US commercial diving regulations: OSHA and Coast Guard

Scope and exemptions (OSHA)

• LawOSHA's commercial diving standard applies to every place of employment in US waters, the States and listed territories, and on the Outer Continental Shelf, where diving and related support operations are performed. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.401(a)(1)
• LawThe standard covers diving and support operations in all types of work, including general industry, construction, ship repairing, shipbuilding, shipbreaking and longshoring. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.401(a)(2)
• LawThe standard does not apply to diving done solely for instruction using open-circuit compressed-air SCUBA within the no-decompression limits. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.401(a)(2)(i)
• LawScientific diving is excluded only when run under a diving program with a diving safety manual and a diving control board; Appendix B gives the guidelines used to decide which programs qualify. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.401(a)(2)(iv); Appendix B
• LawFor construction work, each section of 29 CFR 1926 Subpart Y states that its requirements are identical to the matching section of 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, from scope through recordkeeping. 29 CFR 1926 Subpart Y, §§ 1926.1071–1926.1091; Appendices A–B

Personnel and the person-in-charge (OSHA)

• LawEach dive team member must have the experience or training needed for their assigned tasks, including tools and equipment, techniques of the assigned diving mode, and diving operations and emergency procedures. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.410(a)(1)–(2)

Planning, procedures and emergencies (OSHA)

• LawThe employer must develop and maintain a safe practices manual and make it available at the dive location to every dive team member. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.420(a)
• LawThe manual must include a copy of the standard and the employer's implementing policies, and for each diving mode used: safety procedures and checklists, team assignments, equipment procedures and checklists, and emergency procedures. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.420(b)

Equipment (OSHA)

Records and retention (OSHA)

• LawFor each diving operation the employer must record the dive team names including the person-in-charge, date, time and location, diving modes, nature of work, approximate conditions, and each diver's maximum depth and bottom time. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.423(d)(1)
• LawThe employer must record any diving-related injury or illness that puts a dive team member in hospital for 24 hours or more, with the circumstances and extent. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.440(a)(2)
• LawDive records must be kept for 1 year, or 5 years where there has been a case of decompression sickness. 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.440(b)(3)(iv)
• LawOther retention periods: safe practices manual (current version only), depth-time profiles (until the dive record or decompression assessment is complete), decompression assessments and hospitalisation records (5 years), equipment records (current entry or tag, or until withdrawn from service). 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, § 1910.440(b)(3)(ii), (iii), (v)–(vii)

US Coast Guard: 46 CFR 197 Subpart B

• LawThe Coast Guard rules apply to commercial diving at deepwater ports, from Outer Continental Shelf installations, and from vessels that must hold a Coast Guard certificate of inspection, with exemptions for educational marine research, diving-equipment R&D and government public-safety diving. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.202(a)
• LawThe regulations define the diving supervisor as the person with complete responsibility for the safety of a commercial diving operation, including the safety and health of all diving personnel. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.204
• LawThe vessel's master is the person-in-charge, or the owner or agent designates one in writing; the diving supervisor for each operation must be named in writing and given to the person-in-charge before diving begins. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.208; § 197.210
• LawBefore diving starts the person-in-charge must have the supervisor's designation and a report on the planned operation and the vessel's involvement, and must coordinate vessel activities with the diving supervisor. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.402(a), (d)–(e)
• LawThe diving supervisor must give an operations manual to the person-in-charge before diving and make it available to the dive team; it must cover safety, assignments, equipment and emergency procedures, and the use of power tools, welding and explosives. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.420
• LawA person-in-charge whose vessel needs an official logbook must keep it on form CG-706; otherwise a logbook must still be kept on board for the required entries. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.480(a)–(b)
• LawThe diving supervisor must also maintain a separate logbook for the entries the subpart requires. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.480(c)
• LawThe supervisor's log entries include date, time and location, conditions, team names, nature of work, repetitive dive status, modes, maximum depth and bottom time, the person-in-charge, gases and tables for decompression dives, and treatment and serious injury details. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.482(b)
• LawThe person-in-charge must notify the Officer-in-Charge, Marine Inspection, of diving casualties involving death, prolonged incapacitation or hospitalisation, and follow up with a written report (Form CG-2692 for vessels). 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.484; § 197.486
• LawAfter a reported casualty, logbooks and related reports must be kept on board for 6 months, or until the Officer-in-Charge, Marine Inspection, says otherwise, and made available to Coast Guard investigators. 46 CFR 197 Subpart B, § 197.488

Industry standards

• GuidanceADCI says its Consensus Standards are cited by OSHA, the US Coast Guard and the US Army Corps of Engineers. ADCI, Home page, Safety & Education