Jane Bugler
Jane Bugler, Technical Director of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) will be speaking on ‘IMCA Offshore – Changes to Guidance’ at the 2014 Canadian Underwater Conference and Exhibition with its theme ‘Man and Machine Underwater’, being held in Toronto on 6-8 April 2014.
“I will be covering our most recent Diving Division guidance documents, all of them designed to aid risk management and to ensure maximum efficiency and levels of safety, ” she explains. “First on the agenda will be hyperbaric evacuation.
“Although IMCA D 024 – ‘DESIGN (Diving Equipment Systems Inspection Guidance Note) for saturation (bell) diving systems’ contained a small section covering hyperbaric evacuation, it was agreed that the IMCA hyperbaric workgroup should develop a separate comprehensive DESIGN document to cover all aspects of hyperbaric evacuation systems (HES) when IMCA D 024 was revised and updated in March 2013.
“A draft of the separate DESIGN document covering HES (IMCA D 053) was sent out for industry-wide consultation. The hyperbaric workgroup is now considering the feedback received with the aim of finalising the document for publication by the end of Q1 2014 – so just at the time of the Toronto conference.
“One significant request was made by the Diving Division Management Committee at its most recent meeting. This was to incorporate all the elements of an HES, with the exception of the hyperbaric rescue facility (HRF), back into IMCA D 024. This was considered to be both sensible and convenient for diving system auditors. It is therefore likely that, when published, IMCA D 053 will deal solely with the DESGIN audit of HRFs. All other aspects of hyperbaric evacuation systems will appear in a revised IMCA D 024.”
Jane Bugler will also discuss the updates and changes to DESIGN. Changes to D 014 the ‘IMCA International Code of Practice for Offshore Diving’ (available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish and Chinese) will also come under the conference spotlight.
“The Code has been updated mainly to reflect the contents of, and to make reference to, current IMCA guidance documents which are either new, or have been updated since the 2007 revision, ” Jane Bugler explains. “The text has also been updated to include more references to diving management and hyperbaric evacuation.
“I will also be telling delegates about the importance of our safety flash system and how we use the information not only to help people learn from others’ experiences, but also to update our documents – recent examples include and update to our guidance on underwater air liftbags, subsea lifting and rigging.”
Further information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its 900+ member companies in over 60 countries is available fromwww.imca-int.com and imca@imca-int.com. The association has LinkedIn and Facebook groups and its Twitter handle is @IMCAint
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with some 970 members in over 60 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and South America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training, IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
- IMCA Vision & Strategy. As a result of work and collective input in 2013, IMCA has redefined its stated core purpose to be “Improving performance in the marine contracting industry”. To achieve this goal, IMCA’s Vision & Strategy has been devised with two elements in mind: Core activities and ways of working. Targets and objectives against which the association will measure progress in 2014 have been established. Note to Editors: We are more than happy to expand on this in tailor-made articles – just put us to the test, email judithpatten@jppr.uk.com or phone her on+44(0)20 8241 1912 to explain what you would like covered, length, and deadline.
- IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports – many are available for free downloading by members and non-members alike. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as eCMID, safety recommendations, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
