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PART 5Supervisors (continued)

Duties of Supervisors (continued)

  •  (1) The supervisor must be present at the diving station from which the diving operation is controlled at all times during the diving operation or during the period in which the supervisor is on duty, as the case may be, and must

    • (a) directly control the diving operation;

    • (b) use, during the total dive time of the diving operation, a sufficient number of trained persons to operate the diving plant and equipment used in that diving operation; and

    • (c) follow the relevant provisions of the applicable procedures manual for that diving operation.

  • (2) Despite any other provision of these Regulations, the supervisor may, in the case of an emergency, allow or direct the use of diving techniques, equipment and procedures not permitted by these Regulations where that use provides the only available practicable means of ensuring or enhancing the safety of the persons involved in the diving operation.

  • (3) The supervisor must interrupt or discontinue the diving operation if

    • (a) continuation of the diving operation would or is likely to compromise the safety of any person involved in the diving operation;

    • (b) the water currents at the underwater work site of the diving operation are likely to compromise the safety of a diver or pilot involved in the diving operation; or

    • (c) combustible material is stored too close for safety to any diving plant and equipment used in the diving operation.

  • (4) The supervisor that involves the use of a diving submersible must, where practicable, discontinue the diving operation if the unused stored electrical power of the diving submersible reaches 20% of the electrical power capacity of the diving submersible, excluding the back-up capability referred to in paragraph 13(c).

  • (5) If the supervisor wishes to begin or continue the diving operation and the person in charge of the craft or installation from which the diving operation is being conducted considers that the beginning or continuation of the diving operation would compromise the safety of any person on the craft or installation or the safety of the craft or installation, the decision of the person in charge of the craft or installation respecting the beginning or continuation of the diving operation overrules the supervisor’s decision.

  • (6) In the event of an accident, the supervisor must

    • (a) take any measures that are necessary to provide treatment to any person injured in the accident and to ensure the safety of the persons involved in the diving operation;

    • (b) interrupt the diving operation or any portion of the diving operation that may have caused or contributed to the accident until the diving operation or portion of the diving operation can be safely resumed;

    • (c) deliver the diving operations logbook referred to in paragraph 8(5)(m) to the operator responsible for the diving operation as soon as possible after the accident;

    • (d) keep the site of the accident undisturbed until a conservation officer has completed inspection of the site;

    • (e) prepare a written report that contains a description of the accident, a summary of the events that led to the accident and the measures taken following the accident; and

    • (f) deliver to the operator responsible for the diving operation the report referred to in paragraph (e).

  •  (1) A supervisor must not conduct a diving operation unless

    • (a) before the beginning of a dive that is part of the diving operation, the supervisor has consulted the person in charge of the craft or installation from which the diving operation will be conducted and any other person whose assistance the supervisor considers necessary for the dive;

    • (b) the supervisor has taken into account, in any decision respecting the diving operation, the meteorological data available to the supervisor and the environmental conditions in the area of the proposed dive site;

    • (c) protective headgear is available for any diver involved in the diving operation at any time that the diver is at or below the surface of the water and, where practicable, at any time the diver is transported in a skip;

    • (d) during any period of darkness or low visibility,

      • (i) any diver involved in the diving operation is provided with, and has attached to the diver’s person, a lamp or other suitable device that indicates the diver’s location, and

      • (ii) when the nature of the diving operation permits, the dive site and the underwater work site of the diving operation are adequately illuminated;

    • (e) any standby diver involved in the diving operation has an umbilical at least 3 m longer than the umbilical of the diver for whom the stand-by diver acts as stand-by;

    • (f) the divers and pilots involved in the diving operation are protected from any danger or hazards that could be caused by

      • (i) sonar,

      • (ii) devices emitting electromagnetic or ionizing radiation,

      • (iii) the propeller and the manoeuvring unit of any craft from which the diving operation is being conducted and the flows of water created by the propeller and the manoeuvring unit,

      • (iv) the normal movements of a craft referred to in subparagraph (iii) and any movements of the craft caused by unexpected loss of power or stability,

      • (v) any suction or water current encountered in or resulting from the diving operation, and

      • (vi) equipment on a craft or an installation from which the diving operation is being conducted; and

    • (g) plans have been made, in the event that a craft from which the diving operation is being conducted loses power, to protect and to recover a diver or pilot involved in the diving operation who is in the water.

  • (2) A diving supervisor must not permit a diver supervised by the supervisor to enter the water unless

    • (a) the diver

      • (i) is wearing a diving harness complete with a pelvic support and lifting ring and is equipped, where practicable, with a depth indicator capable of being monitored from the surface, and

      • (ii) has a bailout gas bottle that is independent of the primary supply of breathing mixture to the diver; and

    • (b) all impressed current cathodic protection devices situated within a radius of 5 m from the diver’s underwater work site are deactivated and the notice referred to in subparagraph 5(1)(g)(ii) is prominently displayed on the controls of the devices, or other equally effective measures are taken to ensure the safety of any diver within a radius of 5 m of any active impressed current cathodic protection devices.

