SH269: What Is the Purpose of an Investigation in Diving?
About this episode
This episode discusses the deeper systems behind diving accidents and the importance of investigations beyond blaming individuals.
This episode looks at how diving accidents are often explained in simple ways that blame individuals, instead of exploring the deeper systems and pressures that shape what really happens. It explains that investigations are not just about facts, but about meaning, comfort, and fear after someone has died, which often leads to stories that focus on “human error” instead of learning. Using real examples, it shows how simple explanations may feel reassuring, but they don’t make diving safer. Real prevention comes from understanding how people, training, culture, pressure, equipment, and organisations interact in complex ways. The key message is that safety doesn’t come from finding someone to blame — it comes from changing the conditions that shape decisions and behaviour, so future dives are genuinely safer, not just easier to explain. Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/what-is-the-purpose-of-an-investigation Links: Dekker’s four competing purposes: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1463922X.2014.955554 Fatal maritime collision investigation…
More episodes of Counter-Errorism in Diving: Applying Human Factors to Diving
- SH273: What story gets told? What words are used? Who gets to the tell the multiple stories?
- SH272: Seeing what is ‘unseen’: applying human factors to citizen science
- SH271: When the Story Hurts Too Much to Change
- SH270: Safe diving starts from the system. Not from the human.
- SH268: The Hidden Cost of "Never Show Weakness": Why Hiding Instructor Errors Undermines Dive Safety
- SH267: “Diver's depression” It's time to tackle stigma and taboos
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