated than traveling with OC gear, but with a little pre-planning, it is manageable and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Some Tips for Travel with CCR

  • If the option exists, use Rebreather friendly operations – resorts or live-aboards with CCR supplies on hand and experience working with CCR divers (Ask SDI for a list of CCR friendly operations around the globe.)
  • Arrange for oxygen fills (with booster if possible) at destination, explaining that this is critical.
  • Wherever and whenever possible, arrange for Scrubber medium to be ready for your arrival. Even at a rebreather friendly destination, book what you need, plus some contingency sorb well in advance of your departure. If in doubt, ship your own but do research on local import and tax/duty requirements.
  • If possible, rent bottle for diluent and oxygen. Check they are the correct dimensions and that the valves will fit your regulators.
  • Arrange for “bailout” bottles at your destination. Aluminum 80s work well but take your own rigging hardware AND check if the valves are DIN or Yoke. (The issue of left and right hand turn knobs is less of an issue and these are items that you can carry yourself if needed.)
  • If you are traveling with your own oxygen and diluent bottles, remove valves and leave bottles open… this means not even tape should be covering the open neck.
  • Remove oxygen stickers from bottles and reapply at your destination.
  • Pack “This is life-support” document with unit and carry several spares.
  • Be ready and willing to explain your kit to airport security personnel.
  • Be patient!
  • Learn to make do with a minimum of fresh clothing!
  • Have fun!!

When it comes to Tech Training NO ONE has your back better then TDI™. No matter where your spirit moves you when it comes to Tech there is a course for you.

Explore this site and see where your quest for knowledge takes you next!

[blogurl]index.php?did=51&site=2

Related Blog Articles


Join the Family

/
0 Commenti
Continua a leggere

Pre Dive Checklist

/
0 Commenti
Continua a leggere


Click here to add your own text

Related Blog Articles


Join the Family

/
0 Commenti
Continua a leggere

Pre Dive Checklist

/
0 Commenti
Continua a leggere

Sport vs. Tech

/0 Commenti

Equipment needs certainly vary, but the adventure is always a constant!

You have probably seen the illustration:

One diver is covered in gear. He is in a drysuit, has a pair of twin cylinders on his back, a stage bottle strapped to his left side, one regulator second stage hanging from a shock-cord necklace, two bottom-timers on his wrist and an assortment of “accessories” stuffed into pockets or occupying what little real-estate is left on his two-inch wide simple webbing harness. He has a serious “all business, no fun” look on his face – A look that reminds me of the expression worn by the male models in old Sears mail-order catalogs in the sixties and seventies.

The other diver is standing in what looks like a 3 mm wetsuit with a stab-jacket, aluminum 80, and a smile on his face.

I have never completely understood the purpose of this drawing (is it to warn people about technical diving?). What I do know, however, is that it has been the source of a lot of questions from perspective students for tech programs over the years, especially candidates for TDI Intro to Tech (I2T) classes who usually ask, while pointing to Mr. Serious, something to the effect of: “Do I need all that stuff to do this class?”

The answer of course is a resounding no! The gear requirements for taking part in an I2T class can be more or less the same as for regular sport diving, but there are a few notable differences between the type of gear used by the average sport diver and the choices more commonly found on divers who venture into technical diving. Understanding what they are, is a good first step towards understanding what tech diving is all about.

One of the first major differences is exposure protection. A simple definition of the difference between tech and sport diving is tech equals more bottom time. Since it boils down to more time on the bottom, staying comfortable and warm takes some additional care, especially in regions with a thermocline!

Technical dives also often include a slow ascent with more than one stop on the way back to the surface. Partly because of this, many techies diving in cool to temperate water opt to wear a drysuit and pay particular attention to thermal protection for their core and extremities.

Of course, a drysuit is no definitive indicator that a diver is a techie because plenty of divers who have no desire to venture “deeper and longer” invest in one. A drysuit is often favored over a wetsuit for both additional warmth and more controlled buoyancy characteristics. (Remember that neoprene compresses as depth increases and therefore you can almost read the Sunday paper through a 7 mm wetsuit at 60 metres [200 feet].)

Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the number and size of scuba cylinders a technical diver carries. It all relates back to the first rule of scuba: Keep Breathing.

