Progress for IMCA’s Accredited Diving System Inspector scheme

2022 saw the launch of the Experienced Practitioner element of IMCA’s Accredited Diving System Inspector (ADSI) scheme.  Following initial nomination by IMCA Members and other key industry stakeholders, experienced DESIGN auditors applied to enter the scheme and were subsequently assessed by an independent panel of industry experts.  Those approved by the panel were then permitted to sit the ADSI examination(s) and, if successful, were awarded the relevant ADSI certification appropriate to their competence i.e. either becoming an IMCA accredited inspector of surface orientated diving systems or an IMCA accredited inspector of surface orientated and saturation diving systems.

The success of the Experienced Practitioner certification process means that industry now has a sufficient number of experienced and qualified ADSIs in place to mentor and supervise the next generation of diving system inspectors in the field.  IMCA can therefore move forward with the concluding stage of the ADSI scheme, which is to open the scheme to trainee diving system inspector candidates.  Once the scheme is fully operating, it will unlock a path to certification as an IMCA ADSI for currently uncertified personnel who already have some involvement/experience in conducting DESIGN audits under their belts.  An outline of the process is shown in Figure 1 overleaf. 

The objectives of the ADSI scheme are to:

• Introduce an industry recognised professional accreditation for this important group of skilled workers;
• Help the offshore energy diving industry ensure ‘objective auditing’ of diving systems by individual inspectors;
• Improve the quality, consistency, professionalism and credibility of diving system DESIGN inspections;
• Give diving contractors, client companies and other stakeholders confidence that the diving systems installed and used on diving platforms that have been subject to DESIGN inspections are fit for purpose and safe to use;
• Provide assurance that diving system inspectors who conduct DESIGN inspections for diving system operators and client companies are:

-trained and accredited to a recognised industry standard;
-competent to undertake their duties;
-able to prepare and deliver consistently high-quality DESIGN diving system inspection reports;
-able to conduct their duties at all times with professionalism, objectivity, independence, courtesy, and integrity.

IMCA is currently in discussions with training Members intending to set up and run IMCA-approved Trainee Diving System Inspector (TDSI) courses.  The Secretariat is also preparing a document that will set out the requirements of the IMCA ADSI certification scheme in full. The Association’s intention is to is to open the scheme to the first TDSI candidates in 2023. 

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