August 2010

Thoughts in the Mind of an Engineer-Diver
by a Senior Inspector,
Infrastructure Engineers, Inc.

As the engineer-commercial diver navigates his way through the murky water along the face of the mammoth concrete structure, he shakes off the bitter bite of the 32 degree water. This is after all, taking place in the mountains of Wyoming in December after an early autumn blizzard. One twist to this ice penetration dive is that the water surface elevation is over 4,000-feet above sea level, which means this dive is a high altitude, confined space, differential pressure, ice penetration dive. While the majority of underwater bridge inspections are performed in relatively benign environments, there are hundreds of structures, similar to this one that are inspected annually on a routine basis by federal mandate throughout the United States.

The engineer- commercial diver maintains keen awareness of the hole he helped cut into the18-inch thick ice ceiling 50 feet above his head; it is his only escape route back to the surface. He uses all of his senses, including smell, to help him monitor the frigid environment around him. Training and experience will allow him to detect anomalies that could mean trouble. He remains focused on completing a thorough and accurate underwater bridge inspection. The ability to safely balance performing a thorough inspection and being acutely ready to respond to unforeseen, sometimes deadly, underwater hazards, takes months of formal training and years of experience. It takes a unique desire to want to work in this demanding and yet very rewarding field of engineering.

As he carefully examines the rough concrete surface for cracks and other signs of structural distress, his mind opens and closes, like the arctic regulator in his surface supplied diving helmet. His thoughts go between maintaining his bearing and observing for hazards and back to the inspection at hand. The path to becoming a seasoned underwater bridge inspector, capable of handling challenging and sometimes dangerous dives such as this, is a long and rewarding one. To safely get the job completed, a formal course in commercial diving, in accordance with OSHA, and the Consensus Standards of the Association of Diving Contractors International is an absolute necessity.

Admittedly, there are dozens of individuals nationwide performing commercial diving work with merely recreational diving certification. However, the lead recreational diving certification agencies like the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), National Association of Underwater Instructors, and Scuba Schools International, are grossly inadequate in preparing divers for the demanding field of underwater inspections. According to a letter from PADI, it is their belief, “that individuals who hold PADI certification credentials and wish to enter into a commercial diving employment situation (i.e. underwater work including umbilical, light or heavy weight equipment, etc.) would need to demonstrate documentation of additional specialized training and expertise to do so safely.” Proper inspection and engineering education is critical in performing underwater inspections and a “recreational diving certification by PADI alone should not be considered as adequate training in bidding for underwater work.” If the diver cannot safely navigate in all types of diving situations or maintain his bearing by keeping focused on the target due to lack of formal commercial diving training, the final inspection report is not worth the paper it is written on.

As glamorous as the public may regard commercial diving in the Gulf of Mexico or the North Sea, inland consulting engineering firms find themselves safely performing diving operations that are as challenging as the missions undertaken by our offshore brethren.

As the feeling of remaining adrenaline gradually slows, the engineer diver pauses and reflects on the job just completed, he dresses back into his street clothes, content in the fact that the traveling public is safe to cross the bridge. At the end of the long cold dive in the mountains of central Wyoming, the job was completed, and everyone came home safely due to thorough planning, proper equipment, and most of all, a dedicated, trained and motivated team of engineer divers.