The International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) newly published ‘Guidance on Health, Fitness and Medical Issues in Diving Operations’ (IMCA D 061) has been prepared in response to concerns about how best to address certain problematic diver health, fitness and medical issues identified by IMCA’s Diving Division members.
“IMCA members have become concerned that the number of workplace incidents connected to diver health (medical fitness) and physical fitness appears to be growing. Key factors are identified in D 061 that underlie many of these incidents. This rising trend suggests that there is a need for diving contractors, and divers themselves, to manage the whole question of fitness-to-dive more effectively, ” said Bryan McGlinchy , IMCA’s diving manager.
D 061, which includes pre and post diving medical check forms, has specific aims:
-Emphasize to divers that they have an obligation not to endanger themselves, or other members of the dive team, by: failing to declare significant health (medical fitness) issues to those in control of diving operations; or by allowing their levels of physical fitness to decline significantly;
-Encourage a culture of good health and high levels of physical fitness amongst divers;
-Provide diving contractors with information about options that can help them deal with commonly encountered diver health, fitness and medical issues; and
– Assist diving contractors seeking to develop arrangements for managing diver health, physical fitness and medical issues effectively.