At great depths, making sure you have enough gas to keep breathing usually calls for a lot more litres or cubic feet than can be squeezed into a single cylinder. Couple this with the practice of optimizing off-gassing during ascent (that’s a fancy way to say breathing nitrox on the way up) and our tech diver now has to carry one or more cylinders filled with decompression gas.

A more subtle difference is regulators and the way they are set up. First off, technical divers tend to be very specific about which make and model of regulator they buy (and remember, they buy a bunch of them for all those tanks they carry!). The primary reason is a need for high-performance and a piece of kit with the ability to deliver large quantities of gas at depth. Consequently, tech divers tend to shun regulators that are perfectly fine for a warm-water reef dive to 30 metres / 100 feet, and opt instead to pay top dollar for regulators designed to minimize work of breathing.

Another factor in the quest for the perfect regulator is the routing of the hoses coming from the first stage. The goal is to find a design which keeps low and high-pressure hoses as streamlined as possible. Tangles and big loops of hose coming out from a first stage, looking like the arms of an octopus, are not cool in the tech arena.

This requirement further thins out prospective brands. Final choices for regulators on primary bottles as well as deco bottles or stages often come down to three or four brands and specific models within those brands.

One last difference for regulators is that they are DIN verses yoke. Tech divers use DIN because the connection between the tank’s valve and the first stage is more solid and the Oring keeping things gas-tight is trapped. A yoke first stage is far more likely to become unseated than a DIN valve, and I have seen – very recently – a yoke regulator blow off a stage bottle below 200 feet after the mildest of taps against a rock wall during descent. Not a reassuring sight.

Instrumentation is usually very different too. Techies carry depth gauges/bottom timers and or dive computers on their wrists rather than in a console, and they usually carry more of them. It is not unusual for the one integrated personal dive computer carried along by an SDI open water diver to be replaced with two multi-gas, multi-function computers or a computer backed up with a digital bottom timer and a set of tables cut with proprietary PC or Mac based decompression software. The hottest and latest technical dive computers are capable of programming for as many as ten different gases, track decompression obligation second by second, download graphics seamlessly to a PC or Mac, and can have software updated by connecting to the internet. Some even help pass the time during decompression by allowing divers to play simple video games. We have come a long way from a bourdon tube, baby!

Other “stuff” that you may find very different on the average techie are accessories and how they are carried. Sheer volume dictates carrying accessories differently, and a need to streamline and lessen entanglement potential also means that pockets, pouches and bolt snaps are de rigueur. A quick inventory includes an underwater notebook, DSMB (delayed surface marker buoy) and spool, a spare low-volume mask, backup bottom timer and depth gauge, spare cutting devices and backup lights.

Now this is not to suggest that a tech diver takes everything he or she owns into the water. There are pretty well-established guidelines that dictate only taking what is required by the dive plan, but if that plan does call for something, it has to be accessible as well as functional.

This brings us to one other important issue for all tech gear: It is serviced regularly, inspected and tested before every dive, and replaced if found defective. There simply is no room for any piece of equipment lashed together with string, bailing wire or duct tape on a technical dive.

So what are you waiting for? Find a TDI facility of your own and embark on a whole new adventure! [blogurl]index.php?did=16&site=2

SUDS Helps Injured Veterans; Adventure Scuba Helps SUDS

/0 Commenti

Ever tried scuba diving? If so, you can agree it’s a sport that offers an incredible feeling of freedom. The weightlessness of the water, the muted sounds of sea life, the excitement of exploring coral reefs, caves, and wreck sites — these are all reasons why scuba is such a popular sport.

But for injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, scuba is much more. It’s an effective form of rehab that promotes mobility and instills confidence in men and women facing new disabilities like amputations and traumatic brain injury.

A program called SUDS (Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba) has helped young, wounded heroes by offering scuba dive training as aquatic therapy treatment. Since the nonprofit began in 2007, SUDS has awarded open water dive certifications to well over 200 injured veterans.

“These soldiers were all very athletic, active people before their injury, and now they suffer from amputations—some are triple amputees, and they see that if they can do something as challenging as scuba diving, they can do anything,” said John Thompson, founder of SUDS, which is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA and partner of the Wounded Warrior Project.

The dive certification is impressive, but it’s the intrinsic value of the program that has made such an impact on participants.