Restrictions Respecting Dive Sites

  •  (1) A diving supervisor must not permit a diver supervised by the supervisor to make a dive that is part of a diving operation from

    • (a) a place referred to in paragraph 5(1)(b) that is unsuitable;

    • (b) a craft that has insufficient power or stability for the safe conduct of the dive;

    • (c) a dive site located more than 2 m above the water unless a suitable skip, diving bell or diving submersible is used to transport the diver through the air-water interface;

    • (d) a dynamically positioned craft unless

      • (i) the craft has been operating in the dynamically positioned mode for at least 30 minutes before the diver enters the water,

      • (ii) the range of surge or sway movement of the water at the dive site is less than 80% of the maximum operational capacity limit of the craft,

      • (iii) a skip or a diving bell is positioned as close as possible to the diver’s underwater work site,

      • (iv) all reasonable precautions are taken to prevent any umbilical used in the dive from coming into contact with any propeller or manoeuvring unit of the craft,

      • (v) any change of heading or positioning of the craft, at any time that a diver involved in the diving operation is in the water, is made only after the diving supervisor has granted permission for the change and the diver has been notified, and

      • (vi) the craft complies with the requirements of section 24; and

    • (e) a craft that is underway, except in the case of an emergency.

  • (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a craft that is operating in the dynamically positioned mode and that complies with the requirements of section 24 is not considered to be underway.

  • (3) A supervisor must not conduct a diving operation unless the person in charge of the craft or installation from which the diving operation is to be conducted has been notified of the proposed diving operation.

Restricted Use of SCUBA

 A diving supervisor must not use or permit to be used SCUBA in a diving operation supervised by the supervisor unless

  • (a) any other diving technique is impracticable or more hazardous to use;

  • (b) the diving operation is conducted in water that is less than 20 m deep;

  • (c) the diving operation can be completed without the need for decompression;

  • (d) the diver using SCUBA is connected to a lifeline or, if the use of a lifeline is impracticable,

    • (i) the diver is in contact, visually or orally, with another diver who is in the water, securely connected to a lifeline and assisted by an attendant at the dive site, or

    • (ii) some other effective method of ensuring the diver’s safety is provided;

  • (e) there is a practical means of communication between the supervisor and the diver using SCUBA and there is a means of oral communication between the supervisor and other personnel involved in the diving operation;

  • (f) the diving crew for the duration of the diving operation includes a minimum of one supervisor, one diver, one stand-by diver and as many attendants as the supervisor considers necessary to ensure the safety of the divers involved in the diving operation; and

  • (g) all applicable provisions of these Regulations are complied with.

Restrictions Respecting Category I Diving Operations

 A diving supervisor must not conduct a category I diving operation, other than a diving operation in which SCUBA is used, unless

  • (a) a suitable skip is used to transport the divers involved in the diving operation to an underwater work site that is 20 m or more in depth and, where practicable, to an underwater work site that is less than 20 m in depth;

  • (b) an umbilical directly from the surface or via a skip is used to supply the appropriate breathing mixture to the divers involved in the dive that is part of the diving operation;

  • (c) the supervisor is in oral communication with any divers, stand-by divers and attendants involved in the diving operation at all times during the diving operation;

  • (d) the supervisor has a means of monitoring the depth of each diver involved in the diving operation and the pressure of the breathing mixture being supplied to each diver and stand-by diver involved in the dive;

  • (e) each diver involved in the dive is securely connected to a lifeline; and

  • (f) the diving crew, for the duration of the diving operation, includes one diving supervisor, one diver and a minimum of

    • (i) one stand-by diver equipped with an umbilical at least 3 m longer than the umbilical of the diver for whom the stand-by diver acts as stand-by,

    • (ii) one attendant at the dive site of the diving operation, and

    • (iii) as many additional attendants as the supervisor considers necessary to ensure the safety of the divers involved in the diving operation.

Restrictions Respecting Category II Diving Operations

 A diving supervisor must not conduct a category II diving operation unless

  • (a) the requirements referred to in paragraphs 41(c) to (e) are complied with;

  • (b) a diving bell or diving submersible is used for any descent or ascent of a diver to or from the underwater work site of the diving operation;

  • (c) the diving supervisor has a means of monitoring the internal pressure of any diving bell or surface compression chamber or the compression chamber of any diving submersible used in the diving operation; and

  • (d) the diving crew, for the duration of the diving operation, includes one diving supervisor and a minimum of

    • (i) two divers who are in the diving bell or diving submersible used in the diving operation, one of whom is a stand-by diver equipped with an umbilical at least 3 m longer than the umbilical of the diver for whom the stand-by diver acts as stand-by,

    • (ii) one additional stand-by diver and one attendant at the dive site of the diving operation, and

    • (iii) as many additional attendants as the supervisor considers necessary to ensure the safety of the divers involved in the diving operation.

