Human factors are at the core of human performance. IANTD (USA) has recognised the importance of Human Factors and has teamed up with The Human Diver to provide training for its divers.
This course emphasizes how important “human factors” are when diving which is why I recommend the micro-class as pre-learning for my classes.
Most accidents are not down to failures of equipment or ‘technical skills’ rather they are down to misdirected situational awareness, poor decision making, incorrect assumptions, miscommunications, ineffective leadership and teamwork.
The online class provides a grounding for students to understand ‘human error’ in more detail, to recognize the essential skill of learning from failure and crucially the need to be able to talk about incidents as learning opportunities rather than being ashamed or afraid to discuss those ‘safe, scary moments’. Prediction of human error is better than error prevention which is better than error mitigation.
Click to be taken to the enrolment page.
This globally unique and award-winning online class focusses on why we make the mistakes we do and what we can do to reduce the likelihood of an accident or adverse event happening. It does not focus on the technical aspects of diving but rather decision making, situational awareness, communications and cooperation skills, and crucially, their interdependence. Case studies are discussed, highlighting the contributory factors to incidents which are rarely technical in nature.
"Human factors and non-technical skills are core to high performance teams. I thoroughly enjoyed the online and face-to-face training which highlighted gaps in my own knowledge. Everyone should do this!"
"Gareth Lock brings a very important perspective to the diving community. His programs and presentation style make human factors study accessible and relevant to the diving community. Anyone who wishes to avoid the normalization of deviance in their personal safety culture and educational programs will benefit from this line of thought. Highly recommended."
At the 2018 TekDiveUSA technical diving conference attended by more than 500 delegates, the online micro-class was awarded the Innovation award “For innovation and/or product design that has increased the safety and extended the field of technical diving.”
The only thing you need is a web-browser (PC, Mac, iOS or Android) and an internet connection. The class takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete but is arranged in nine short (10-15 minute) modules which you can start and stop at any tme you want. You can download them for viewing offline on PC or Mac too so you can learn whilst on the move.
"The class and subject are imperative for dive teams, organisations and individuals to progress in a quantum step. Each diver knows the mental attributes of the discipline is of paramount importance. Gareth has given the discipline a path to success in these avenues."
This short course equips participants with the knowledge and understanding about how to improve their diving; to have more fun and allow them to take more risks because they know where failure is more likely to occur and can mitigate it accordingly. A number of case studies are presented throughout the course - one in considerable detail at the end, showing how the presence of effective human factors skills in diving could have likely prevented the incidents from occurring. The final module is about 'Just Culture' and why it is essential if we are to be able to learn from adverse events.
As this is not a course administered by IANTD, you won't get an IANTD certification card. However, you do get a certificate of completion from Accredible which you can use for continuing professional development and you will keep having access to the class. You don't need to pay anything else when I add material to the class either.
"Excellent consolidation and extension of existing human factors and practice, enabling me to deepen the value of training I can offer and deliver."
The online course will take approximately 3 hours to complete - ideal for an evening - although as there is no time limit, it can be followed at your own pace. Once you have signed up, you will have access to the contents for as long as they are hosted by The Human Diver and IANTD - this includes when materials are updated. The website is specifically designed to work on all Internet-enabled devices like mobile phones and tablets, giving those who undertake the mini-course the freedom to learn wherever and whenever it suits them (as long as they have a data connection, Wifi or GSM/3G/4G). We have recently made the videos available to download so that you can watch them while commuting or travelling.