“SUDS helps keep you active and helps you to push yourself,” explained veteran Shane Heath, who lost his left arm and leg during his third deployment in Iraq. “The mental rewards are the biggest thing. It builds confidence in that just because you’re injured doesn’t mean you can’t participate in life. It’s been an absolute blessing for me.” Shane is now training to become a dive master and spends his free time playing disc golf and following his dream to be a singer and songwriter.

SUDS scuba classes are offered weekly at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Much of the training can be done in the pool, but soldiers take trips to the ocean to complete their dive certification.

“My favorite moment is watching these guys come up from their first dive and seeing how excited they are when they realize there really isn’t much they can’t do,” described Larry Hammonds, volunteer dive instructor for SUDS and assistant manager at Adventure Scuba Company in Chantilly, Virginia. “They develop a whole new attitude toward life.”

“The ocean trips are very therapeutic. It’s a good group of guys, and when we’re there, we don’t think about our injuries,” said Dave McRaney, who was injured during his service in Afghanistan.

These trips are much-needed getaways from wounded warriors’ normal hospital rehab routines, and destinations have ranged from Cuba to Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys. But trips and equipment are expensive, so SUDS relies on support and donations from a number of businesses and organizations.

A Helping Hand from a Local Business

Adventure Scuba Company is one of the businesses committed to SUDS and its mission. In the past four years, the business has supported SUDS in a number of ways. The owners have donated equipment, provided free maintenance, hosted raffles to raise funds for the cause, and given a percentage of profits from its open houses and dive trips.

Company owners Henry Johnson, Bob Potterton, and Peter Juanpere came across SUDS when they were looking for a way to use their business to give back to the community. Henry is a retired marine, Bob’s dad was in the military, and a handful of dive instructors are also ex-military, so SUDS was just the right fit.

“We wanted to do something that meant a lot to us,” said Bob Potterton. “We’re a small shop and we can’t help everybody, but we can certainly do what we can for our military guys and gals.”

In the past, Adventure Scuba Company used its status as a dive tour operator to help arrange a SUDS trip with the use of its condos in Key Largo. Next year, the shop will put together a live aboard dive trip for injured veterans in the Bahamas or the Florida Keys.

“The veterans risked a lot and we believe they deserve a lot in return. We’re going to continue to help out as much as we can,” added Henry.

Visit www.sudsdiving.org for more information about SUDS.
Visit www.scubava.com for more information about Adventure Scuba Company.

***
Megan Tyson is a freelance writer and cause marketing consultant. Contact her at megan@brightercause.com or visit www.brightercausemarketing.com for more information about cause marketing copywriting.

Florida Spiny Lobster Sport Season Is Upon Us

/0 Commenti

There is something “special” about a lobster meal you catch yourself!

There appear to be 2 very different schools of thought when it comes to the Florida Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) Sport Season. There are those that will be sitting over the reef at midnight waiting for the clock to tick a minute past twelve so they can catapult into the water to be amongst the first to “get theirs” (lobster, that is).

Then there is a second group of us that patiently wait for the described “over achievers” to take their best shot so that as interest wanes we can go get ours! After all, there is plenty of time between August 6th and March 31st. These second groups of divers are commonly the same crowd that stays home on New Year’s Eve, leaving the reveling to others.

Don’t misunderstand – it doesn’t mean they do not celebrate or eat lobster; they’re just a bit more methodical and leisurely about it. Chances are they have seen more than their share of New Years Eves as well as lobster dinners (yes – I’m referring to those who are a bit older and have been at it for quite some time, having started diving long before driving).

Regardless of your approach, if you have never been lobstering you owe it to yourself to be able to say,”been there, done that!” Visit your local SDI™ Facility and ask about how you can get involved.

When it comes to lobstering there are as many “best techniques” as there are lobster divers. However, I will tell you this, the longer your proctor has been “bugging,” the faster you will learn the important nuances, like what else resides in that same crevice as a lobster? Why is a dive light such a BIG deal? And of course, tickle stick? (I consider myself a rather serious person, if I wouldn’t tickle my buddy on the surface why would I do so under water?) And why are lobster bags so many different designs?

As for those that will tell you that “what you do in Florida is not lobstering,” remind them there is nothing lethargic about warm water “bugs.” If anyone asks you “what is it like?” just ask them if they have ever grabbed a rose bush doing sixty miles an hour!