Restrictions Respecting Category III Diving Operations

  •  (1) A diving supervisor must not, in a saturation dive supervised by the supervisor, permit the total dive time of any diver involved in the dive to exceed 31 days.

  • (2) A diving supervisor must not conduct a category III diving operation unless the diving crew, for the duration of the dive, includes the persons referred to in paragraph 42(d) and as many additional specialists and life-support technicians as the diving supervisor considers necessary to ensure the safety of the divers involved in the dive.

Restriction Respecting Diving Supervisors

 A diving supervisor must not make a dive while supervising a diving operation, even in the case of an emergency.

Additional Duties

  •  (1) When a skip, diving bell, diving submersible or ADS used in a diving operation is being lowered into or raised from the water, the supervisor must ensure that the skip, diving bell, diving submersible or ADS, as the case may be, is continuously within the supervisor’s vision, either directly or by any other means.

  • (2) When, in a diving operation, a diving bell is coupled with a surface compression chamber by means of a clamping mechanism, the supervisor may permit only a person who is familiar with the operational procedures designed for the clamping mechanism to operate that clamping mechanism.

  • (3) When, in a diving operation, a person is transferred to or from a diving bell, the supervisor must ensure that any surface compression chambers used in the diving operation but not used in the transfer are, during the transfer, isolated from the surface compression chambers used in the transfer.

  • (4) If a diver involved in a diving operation exhibits any unusual psychological or physiological symptoms or any severe symptoms of decompression sickness, the diving supervisor must advise the specialized diving doctor referred to in paragraph 3(3)(d) and the operator responsible for the diving operation of the symptoms and must supervise any therapeutic recompression or decompression of the diver.

  • (5) A diving supervisor must take all reasonable precautions to ensure that, except in the event of the evacuation of a diver during a diving operation supervised by the diving supervisor,

    • (a) a diver involved in the diving operation who has completed a dive does not fly in an aircraft

      • (i) for 12 hours after a non-decompression dive,

      • (ii) for 24 hours after decompression, or

      • (iii) for any longer period that the diving supervisor considers necessary to ensure that the diver does not suffer decompression sickness; and

    • (b) a diver involved in the diving operation who has completed a saturation dive remains under observation in the general area of the decompression chamber for at least 24 hours after decompression or any longer period that is sufficient in the opinion of the diving supervisor to ensure the well-being of the diver.

  • (6) A diving supervisor must take all reasonable precautions to ensure that, in the evacuation of a person during a diving operation supervised by the supervisor, a person involved in the diving operation who has completed decompression within the preceding 24 hours does not fly in an aircraft at an altitude greater than is operationally necessary in the circumstances.

Diving Plant and Equipment

  •  (1) A supervisor must not conduct a diving operation unless

    • (a) the diving plant and equipment referred to in paragraph 8(5)(h) meet the relevant requirements of sections 11 to 20, are available for use when required and, except for diving plant and equipment intended to be mobile during the diving operation, are, at all times during the diving operation, firmly secured to the craft or installation from which the diving operation is conducted; and

    • (b) any electrically operated diving plant and equipment that are used in the diving operation are suitable for the location in which they are to be used and are protected from hazards caused by water and environmental conditions.

  • (2) A supervisor must not, in a diving operation supervised by the supervisor, use any diving plant and equipment in the diving operation unless

    • (a) the appropriate examinations and tests referred to in subsection 10(1) have been carried out on the diving plant and equipment and the certificates related to those examinations and tests have been inserted into or attached to the register referred to in subsection 10(3); and

    • (b) the supervisor has, not more than 24 hours before the use,

      • (i) examined the diving plant and equipment in accordance with the relevant provisions of the applicable procedures manual and found them to be in good working order, and

      • (ii) when appropriate, in addition to the examination referred to in subparagraph (i), tested for leaks any pump, compressor, cylinder or pipeline used in the diving operation to convey breathing mixture and found it free from leaks.

  • (3) A diving supervisor must not conduct a dive unless a two-compartment compression chamber that is located in a readily accessible place on board the craft or installation from which the dive is conducted, except when the dive is conducted at a depth of 10 m or less, in which case the compression chamber may be located within one hour’s travelling time from the dive site,

    • (a) has been approved in accordance with section 4 for the diving program of which the dive is a part, to be used at a pressure that is not less than six atmospheres absolute or, if the maximum working pressure that may be encountered during the dive is greater than six atmospheres absolute, at the maximum pressure plus one atmosphere; and

    • (b) is suitable for the dive.

 

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