Most diving accidents or even near-misses result from human issues and rarely equipment or diving skills directly.
Human factors are universal and impact all activities humans do. They are those intangible things we all bring into any activity where training and equipment are not the issue. The diver in the system is not perfect and no matter how well education or gear is designed, you cannot “system” the diver out of the equation. Human factors training makes the intangible tangible. By building awareness to biases, why we make mistakes, and how often a small issue can cascade into catastrophe, you are able to apply attention to what actually leads to accidents most often: the human in the system.
Gareth Lock is a retired Royal Air Force senior officer who has studied how humans screw up for a very long time. An unassuming gentleman, you would never guess the insights locked into his head. He reminds us:
“Aviation has a long history of embracing the human issues involved in flying and encourages frank discussion after flights about issues or near misses as part of every post flight debriefing. I began the Human Diver effort to bring the same awareness to diving.”
Any diver interested in learning more about human factors and how they impact your diving can visit Gareth’s site and signup for his online training or book an in-person course. Keep an eye out for his upcoming book as well. Find his site at thehumandiver.com.