You get the idea. One thing is for sure – you will never taste a better lobster dinner then the one you catch yourself!

For an SDI™ facility to help you get out there and GET YOURS, visit:
https://www.sdi-onlinetraining.com/divers/index_facilities.php?region=na&site=3

WEST COAST READERS:
California Lobster Season -Saturday, October 1, 2011 through Wednesday, March 21, 2012. Learn more: https://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/faq.asp.

To learn more about Florida Lobster Season read on:

Season dates: July 27-28, 2011 (Last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July each year).
Bag limits: 6 per person per day for Monroe County and Biscayne National Park, and 12 per person per day for the rest of Florida.
Possession limit – on the water: equal to the daily bag limit
Possession limit – off the water: equal to the daily bag limit on the first day, and double the daily bag limit on the second day.
Possession limits are enforced on and off the water.
Minimum size limit: must be larger than 3″ carapace, measured in the water. A reminder that possession and use of a measuring device is required at all times, and night diving is prohibited in Monroe County (only during the sport season).
License requirements: A recreational saltwater license and a spiny lobster permit are needed for harvest.

Regular Spiny Lobster Season
Season dates: Aug. 6 – March 31
Bag limit: 6 per person per day
Possession limit – on the water: equal to the daily bag limit
Minimum size limit: must be larger than 3″ carapace, measured in the water. A reminder that possession and use of a measuring device is required at all times.
Prohibitions: Harvest of lobster is prohibited in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park during the sport season. Harvest is also prohibited during both the 2-day sport season and regular season in Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, and no-take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Call 305-852-7717 or visit https://floridakeys.noaa.gov for information about no take areas in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Please call the FWC Marathon office at 305-289-2320, or check online for lobster harvesting regulations for Monroe County. Recreational trapping of lobster is prohibited.

Regardless of what species you are fishing for, bag limits are only for properly licensed individuals and those people exempt from license requirements who are actively harvesting. People harvesting may not exceed their individual bag limit and take someone else’s bag limit. That is, people (including children) who are not actively harvesting or are not properly licensed (if a license is required) may NOT be counted for purposes of bag limits.

Other Prohibitions

  • The harvest or possession of egg bearing spiny lobster , or any other species of lobster belonging to the families Palinuridae (spiny lobsters), Scyllaridae (slipper lobsters), or Synaxidae (furry lobsters) is prohibited.
  • No person shall harvest or attempt to harvest spiny lobster using any device which will or could puncture, penetrate, or crush the exoskeleton (shell) or the flesh of the lobster
  • Recreational trapping prohibited

For more information visit: https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/regulations/lobster/

Dive In, Trash Out

/0 Commenti

Put some fun in your good deed this coming weekend!

The small sign beside the highway told passing motorists that the stretch of road they were travelling on had been ‘adopted’ by a local scout troop. A few hundred metres further, there were a handful of youngsters wearing work-gloves and armed with various tools like rakes and shovels picking up litter and throwing it into garbage bags ready to be carted off to the dump. The synchronicity of the situation struck me immediately. I was on route to a Saturday morning DITO event organized by a buddy and aimed at cleaning up the mess left by “picnickers” at one of our favorite local dive sites. I pulled over immediately.

DITO – in case you did not already know – is the acronym for Dive-In, Trash Out – one of the nicest things to happen in our local dive community. I have no idea how DITO got started or where the movement first appeared, but I have noticed more and more DITO event invites being circulated during the past two or three years. Either there is more trash being dropped in and around dive sites (the pessimistic, glass half-empty outlook) or, as divers, we are getting more serious about the stewardship of the places we love to visit and dive in (my optimistic, glass is filling nicely viewpoint).

How to Get Started
Like it or not, there is a smattering of the untidy urchin in many of us, and litter has become a fact of life in our streets and our parks and public spaces. My guess is that the anthropologists out there could determine a lot about our society with no other evidence than the discarded fast-food packages, coffee cups, aluminum cans and other detritus that dots the landscape. However, if you feel that stuff belongs in a garbage can rather than on the grass and that it is time to beautify the local landscape at your favorite dive site, here are some pointers to organizing your very own DITO event.

Get help from your mates. Even the smallest DITO event can be a challenge for a single-handed organizer. Just like diving, you need a buddy… or two at least.

