Embedded Files
Use a written checklist: it just might save your life!
Use a written checklist: it just might save your life!
Use a written list to perform a predive safety check with your buddy before EVERY dive. It will help you catch issues on land before they become problems underwater.
I use a written checklist myself and strive to use it before every dive. It helps me catch critical issues - like when my air is not turned on before a dive!
Many diving injuries and fatalities can be traced back to one or more issues that should have been caught and fixed had the diver(s) performed a thorough, written, predive safety check.
Checklists have improved safety in fields as diverse as air traffic safety and surgery. But they only work when you use them, when you use them every time, and they work best when they are written.
Don't rely on your memory. The whole point of a checklist is to help compensate for our human tendency to get distracted, forget key steps, or overlook something that has become routine.
Use a written checklist and use it for every dive and you will catch more issues before they become problems.
Divers miss problems when they rely on memory
Divers miss problems when they rely on memory
Some divers say they don't need a written checklist because they have memorized theirs. Research suggests these divers' confidence is misplaced.
A 1995 study asked 55 divers to perform a pre-dive check of equipment using their memorized, standard pre-dive check.
There were 9 issues with the equipment including cylinder valve not on, cylinder empty, low-pressure inflator not connected to the BC and so on - the types of issues that often contribute to a diving accident.
Only 2 of the 55 divers relying on their memory identified all the faults... and 96% of divers failed to identify one or more flaws in the air supply and BC that could have been fatal upon diving!
Divers eliminate up to 2/3 of problems using written checklists
Divers eliminate up to 2/3 of problems using written checklists
"With adjustment for covariates, written checklist users reported 69% fewer major mishaps (95% CI: 0.10, 0.93), 53% fewer total mishaps (95% CI: 0.27, 0.83), and 56% fewer unsafe conditions (95% CI: 0.22, 0.87)" than divers who used a memorized checklist, or no checklist.
Injuries and fatalities in diving are often traced back to mishaps like improper weighting, faulty equipment, and other issues.
Using a memorized checklist has been found to be no better than using no checklist at all in preventing mishaps. Only a written checklist resulted in a statistically significant reduction in mishaps.
Printable pre-dive checklist
Printable pre-dive checklist
You may download, print, cut out and laminate the example checklist below.
Remember: it only works if you take it with you and use it!
Do not rely on this checklist alone.
Make conservative judgments in your dive planning and get appropriate training for the type of diving you are doing.
In addition to predive checklists, be sure to plan every dive prior to your pre-dive check.
Adjust this checklist as needed to account for your particular dive equipment, dive plan, and training which may differ from what I have included in the checklist. For example, do not use a drysuit unless you have received training to do so.
Download Predive safety checklist.pdf
Check your gear too!
Check your gear too!
In addition to a written pre-dive checklist, I also recommend using a written checklist to inspect all your dive gear on a regular basis.
Perform a thorough gear check anytime you acquire new gear, get gear back from being serviced, or rent gear
A gear check does not have to take a lot of time. You can probably complete it in 5-10 minutes.
A gear check means that you inspect and test all components of your gear to make sure they are functionining and in good condition.
It is complementary to a predive safety check, and an adequate dive plan. None of them should replace the others.
To learn what to look for in your gear, and for an example gear checklist, see the Know Your Gear article.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse