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SAFETY REVIEW OVERVIEW
In the Fall of 2010 Suquamish Seafoods Management requested a review of the commercial harvest diving operations conducted by Suquamish Seafoods/Suquamish Tribe. This review was completed to determine the overall safety of the divers and crews involved in Suquamish harvest diving operations.
The Review is based on standards and practices established by federal, state and local governmental dive operations, regulations, and guidelines. Also incorporated are appropriate elements of nationally recognized consensus standards for commercial diving; and effective use of the wide range of both internal and external resources and expertise.

It is without hesitation that I highly commend Suquamish Council, Suquamish Seafoods Management and the Divers and Crews on an excellent record of safe and effective operations. We hope this review will further support efforts to improve safety in the workplace for all personnel involved in this fishery.

DIVE SAFETY REVIEW REPORT
This review was conducted on board the Suquamish diving vessels Oakland Pilot and Casino. A vessel safety inspection was not conducted with the exception of dive support equipment. Both vessels appear to be in compliance with US Coast Guard regulations for fishing vessels and are superior examples of maintenance and care.
This was a Dynamic Dive Safety Review (DSR) and was conducted during actual harvest diving operations. There are eight (8) parts of the Dive Safety Review process. This will serve to summarize the findings:

EMERGENCY INFORMATION
The nearest medical and hyperbaric facilities were listed and the crew has completed recent practical training in the extrication and care of an injured diver. This training included First Aid/CPR and Emergency Oxygen Administration. I did not see a copy of Suquamish Safe Practices Manual on board.

PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION
The Suquamish dive team are very experienced in harvest diving operations. The constant repetition of these operations creates a familiarity that is evident in observing how smoothly each diver enters the water, completes the mission and exits. New/apprentice divers were given extra attention while preparing and during the dive by the tender and senior divers. There are no suggestions for improvement on the execution of harvest dive operations by these two teams.

PREDIVE BRIEFING & ACTIVITIES
Each diver was briefed on the objec-tives of the dive and his/her health confirmed prior to entering the water. Hazards like boat traffic, tidal cur-rents, and depth limits were discussed and identified. Emergency procedures were reviewed. There were no exceptional conditions on the dives that required a deviation from normal dive operations. All equipment was checked out by the tender and diver including bailout tank pressure.

OPERATIONS DURING THE DIVE
Tenders are very busy managing the dive. They watch not only the divers but vessel traffic, tidal conditions, visibility and other conditions. Suquamish operations include han-dling product (shellfish) in a very unique way. The heavy harvest bags are hauled to the surface and dealt with after the diver is out of the water. This method maximizes attention to the diver while effectively and safely dealing with the product.
Dive flags were displayed properly. There was a stand by diver suited up and ready to enter the water should the primary diver require assistance.
Two-way voice communication was operational between diver and topside.
Interviews with divers revealed there have been some minor situations requiring a low level emergency response by topside personnel. With the number of diving hours there will be a percentage of instances like these. Suquamish dive teams are trained, experienced and equipped to deal with any emergency situation that will occur.

POST DIVE PROCEDURES
After the dive, tenders and senior divers paid attention to the health of the surfaced diver for the critical 10 minutes clean time. Any symptoms of decompression sickness will usually show during this time.
The vessels offer protection against hyperthermia and an area for divers to rest and recuperate after the dive.
Dive logs were observed on board and were kept up to date by the tenders on each dive.
All dive equipment was cleaned and stored by the divers. It is apparent that everyone takes pride in having properly maintained life support equipment.

DIVING PERSONNEL
All divers had completed their annual diving physical exam. All personnel were up to date on CPR/First Aid and emergency management of a diving accident. All divers and tender were proficient in the skills required for harvest diving operations. This skill is kept razor sharp by recent and repeated diving operations. The work-ing conditions and equipment on board Suquamish dive vessels is superior in comparison with other local similar operations.

DIVE EQUIPMENT
Diving face masks (life-support) were in excellent condition and maintained by factory trained technicians. All high pressure cylinders (bailout tanks) were maintained, inspected and hydro-tested within manufactures specifications. Life support regulators were in excellent condition and obviously maintained by factory trained technicians. All instruments, gauges, com-puters were in excellent condition and operational. Diver harnesses, drysuits, weight belts were properly fitted and in excellent condition. There were spare parts on board.

FIRST AID EQUIPMENT
First Aid kits were on board and main-tained with full inventory. Emergency Oxygen kits were on board and cylinders charged. Jamestown harness for emergency extrication of an injured diver was ready for use.

SUMMARY / RECOMMENDATIONS
The Suquamish Safe Practices Manual was not reviewed completely during this process. It should be reviewed and updated annually to assure compliance with industry standards and regulations for commercial diving operations.

Quick-Disconnect Fittings—The divers primary air supply (hose) is connected to the face mask via a brass locking quick-disconnect (QD) fitting. These fittings are prone to corrosion of the valve stem which sometimes causes them to malfunction. I recommend these fittings be changed over to Stainless Steel QD’s available from Dive Commercial International in Seattle, WA. These fittings are designed without valve stems and do not corrode.

Diver-surface communications—The harvest dive vessel decks are very busy and can be noisy due to machinery and weather. The intercom unit is located inside the main cabin with a P/A speaker on deck. This setup optimizes safety but it is difficult for the tender to manage communications and also the harvest diving operations. This two-way voice communication system is the primary line of defense against an underwater incident or injury. I recommend that someone be designate to man the comms during each dive which will support the safety of the operation by assisting the tender.

Diver logs—Currently the logs are maintained by the busy tender. These logs should be kept up to the minute during the actual dive. Should US Coast Guard officials conduct an inspection they will ask to see the current log sheets. The comms operator could maintain these log sheets during operations. It is also recommended that each diver copy the dive profile information to his/her own dive log book and should maintain an up to date record of each dive.

Diving Safe Practices Manual—The Suquamish DSPM should be on board and available. Which is also a US Coast Guard requirement. All personnel should be familiar with and current in policies and procedures in the DSPM.

Dive Safety Board or Committee—There should be a method for individual divers to report incidents, near misses, or accidents in an unthreatening environment to a board or committee who understands commercial diving operations.

This is one of the best ways to continue to prevent diving incidents and accidents. This also provides a pathway for the continual review and improvement of diving operations conducted by Suquamish Seafoods.

It is always a pleasure working with the Suquamish dive teams and Tribal Administration in improving dive safety.

Sincerely,

Dennis Lucia
Dive Consultant