Agree on a site and build a plan that fits that site. Most successful DITO events tackle the area around entry and exit points, and many strive to clean up the underwater site too. Choose what you want to do and work on the task with two teams: surface and underwater, if that’s what fits.

Your next step is to get permission. It may be an obvious no-brainer to you and me that it is a great idea to plan a clean-up of the riverbank, shoreline, green space or parking lot that borders a dive spot. Just make sure that the local landowner appreciates the idea too, and if the approach pathway crosses land owned by a different person or entity, include them in your letter – yep, a letter – asking for permission to do an area cleaning.

Many dive sites are privately owned and some belong to local municipalities and authorities. Put down what you intend to do in writing and fire off a copy to the appropriate address. Keep a file and assume nothing until you have the OK in writing… and on official-looking notepaper.

Now you need sponsors. Many businesses will sponsor area clean-ups, and one of the large donut and coffee franchises in my part of the country is great at supplying participants in clean-ups with a box of treats and a big “jug” of coffee: FREE.

Never be afraid to approach local companies to ask if they can help out. Cleaning up the environment is a smart PR move for any business from an auto shop to the local credit union or community bank. At a minimum ask for wall space for promotional posters (hand-made or professionally done by a sponsoring quick print company). Our local hardware store supplied thick work gloves, eye protection and ultra strong trash bags at their cost for the cleanup crew at a nearby riverbank.

Arrange transportation for the crew, gear and for the trash to be taken out. Participants with pickup trucks should be welcomed!

What to Be Mindful Of
Even the smallest pile of garbage can be a breeding ground for pathogens and other nasty surprises, so NEVER work with unprotected hands and always have a disinfectant and hand-sanitizer available. If possible, rake garbage together and use a garden fork or spade to put it into bags.

Garbage with the potential to harbor sharp edges and points (old wood with nails in it for example) are best dumped into hard plastic or metal trash cans.

Discarded trash in the water can present risks too. Beware of sharp edges and entanglement hazards. Handle carefully and use goody bags to get collected trash to the surface.

To help manage the risks associated with any underwater “work” set a policy from the start regarding work teams (buddy pairs is an absolute minimum) and have crews work a grid whenever possible (marked out with lines and floats).

Heavy objects, such as household appliances (yes, we have moved more than one fridge in the past), can be floated using liftbags properly rigged and inflated with a stage bottle specially rigged for the job! However, before attempting this, some outside consultation may be in order. (Speak to someone who has experience or better yet teaches water salvage).

Jobs are easier when the work is shared and more enjoyable when the work is turned into fun. Jobs stay fun when they have a well defined start and ending point. This brings up the most important warning of all: Do not attempt to do more than is comfortable to complete in a couple of hours. If a site is going to take more effort than two or three hours, has trash above AND below water, then consider tackling it in several stages.

Who to Invite
The simple answer is everyone. Create an event on your store or club’s Facebook page. Send the word out in your club or store’s newsletter. Call up the local newspaper and let them know about it. Most of all, get a solid commitment from at least twice as many people as you think the task is going to require.

Of course, you may be planning a job that you could tackle on your own on a Saturday afternoon, in which case, take a friend along for company, and you’re halfway there.

How to Say Thank You
I’ve always found the perfect end to a DITO event is ice cream, but your buddies may prefer something different. However, everyone appreciates a proper thank you. Follow up your DITO event with an official “thank you.” It does not have to be the lead story on your local TV station. It can be something as simple as an email or an article in the next club newsletter.

When I pulled over to show my thanks to the scout troop cleaning up the highway on my way to our DITO event, I handed them the box of treats I was taking for our cleanup crew. After all, I could replace them in the next town, and it was worth it to see the smiles on their faces when I pulled out a box with that familiar logo on it.

Organizing a DITO event is one of the most satisfying and effective things you can do to improve the quality of local diving in your area. It might be just you and a couple of buddies showing up with your dive gear and cleaning up a couple of pop cans, or it could be something that took two months to orchestrate. The scale is immaterial: It’s the thought that counts.

How to Tell All that You Are a Diver

/0 Commenti

…In a subtle and classy way!

