IMCA Updates Saturation (Bell) Diving Systems Inspection Guide
Posted
on Sep 16th, 2014 with tags design, diving
equipment, europe, Imca, Inspection
Guidance, Jane
Bugler, News
by topic, Note, Revision,Subsea, Systems, Update.
The
International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Diving
Equipment Systems Inspection Guidance Note (DESIGN) for Saturation
(Bell) Diving Systems (IMCA D 024) has now been revised and updated
to incorporate equipment improvements and changed operating practices
since its first publication in 2001 as well as expanding the sections
for the hyperbaric rescue unit, its launch system and its interfaces
with the saturation diving system.
“There
is also a new section for the life support package
(LSP),” explains IMCA’s
Technical Director, Jane Bugler. “The
format has also been changed slightly to improve ease of use and
provide better referencing. It is intended that this document should
be used in conjunction with IMCA D 018 – Code of practice on the
initial and periodic examination, testing and certification of diving
plant and equipment.”
Background
DESIGN
for Saturation (Bell) Diving Systems has a long and proud history. In
the early 1980s, in order to give some guidance to the offshore
industry, IMCA’s predecessor the Association of Offshore Diving
Contractors (AODC) started to produce a number of reference
documents, standards and guidance notes. This process continued
through the 1980s. It was clear, however, that there was still
considerable confusion with some diving systems being ‘audited’
several times a year by different clients, each of whose
representatives had slightly different interpretations as to what was
required.
AODC
published document reference AODC 052 – Diving Equipment Systems
Inspection Guidance Note (DESIGN) – in February 1989 that sought to
clarify any interpretations necessary and to identify a common
standard that could be applied by all parties during an inspection.
It was intended for use offshore in the UK sector of the North Sea
but in the absence of other guidance it became a standard reference
in many parts of the world, particularly where there were no specific
national regulations.
Subsequently
AODC expanded and revised the document which was re-issued as Rev. 1
in February 1995. This more comprehensive document covered both air
and saturation diving systems. It was still based on the requirements
of the UK sector of the North Sea but was adopted by many clients and
diving contractors world-wide. Some users, however, found it to be
complex and difficult to use.
With
the increasingly international nature of the offshore diving
industry, IMCA revised AODC 052 Rev. 1 in order to simplify it,
clarify any anomalies which had shown up and adapt it for
international use, rather than restrict it to North Sea use. It was
also decided to split it into separate documents, one for surface
diving (IMCA D 023 published 2000) and the other for saturation
diving (IMCA D 024 published 2001).
Current
update
“Subsequently
documents were issued in 2006 for surface supplied mixed gas
diving (IMCA D 037) and mobile/portable surface supplied diving
(IMCA D 040),” explains
Jane Bugler. “IMCA
D 024 for saturation diving systems was revised and updated to Rev. 1
in 2013 and to Rev. 2 in 2014. At that time we recognised that it was
no longer adequate to simply have a small section in this document to
cover hyperbaric evacuation.
“The
latest revision therefore includes updated sections for the
hyperbaric rescue unit, its launch system and its interfaces with the
saturation diving system as well as the life support package (LSP).
“It
was recognised that any hyperbaric reception facility (HRF) forming
part of the hyperbaric evacuation system (HES) would be likely to be
in a different physical location to the equipment covered by IMCA D
024 and would thus need a separate DESIGN document (IMCA D 053).”
Press
Release, September 16, 2014
