Resources

1. Ensure that your diving file, whether recreational or scientific, is up to date with all of the required information. The TAMUG Diving Safety Manual lists all administrative requirements and documentation that must be present in individual diver files. The hard-copy version of your dive file is housed in the DIVE offices (OCSB suite 102) and can be accessed by appointment. Alternately, you may request secure digital access to your dive file by emailing diveplansubmissions@tamug.edu.
2. If necessary, complete Lead Diver Training by contacting the Scientific Diving Safety Officer.
3. Complete a first draft of the Dive Plan Submittal Form (click here to download Dive Plan Submittal Form) and email a copy to diveplansubmissions@tamug.edu. All open water diving operations completed under the auspices of the University must be associated with a submitted, and approved, dive plan. The Dive Plan Submittal Form is Appendix 4 in the TAMUG Diving Safety Manual, and it is available in both pdf and Microsoft word file formats.
4. Submit your dive plan first draft at least two weeks (10 business days) in advance of your planned diving operations to allow adequate time for dive plan evaluation, possible revision, and final approval by the dive safety oversight professionals.

Once the lead diver has submitted the draft…

1. DIVE faculty will enter the dates and equipment listed on your draft dive plan on a first come, first serve basis in order to reserve your equipment.
2. A dive safety oversight faculty member will review the dive plan as soon as possible and discuss any safety or compliance questions with the lead diver.

Please note that equipment checkouts, the addition of guest or temporary divers on the dive plan, complicated diving profiles, or difficulties in finding relevant air tests for the field may delay the approval of your dive plan. If you foresee these challenges, you must notify your relevant DSO as soon as possible. 

Dive plans must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the beginning of your diving project or the date at which you plan to check out equipment, whichever comes first. Failure to submit plans 10 days in advance may jeopardize their ability to be approved. 

Due to increased processing time at the end of each academic term, dive plans for diving research to be completed over winter break must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the final day of fall coursework, and dive plans for diving in May must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to the final day of spring coursework.  

A full list of field responsibilities for Lead Divers, Scientific Divers, and Lead Faculty Members can be found in the TAMUG Dive Manual.

If you have any concerns while in the field, contact your Diving Safety Officer (DSO)! Remember that you must notify the relevant DSO if you need to make ANY adjustments to your approved TAMUG dive plan; failure to do so may result in disciplinary action upon your return.  

1. Please notify your relevant DSO of your safe return. Report anything of note that occurred during your trip as part of a short debrief with the relevant DSO. 

2. Log your dives! If you have completed your dives as part of a TAMUG dive plan (recreational or scientific) or with a TAMUG Letter of Reciprocity, you should log them here within two weeks of completing your dives. 

If you have completed dives NOT as part of a TAMUG dive plan, you should keep them in a personal dive log that is available upon request to the TAMUG Diving Compliance Officers. 

Failure to log dives in a timely and appropriate manner may jeopardize the approval of future dive pans.

3. Make arrangements to return any rented equipment to the TAMUG Dive Locker as soon as possible. Contact Sara Williams for details. Ensure that all equipment is in proper working order and cleaned upon its return, and report any equipment problems asap. 

The highest standards of safety and a collective adherence to the TAMUG Dive Manual is critical to the integrity of the TAMUG Dive Program. Administration, faculty, staff, parents, external collaborators, our institutional partners, and of course TAMUG students, all place a high value on our exceptional safety standards.

Through the process of accident analysis, it is often learned that many incidents can be entirely avoided if an observant bystander speaks up. To help further promote dive safety culture at TAMUG, the TAMUG Dive Program and TAMUG Care Team have partnered to tailor the Tell Somebody program to diving operations. 

If you observe a practice or behavior that is unsafe or uncompliant with our TAMUG dive safety standards, you can anonymously submit an online report that gets routed to the DCB. Anonymity is fully protected to ensure complete attention is placed on the safety issue in question, not the person submitting the report. Just click Scuba diving (any Location) and Scuba-diving related when filling out the online form to help route the form to the DCB in a timely fashion.

https://www.tamug.edu/care/Tell_Somebody.html

Remember, you may also report any safety concern to any diving faculty member or member of the Dive Control Board. If you have an emergency in the field, follow your emergency action plan and notify your relevant DSO when appropriate.

1. It is each diver's responsibility to:
   a.   Be familiar with the TAMUG Diving Safety Manual, available here.
   b.   Log their dives made under university auspices here
   c.   Plan ahead for diving projects, and ensure that you are are up to date on safety trainings (CPR, First Aid, Emergency Oxygen Administration).
2. It is the responsibility of the Lead Diver and Lead Faculty Member to coordinate as needed with other compliance bodies in the university, including but not limited to MESSO and the Office of Research. 
3. It is the responsibility of DIVE faculty to facilitate safe diving by maintaining compliance with AAUS and dive training agencies.
4. DIVE faculty are responsible for retaining records of dive plans and diver files, but they are not responsible for maintenance and upkeep an individual diver's file.

A full description of diver responsibilities can be found in the TAMUG Diving Safety Manual. 

If you have completed your dives as part of a TAMUG dive plan (recreational or scientific) or with a TAMUG Letter of Reciprocity, you should log them here within two weeks of completing your dives. 

If you have completed dives NOT as part of a TAMUG dive plan, you should keep them in a personal dive log that is available upon request to the TAMUG Diving Compliance Officers. 

Failure to log dives in a timely and appropriate manner may jeopardize the approval of future dive pans.

To be compliant for MAESTRO routing purposes, a proposal submitted for extramural funding that includes scientific diving as part of the methods should include the following statement in the ‘Methods’ section of the proposal:

“Scientific Diving will be conducting under safety standards that meet or exceed those established by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, and Texas A&M University.”
If funded, Dive Plans must still be submitted, and approved, by the Diving Safety Officer prior to the commencement of any potential diving activities.

Current employees and students should endeavor to complete and log 12 dives per year, including one every six months near their current depth qualification. They should maintain a current TAMUG Scientific Diving Medical, current dive accident insurance (DAN Master level or equivalent), and should maintain current certifications in First Aid for Divers, CPR, and Emergency Oxygen Administration. If you have any questions about your status, you may contact the Scientific Diving Safety Officer to schedule an appointment to review your file.

Upon graduation, if a student has no other affiliation with TAMUG (through employment or continuing education,) their status as a scientific diver will be suspended, and can be renewed when they join another organization that holds AAUS membership. 

Yes, but you must maintain equipment maintenance and servicing records according to manufacturer’s specification, and be able to produce such records upon request by the Diving Safety Officer or Diving Control Board. This is particularly important for breathing gas management systems. Please contact the Equipment Safety Officer for more details. 

Equipment can be checked out by dive club members and researchers who have an approved TAMUG Dive Plan in hand. Contact our Equipment Safety Officer for more information.