Kurs: Diving seminar in Bergen, Norway 2009

The seminar consisted of 4 sessions:

Session 1: Globalization within the diving industry and manned underwater operations

Session 2: Recruitment and education

Sssion 3: R&D and continuous improvement

Session 4: Regulating the activities

After each session, one pre selected person had been challenged to sum up the presentations of the session and to focus on some important points of common interest that are in need of improvements.

These points will than be revisited at the next diving seminar in 2011 to investigate if improvements have indeed been made.

Session 1 was summed up by Nigel Lusby from Shell, representing OGP as the chairman of the OGP DOsC. Following focus points were highlighted:

 - An international solution to the process of hyperbaric evacuation

 - The introduction of new technology into the diving industry is moving faster than the development of rules, regulations and guidelines. How to tackle this challenge?

 - Can someone take the initiative to initiate and manage an �gOpen online College for exchange of experience and ideas�h within the professional diving world?

Session 2 was summed up by Cato Hordnes from Statoil, representing OLF �] SubSea Operations network.
Following focus points were raised:

 - Competence within the diving industry . Not only for divers

        - Need focus also on support personnel such as diving supervisors, LST`s and diving superintendents as well as subsea engineers and client representatives

 - How to tackle the upcoming �ggeneration change�h both relating to age and to background?

 - How to safely transform a diver from newly educated/fresh from school to a competent member of a professional diving team?

Session 3 was summed up by Ole Jan Iversen, professor of NTNU in Trondheim.
Following points for improvement were raised:

 - Hyperbaric research must open itself to other fields and research environments, and must take into use the common research platforms developed for all research.

 - Hyperbaric research must take into use methods and tools developed outside of the hyperbaric research environment

 - Hyperbaric research must seek to balance better between basic research and �gproblem solving research�h.

Session 4 was summed up by Leif Tore Skjerven of Deep . X.
Following points were focused.

 - We need a common international diving personnel competence standard and we need quality assurance of the schools involved.

 - Harmonization of rules, regulations and guidelines must be an aim for the industry. OGP was pointed out as the organization in the best position to bring this initiative forward.

 - Norway should focus on harmonization internally and get one set of rules and regulations, as well as coordinated supervision, for inshore and offshore diving.

The Diving seminars organizers�f take the opportunity to thanks all the speakers and seminar participants�f for a successful seminar.

We look forward to meet you all again in November 2011.

Best Regards
Anne Gurd, Einar and Cato