Chances are you have recently completed yet another milestone in your diving education and, since doing so, you have been quietly plotting –“How do I get the word out?” You have already tried the pictures scattered about your desk, the license plate or sticker on your vehicle. You’ve tried ever so subtly to insert the topic into the most mundane work discussion – “That reminds me of this one time while I was diving…” – leaving your cohorts with a confused look on their faces.

Well, listen up! You need not work so hard. All you have to do is buy the gear that tells your friends (as well as nemeses) that you are in fact a diver. A cool polo, t-shirt or cap are smart ways to get the word out. When what you are wearing causes a discussion by the water cooler, you can smoothly retort, “oh, this old thing?” and smile inwardly as you receive the kudos you deserve.

Who knows? You may be well underway to recruiting a new dive buddy as well!

Buy the gear now:
SDI: [blogurl]tdisdi/index.php?cPath=139_160

To find a Training Facility for family or friends, visit:
https://www.sdi-onlinetraining.com/divers/index_facilities.php?site=3

The Business of Diving

/0 Commenti

Towing the party line: the power of an engaged employee
By Steve Lewis

Business leaders are driven to introduce all kinds of incentives to their employees in order to get them to understand and “live” a simple message that is an essential truth in running a successful operation, especially one where staff has day-to-day, face-to-face interaction with customers. That simple message is this: everyone is in sales.

This message has many ramifications. It would seem particularly important to all of us in the Dive Industry for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that when it comes time for our customers to draw a distinction between our store, our agency, our service, our products, and our travel programs and compare them to similar offerings down the street or across town, tiny and very subtle things can mean the difference between a sale and a “thanks for your time.”

The trick then is to dip into the ideas goodie bag and pull out incentives that work best in your type of operation and that will work 24/7. I love to hear about the more creative ones and ones that are worth sharing, but if we were to look closely and analyze those stories in detail, the central theme of just about all of them is the same.

The obvious ones revolve around money and flexible work hours. Both of these are called hard-dollar incentives, and most business people understand them at least well enough to give them a try. They undoubtedly work, but the ones that work even better are soft-dollar incentives that encourage staff members to fully adopt what marketing types call the company’s “corporate culture.” In a nutshell, the rest of us might translate this into towing the company line. I like to think of it like this: in order to make the customer believe in our brand, we have to believe in it too. More to the point, I believe this really is a magic potion that generates consumer interest, loyalty and ultimately sales.

A colleague recently told me a story about her business that illustrates this point perfectly, if somewhat subtly.

Her business is hotels, and in her hotel at this time of year, there are lots of customers, lots of action, and, because summer is the busy time, a lot of staff running around with a handful of jobs to get done in the shortest possible time.

One of the junior staff – a new guy who had recently joined the banquet staff – still found time to stop and tidy up a small display in one of the public corridors, even though he had an armful of linens and was obviously on his way somewhere else. When he had finished and was leaving, a guest turned to the new guy and said: “Wow, you look pretty busy, but I noticed you stopped what you were doing to straighten things up.”

“That’s my job, sir,” he said.

“What? A small detail like a plate and a picture not being aligned is your job?” the guest said.

The new guy explained why it was the job of every one of the hotel’s staff to pay attention to small details. “Even the general manager would stop to do something like this,” he said. “At this hotel, that’s the way it is, sir.”

A couple more pleasantries and the staff-customer interaction was finished. The new guy was on his way to prep for that night’s banquet, and the guest went to his room. Once there, he called down to reception and asked for a couple of email addresses. He then fired off an email to the hotel’s general manager and director of operations. It was a short email basically telling them how impressed he was with what he had just experienced and explaining that he is the CFO of a large pharmaceutical company.

“We hold a conference for our sales team – that’s about 150 people – for three days every year. Based on what I have seen of your hotel while I have been a guest here, and on the attitude of your staff including the young man who took the time to do a little housekeeping in the hallway downstairs, and who then took the time to tell me why he believed it was his job to do so, I would like your sales team to contact me to discuss holding that conference on your property.”

In sales, and therefore in business itself, one of the most difficult jobs is to correctly identify who is the important customer. This job is so difficult that most companies work with the concept that all customers are important customers. No arguments there. To take the whole concept one step further, you can never tell which customers have the potential to become a VERY important customer, or for that matter, who among your customers is a sort of “secret shopper” for VERY important business. The power of a staff full of people who understand this and who act accordingly will help to propel any type of business closer to success, I believe.

