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Onshore Construction Diver

Minimum ADAS qualification required:

Overview

Onshore construction diving is a broad sector involving a variety of tasks and work locations.

The term ‘onshore/inshore’ refers to diving work that is undertaken close the shore or inland in freshwater dams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and tanks in depths of up to 50m.

The main thing that separates it form 'offshore diving' is that the latter is generally more sphisticated, conducted in direct support of the offshore oil and gas industry, undertaken in offshore waters and and generally entails working under a different legislative regime that is more stringent and demanding.

This sector does not include aquaculture, science diving, inspection diving or search and recovery diving.

Construction diving includes any diving operation that is undertaken to assemble, construct, demolish, dismantle, install, clean, inspect, maintain, remove, repair, salvage, sample, search for, photograph, film, video or make a sound recording in realtion to:

Excavation, including the excavation or filling of trenches, ditches, shafts, wells, tunnels and pier holes, and the use of caissons and cofferdams
buildings, including the construction (including the manufacturing of prefabricated elements of a building at the place of work concerned), alteration, renovation, repair, maintenance and demolition of all types of buildings
civil engineering, including the construction, structural alteration, repair, maintenance and demolition of, for example, airports, docks, harbours, inland waterways, dams, rivers and avalanche and sea defence works, road and highways, railways, bridges and tunnels, viaducts, and works related to the provision of services such as communications, drainage, sewage, water and energy supplies.

Diving skills is only one aspect of a myriad of skills required to work competently, safely and effectively as part of the underwater construction team.

Tasks performed on the job

The onshore construction diver may be required to perform a diverse range of tasks depending on the job. These may include:

Video & photography
Welding, cutting, hole boring in concrete, fitting anchors, dredging, trenching, cable laying, removing splicing and replacing pylons, wharf carpentry, steel assembly and fixing, pouring concrete, leak detection, concrete restoration, sand bagging
Working with hydraulic and pneumatic tools, using lift bags to lift and reposition heavy objects, rigging, working with cranes
Inspection and quality assurance.

Responsibilities and challenges

As with other kinds of diving, the overall responsibilities of onshore construction diving are:

Personal fitness for work
Abstinence from alcohol and drugs
Maintenance of current medical and first aid certification
Maintenance of equipment
Maintenance of OH&S system, training and discipline
Maintenance of professional development and competency
Good work ethos and team work

Difficulties that come with onshore construction diving may be working in adverse weather, cold water, contaminated water, low visibility, currents or water flow, and the frustration of working in these kinds of conditions.

Highlights and rewards

The rewards in this field are the enjoyment of working as a team, the satisfaction of achieving a goal and being engaged in diverse, interesting and challenging work. The work is hands-on and requires only minimal paperwork. Each day is different with scope to develop and use a very wide range of skills and involving travel to different locations. Earning capacity is quite high for minimal training. While the remuneration for onshore construction work is generally less than offshore construction work, the chance to go home at the end of the work day is a big advantage for many divers.

Prerequisites

ADAS Part 1: Occupational SCUBA to 30m or equivalent (to gain ADAS Part 2:SSBA to 30m qualification); or
ADAS Part 2:SSBA to 30m or equivalent (to gain ADAS Part 3:SSBA to 50m qualification)
hold a valid certificate of medical fitness to dive issued in accordance with AS 2299.1 and current for at least the duration of the course
hold a valid certificate of competence in first aid at work, issued by an organisation whose training and qualifications are approved by ADAS in accordance with relevant Australian arrangements
hold a valid certificate of competence in the emergency administration of pure oxygen as an adjunct to providing first-aid to an injured diver. Both these competences must be in-date for the whole of the diver assessment period.

Training

Each ADAS Part course is one month in duration. ADAS Part 2: SSBA to 30m is the minimum qualification for onshore construction divers however ADAS Part 3:SSBA to 50m is an advantage. Therefore the duration of training may be from one to three months depending on prerequisites held and entry point of training.

Progressing through the levels, ADAS Part 1: Occupational SCUBA to 30m provides the basic diver skills, ADAS Part 2: SSBA to 30m training provides tool skills. Part 3: SSBA to 50m training involves all these skills plus techniques usually used offshore including wet bells, hot water suits and recompression chamber operation. These skills are performed deeper to develop the ability to work to depths of 50 meters.

All industry standard diving equipment is used as is a range of hydraulic and pneumatic power tools, welding, cutting equipment and lift bags. The student should be trained in a range of environments however particularly in low visibility. The class sizes should be small (12 to 15 students) to ensure sufficient one on one time with the instructor and the environment should, as much as possible, reflect a working diving contractor.

ADAS Accredited Training Establishments providing Onshore Construction Diver training: