Counter-Errorism in Diving: Applying Human Factors to Diving4 Jul

SH293: Why does nothing change? Why do the same failures keep happening?

Over the past decade, diving fatalities have remained stubbornly consistent despite better equipment, more training, and growing participation, suggesting the problem isn’t just technical or individual error. Current safety approaches focus on equipment, skills, and counting deaths, but often ignore deeper issues like communication, teamwork, decision-making, and the wider system divers operate in. Research shows that most contributing factors in incidents come from these “upstream” conditions—such as training culture, social pressure, and organisational practices—rather than the diver’s final actions. A major gap is the lack of training and assessment in non-technical skills, which are critical for managing real-world situations under pressure. At the same time, diving lacks an effective system for learning from incidents, as divers are reluctant to report issues to organisations they believe won’t act on them. To improve safety, the industry needs a shared language around human performance, better systems for collecting and learning from data, and a culture that supports open, blame-free discussion—because without addressing these deeper factors, meaningful change is unlikely.

Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/why-does-nothing-change

Links: Rebreather fatality documentation from RF4.0: https://indepthmag.com/rebreather-forum-4-proceedings-are-available-for-free-download/

DCS study from DAN: https://journals.viamedica.pl/international_maritime_health/article/view/108038

If Only… documentary: https://www.thehumandiver.com/ifonly

Linnea Mills case: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/linnea-mills-death-hf-systems-lens

Divers Alert Network reporting: https://dan.org/research-reports/research-studies/diving-incident-reporting-system/

BSAC reporting: https://www.bsac.com/home/

DOSA reporting: https://duikongevallen.nl/

LEODSI and PETTEOT: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/what-is-leodsi-petteot

Blogs about learning from incidents: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/category/learning-JC-incidents

Tags: THD-English| THD-Learning, Incidents & Just Culture

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Episoder(293)

SH292: Learning or Blaming: The Choice the Diving Industry Needs to Make. Part 3 of 3.

This final blog explores what the research means and how the diving community can realistically improve learning and safety. It argues that the problem is not broken individuals but a system that quie...

1 Jul 14min

SH291: What the Data Told Us: Fear, Trust, and the Stories That Never Get Told. Part 2 of 3.

This blog explains how a mixed-methods study explored why divers struggle to share honest, learning-focused stories about incidents. Using a large international survey, focus groups, and expert interv...

27 Jun 13min

SH290: What Happens Underwater, Stays Underwater — And That's a Problem. Part 1 of 3

This episode introduces the problem behind learning in diving safety, using the 2020 death of Linnea Mills to highlight how incidents are often caused by deeper system issues, not just individual mist...

24 Jun 12min

SH289: Chac Mool - Diving Deeper into a Triple Fatality with Human Factors

This episode examines a 2012 triple fatality at Cenote Chac Mool in Mexico using a Human Factors approach, showing how accidents are rarely caused by a single mistake but by a combination of small, in...

20 Jun 24min

SH288: The 'Obvious Thing' Nobody Noticed

This episode explores the fatal case of 18-year-old Linnea Mills to show how visible hazards can go unnoticed when an instructor lacks the mental capacity to recognise them. Linnea was overweighted, u...

17 Jun 15min

SH287: When the Picture Goes Dark

This episode explores why divers don’t truly “lose” situation awareness, but instead run out of the mental capacity needed to maintain it. Through the story of James on a challenging wreck dive, it sh...

13 Jun 16min

SH286: The Shortcut That Gets You Home — and the One That Doesn't

Divers make many decisions quickly, often without realising it, by using heuristics—mental shortcuts that help us act fast when time and information are limited. These shortcuts are essential and ofte...

10 Jun 10min