The U.K. Diving at Work Regulations 1997. S.I. 2776. apply to all divers and impose duties on producers, production companies and those who manage divers.sTo help production staff understand the basic requirements of these regulations the Association of Media Divers have put together the following brief production guide.
To help understanding and complience to the Regulations, the HSE publish an Approved Code of Practice or ACoP for each of six industries that require Diving at Work. The ‘Media Diving Projects’ Approved Code of Practice is specific and detailed. A large input into its composition was from a group of diving film technicians, identified by the Health and Safety Executive as the Author who formed the ‘Association of Media Divers’. It applies to all areas of the ‘Media’ except large scale construction projects and the use of explosives, for these the ACoP for Inshore diving should be followed.
The HSE Diving Information sheet number 8 (benign conditions) is not an alternative to the AcOP, it is supplementary and does not remove the requirement to comply with it.
The Health and Safety Executive is pursuing a much more vigorous campaign of inspections and site visits.
Under Paragraph 4 of our ‘Media’ ACoP the onus is put on the ‘Client’- generally the Producer to put in place his or her way of complying with it. The ‘Client’ should:-
1)
Appoint a competent Contractor - ( Para. 5 ). The Contractor must have supplied the Health & Safety Executive with their particulars as listed ( Para. 7 ). Note, The HSE does not approve contractors.
2)
The contractor is responsible for the safe organisation of the diving event ( Para. 6 ).
3)
Establish clearly the employer of the divers. A diver ‘Works’ underwater if he/she breathes a compressed gas and accepts any form of commission or request. Payment is not a criteria.
4)
Provide sufficient detail of the project to enable it to be carried out safely ( Para. 4 ).
5)
Make available to the contractor all knowledge and information available to him / her about the prospective dive site, location or set, or to state that no information is available to enable the contractor to plan accordingly ( Para. 4 ).
6)
Ensure that any other equipment and personnel under their control does not affect the safety of the diving project ( Para. 4 ).
Under Para.4, the code also identifies others who may be responsible: Event Promoters, Sponsors, Publishers, Agencies, Film and T.V. production companies, also owners of dive sites / locations and the operators of vessels used in the diving project.
7)
Co-operate with the Contractor and his/her appointed Supervisor (they may be the same person) and others so as to enable them to fulfil their obligations.
It can be possible for a part or untrained Presenter or artist (not technician) to dive, the safety of which must be assessed in the contractors risk assessment specific to this dive. The safety considerations, arrangements and additional fully trained attendant diver(s) to be noted in the contractors dive rules. All divers (including artists) must accede to a medical examination and hold a certificate of medical fitness to dive, issued by a HSE approved medical examiner of Divers. Contact details of approved doctors are available from the HSE, Tel 0141 275 3029.
Contractor. To identify ‘competence’ the Producer may wish to consider items required of the contractor such as:-
a
The diving project plan & rules.
b
The Risk assessment for previous dives.
c
His/her records of equipment maintenance / testing.
d
The logs and records of previous dives, divers & personnel.
e
Is their day to day work in the Media business, will you be able to communicate creative ideas, and have them implemented safely.
Whether they are a member of the ‘Association of Media Divers’ and dive to their standards. Details of your insurance may need to be checked.
A trail of verifiable records will follow the progression of the ‘Duty of Care’ from the ‘Client’ to the Contractor and then on down through the Supervisor, to the Diver & His/her equipment.
Sufficient time should be allowed for the project to be thoroughly planned. It could also save money. The Supervisor cannot dive and may be thought of as the Diving Safety Officer. He/she is the only person who can give the divers instructions or authorise their requests. Supervisors co-ordinate, and communicate very closely with the director and cameraman to facilitate their creative ideas with safe diving practices. They are required to make the divers safe, e.g. remove them from the water should any other activity compromise their safety.
The paragraphs referred to are those in the ACoP. The HSE was consulted in the preparation of this guide, which however is not definitive.
Their web address is http://www.hse.gov.uk/diving/index.htm
