Working as an Actual Team
From start to finish, AHS can help you build your team to meet the needs of your department and community.
Becoming a Diver First
How many times have you heard that someone has been on a team for 20 years, and has a total of about 30 dives? Unfortunately, this is a reality for far too many. While most of the divers are just fine conducting their searches, and problem solving; the wheels fly off when a problem in the water arises. There are just too many individuals who do not have a solid foundation of diving to meet the demand of in water emergencies.
Many team members get stuck in a routine of going through the motions. This leads to many members not diving in any way when not conducting monthly training or at an actual scene. How can a diver keep their skills sharp without practice? Of course the answer is that monthly training right? Next time you are at this training, take a moment and really think about how much diving is actually being accomplished. Perhaps bigger than that, pay more attention to the individuals who are doing the diving. In most cases, a team with 30 to 40 members will have the same 5 or 6 people in the water over and over again. On volunteer teams, many are lucky if 5 or 6 people even show up for training at all.
AHS is here to help in any way. Over the years, this has ranged form developing a training calendar with the team leadership to ensure that everyone has a chance to learn; all the way to a complete restructuring of the team itself. The fact of the matter is that the water does not care how long you have been on a roster. If the basic skills are not there, then there is little chance of improving as time goes on.
Are you Compliant with OSHA and the NFPA?
This is the stone cold truth of the matter... If and when one of your team members is injured or dies (God Forbid) while training or working a scene, there is a massive amount of liability that many departments are not even aware of. Here are some of the top questions to scratch the surface:
Has your team had their regulators serviced in compliance with the Manufacturers recommendations?
Do you have the service records on hand and all stages listed with the service date and serial number?
Are your tanks being visually inspected each and every year? Is that actually needed?
When was the last time you had the seals changed out on your dry suits?
Do you dive with AGA Full Face Masks? If so, if they are older than six years, did they get the six year required service?
Do you record the starting pressure and time for each diver as they enter the water?
Do you have training records on hand for each and every diver to ensure they are qualified to even conduct the type of diving they are doing?
These are just a few things that must be thought of. There are many teams who have divers using Full Face Masks who do not posses the training certification. The same happens with dry suits. These are the building blocks of creating an unsafe work environment which lawyers love to see. Guess what?? There will absolutely be lawyers involved in the end. We can help you navigate these waters effectively. Most of the time, there is someone in a leadership position that simply does not understand that there will need to be money allocated for service and general maintenance of the equipment being used.
Check out this article from Don Kinney at Cylinder Training Services. Don is a wealth of knowledge on cylinders and the laws.
Background Expereience
The Instructors at AHS have had experience all over the world. At AHS we understand that community is everything. If there is not a good place to call home, then the rest of your life suffers. Training the individuals that help provide the goodness found in the community is what we take pride in.
The training is challenging and very serious. If you, or your team, are only in it for the t-shirt and bar stories, then we highly suggest you move on to a different training facility or find a private Instructor elsewhere.