Government Wants Your Opinion on Underwater Paperwork Requirements
Published Date: 1/6/2025
Notice
Summary
OSHA is asking for public feedback to keep the paperwork rules for commercial diving safe and sound. This extension means employers who run diving operations will keep following the same info-sharing rules, with no new costs or changes. You’ve got until March 7, 2025, to share your thoughts and help keep diving workplaces safe!
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Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
Paperwork Rules Continued for Diver Employers
OSHA is asking OMB to extend approval of the information-collection (paperwork) requirements in the Commercial Diving Operations Standard so employers that run diving operations will keep following the same recordkeeping and reporting rules. OSHA says this extension involves no new costs or changes and comments are due by March 7, 2025.
Estimated Paperwork Burden Reduced
OSHA proposes an adjusted decrease in estimated total burden hours from 170,806 hours to 135,450 hours, a decline of 35,356 hours. OSHA attributes this drop to a decrease in the number of professional divers from 3,460 to 2,900 and fewer affected facilities.
Specific Recordkeeping, Testing, and Retention Rules
Employers must keep detailed diving records, equipment maintenance logs, and test breathing-air and equipment on set schedules: air compressor output tested every six months at the distribution connection; breathing-gas hoses tested at least annually at 1.5 times working pressure; depth gauges calibrated or dead-weight tested every six months or if a discrepancy greater than two percent is found. Record retention rules include diving records for one year (five years if a decompression sickness (DCS) incident occurred), DCS assessments five years, and hospitalization records five years.
Training and Dive-Team Briefing Requirements
Employers must train all dive-team members in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid (American Red Cross standard or equivalent) and train those exposed to hyperbaric conditions in diving-related physics and physiology. Employers must brief dive-team members on tasks, safety procedures, unusual hazards, and ask each member about current physical fitness before assigning diving tasks.
Immediate Reporting and DCS Incident Timelines
If an employer deviates from the Subpart to prevent likely death or serious harm, they must provide written notice to the OSHA Area Director within 48 hours describing the reason and extent of the deviation. For any DCS incident, employers must investigate, take corrective action, and prepare a written evaluation of the assessment and corrective action within 45 days of the incident.
Worker Access to Exposure and Medical Records
Employers must make records required by the Subpart available on request for inspection and copying to OSHA, NIOSH, affected workers, and designated worker representatives; exposure and medical records (safe practices manuals, depth-time profiles, diving records, DCS assessments, hospitalization records, and equipment inspection/testing records) must be provided in accordance with Sec. 1910.1020. Employers must also make equipment inspection and testing records available to workers and their representatives on request.
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