I asked my colleague what she felt was the driving force – the incentive – that compelled the new guy to act the way he did… surely not money, surely not additional time off, so what?

“He’s one of our staff. He believes in what we do and what our company stands for. It’s that simple,” she said.

Towing the company line – it is a powerful sales tool; it works, and it does not cost a whole lot to implement. It’s worth thinking about.

Maximize Your Trade Show Inve$tment

/0 Commenti

It’s time to plan to make sure you and your company get the most from show season.

When it comes to shows, you are either in the aisle or in the booth (attendee or exhibitor), and no matter what side you are on there is one thing you share: expenses! There is only one thing you can do with an expense that will take a negative and turn it into a positive: make it an investment. How you turn an expense to an investment is through proper prior planning.

Let’s take this view through the eyes of a Dive Retailer Trade Show attendee.

As a Dive Retailer it is no secret that your plate is very full. In our Industry, we find that the most successful retailers are those that compartmentalize their business and in the process create the best possible service experience at every turn for their customers. Dive Retailers are expected to be experts in many areas – equipment, instruction, travel, repair, rentals – and that is just on the front end of the business. On the back side, there’s inventory control, accounting, human resources, marketing and the ever-changing landscape (think social media).

As you set out to plan for attending any show, first take “inventory” of your current situation. The following questions are meant only to get your thought process started, and we realize there will be many measures that you will apply to the process that may be unique to you.

  1. Equipment– Review your offerings, such as the brands and the segments that each brand occupies. Evaluate your sales performance – try to check emotions at the door by utilizing true measures such as gross sales, sales per square foot, inventory turn, gross profit and the ever important “competitive landscape”. Once you complete the outlined process ask yourself: “Do I need to alter the mix, add new brands, or change the shelf space allotment?” Make your meetings now with your vendors to address your findings and improve performance.
  2. Instructions– Compare your educational certification trend with previous years. Also, compare the classes you offered then and now. What are your market trends? Where does customer demand lead you? Are you fulfilling the market need? Are you creating the direction? Does your Instructional Team posses all the necessary tools to help your facility meet its goals? Plan now to attend the appropriate Instructional updates, upgrade your ratings and pursue the new ones needed to meet your goals. What classes and levels create the best sales? Are you tracking them?
  3. Travel– Arrange your calendar and “fill the tool box”. Align your plans to make sure you can service those seeking from individual to group travel, from land based to live aboard. Develop a “one stop” service solution for your clients that will keep them happy and coming back. Check out Scuba Travel International, and find out how it can help you meet your goals.
  4. Repair– Are you and your Team qualified to service all of the brands you come in contact with? Do you have new personnel that need training? How long ago did you and your staff update? Are your repair technician documents current? Trade shows make for ideal venues to get training up to date.
  5. Rentals– This is a good time to evaluate your rental locker. Does it meet your overall strategic plan, rental vs. sales? How does it align with your Instructors equipment?

Here are some quick points to consider.

  • Attending dive shows is a business expense and should be treated as such. Budget time and budget dollar investment for every show you attend.
  • Turn the expense to an investment with the proper prior planning.
  • If you have staff at show, coach them in what you expect from them and give them firm objectives to accomplish.
  • Present the right visual image (branded shirts, casual business attire etc.)
  • Have a plan and work with it.
    • Identify a goal or series of goals for the show – It could be to sign up for a new brand of an existing product line, identify a totally new product category to sell in your store, to cement an existing relationship with a supplier or wholesaler, etc.
  • Make appointments to meet people / companies that can help you to meet goals. Use time effectively and be realistic planning the number of meetings per day.
  • Use a day-timer (paper or iPad and anything in between) to track your appointments and carry it with you everywhere.
  • Invest some time to attend product knowledge and business related seminars and workshops.
  • The workday is 16 hours long – Tie social events into business goals.
    • Attend company “parties” but take your notebook and business cards.
    • Set a goal to make at least two new contacts per event attended.
  • Catch up on entering expenses and contact information every evening if at all possible.
  • Write follow-up emails on the plane ride home and make follow-up phone calls within five days of show ending.

Until our next visit, you have quite a bit to do if the show is to give you the greatest return on your investment. Don’t just “wing it”…get started now!