Stay ConnectedHuman factors is a critical topic within the world of SCUBA diving, scientific diving, military diving, and commercial diving. This podcast is a mixture of interviews and ‘shorts’ which are audio versions of the weekly blog from The Human Diver.
Each month we will look to have at least one interview and one case study discussion where we look at an event in detail and how human factors and non-technical skills contributed (or prevented) it from happening in the manner it did.
Copyright: © 2023 (c) The Human Diver 2023
In this episode, we explore situation awareness, a key skill that helps divers notice what’s happening around them, understand what it means, and anticipate what might happen next. Using a personal story from a first open water dive, we show how beginners often rely on instructors to manage the “big picture” and don’t realise how much awareness is needed until they dive on their own. The episode explains why situation awareness is harder for new divers, introduces the simple three-step model of perception, understanding, and prediction, and shares practical tips to build this skill from the very start, such as good dive briefings, clear communication, staying curious, managing stress, and learning from debriefs. The key message is that situation awareness is a skill anyone can develop, and improving it makes diving safer, calmer, and more enjoyable.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-situation-awareness
Links: Blog about dive briefings: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/Why%20are%20dive%20briefings%20important%3F%20How%20to%20deliver%20them%20effectively
Blog about debriefing: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/debriefing-a-challenging-dive-a-real-life-experience
Blog about communication: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-communication
Tags: English, Beginners, Mike Mason, Situation Awareness, Situational Awareness
In this episode, we follow Paul, a diver who joins an unfamiliar group and stays silent when he feels unsure, leading to stress, separation from the team, and a risky situation underwater. His story shows how being part of a group doesn’t automatically mean being part of a team, especially when people don’t feel comfortable asking questions or speaking up. We explore the ideas of psychological safety and just culture, and why they matter in diving, so that everyone can raise concerns, admit mistakes, and learn without fear of blame or embarrassment. The episode also shares practical ways divers can support each other, encourage open communication, and challenge unsafe behaviour, helping teams become safer, stronger, and better together.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-psychological-safety-just-culture
Links: Blog about Performance Influencing Factors: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-performance-influencing-factors
Tags: English, Beginners, Just Culture, Pedro Paulo Cunha, Psychological Safety, Teamwork
This episode looks at Ellie’s first overseas dive trip, where she discovered that being “ready” on paper doesn’t always mean performing well in real life. Even though she knew her skills, a rushed boat, unexpected changes, stress, and small mistakes left her overwhelmed and unsure underwater. We use her experience to explore why divers don’t always act the way they intend, using the WITH/TWIN model to explain how the environment, individual limits, task load, and human nature all shape performance. You’ll hear practical tools for managing stress, spotting error traps, asking better pre-dive questions, and debriefing the human side of a dive. The message is simple: safe diving isn’t just about technical skills — it’s about understanding what affects your performance so you can learn, adapt, and be better than yesterday.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-performance-influencing-factors
Links: HALT: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/stress-a-challenge-we-all-face
PACE model: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/navigating-the-authority-gradient-pt2
SBAR model: https://www.ihi.org/library/tools/sbar-tool-situation-background-assessment-recommendation
Debrief model: https://www.thehumandiver.com/debrief
Tags: English, Beginners, Gareth Lock, Performance Influencing Factors
This episode explores what happened when an inexperienced diver, John, assumed he was “just meant to follow” his far more experienced buddy, Shona- and how a simple sea dive turned stressful when expectations weren’t shared. Their miscommunication shows that good teamwork in diving isn’t automatic: leaders need to notice when teammates are struggling, and followers need to speak up, ask questions, and stay involved in the plan. We look at how beginners can build both leadership and followership from day one through curiosity, clear expectations, simple pre-dive questions, and short debriefs. The story highlights that safe, enjoyable dives come from shared mental models, mutual accountability, and the courage to communicate- no matter how new you are.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-leadership-and-followership
Links: Debrief model: https://www.thehumandiver.com/debrief
Top Tips for Beginner Divers- Teamwork: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-teamwork
Dive briefings: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/Why%20are%20dive%20briefings%20important%3F%20How%20to%20deliver%20them%20effectively
Psychological safety: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/HFforD-part-10-psychological-safety
Tags: English, Beginners, Communications, Followership, Gareth Lock, Leadership, Teamwork
In this episode, we look at how two new divers learned the hard way that being a true buddy team takes more than just diving side by side. A simple dive on a house reef became stressful when assumptions replaced communication, and neither diver had agreed on roles, pace, or what to do if something went wrong. Their experience shows that teamwork doesn’t happen automatically—it’s built through clear plans, shared expectations, and honest conversations before and after the dive. We explore how new divers can avoid “assumed coordination,” develop a shared mental model, and grow stronger as a team using practical tools like pre-dive role discussions, simple communication habits, quick debriefs, and psychological safety. Effective teamwork helps divers stay connected, learn together, and enjoy safer, more relaxed dives.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-teamwork
Links: Debrief model: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/debriefing
Building psychological safety: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/the-challenge-of-psychological-safety
Tags: English, Beginners, Brief, Debrief, Gareth Lock, Teamwork
In this episode, we look at how a simple miscommunication during a fun dive turned into confusion, and why clear planning and shared understanding are essential for safe and enjoyable diving. Because you can’t talk underwater, communication has to start at the surface, and most problems come from assumptions, unclear plans, or people being too nervous to speak up. We break down practical tools to avoid this—like agreeing on the dive plan, using shared hand signals, confirming understanding, carrying a slate, and doing short debriefs after each dive. Good communication builds confidence, strengthens teamwork, and prevents small misunderstandings from turning into big issues.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-for-beginner-divers-communication
Links: Shared understanding: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/lost-in-translation
Blog about psychological safety: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/the-challenge-of-psychological-safety
Ask questions: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/communications-ask-better-questions
Tags: English, Briefing, Communication, Communications, Mike Mason, Teamwork
In this episode, we explore how easy it is for divers to drift into unsafe habits when risky behaviour seems to have no consequences, especially in small or high-performing cave and technical diving teams. A real example from a cave rebreather class shows how a simple shortcut- only a few metres and seemingly low-risk- could have broken a key rule of always maintaining a continuous guideline. Even when a team is skilled and conditions look perfect, small deviations can become normalised and lead to bigger risks later. We talk about why psychological safety, honest communication, and clear team standards are essential for spotting drift, challenging unsafe ideas, and learning from each other.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/top-tips-blog-normalisation-of-deviance-in-rebreather-cave-diving
Links: Normalisation of deviance: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/normalisation-of-deviance-not-about-rule-breaking
Psychological safety: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/what-we-get-wrong-about-psychological-safety-in-diving
Tags: English, Cave Diving, CCR, Decision Making, Lanny Vogel, Normalisation of Deviance, Teamwork
In this episode, we finish exploring the “Dirty Dozen” human factors that contribute to mistakes in diving by looking at fatigue, lack of assertiveness and norms. These factors influence how divers think and behave, and they can increase risk if they aren’t recognised and managed. Fatigue can reduce focus and reaction time, lack of assertiveness can stop people from speaking up when something feels wrong, and unsafe norms can develop when teams skip important steps simply because “nothing went wrong last time.” We discuss how to address these issues through tools like HALT and PACE, building psychological safety, supporting each other as teammates, and challenging negative habits within dive communities. The goal is to create an environment where divers can speak up, look out for each other and make safer decisions together.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-4
Links: Part One: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-1
Part Two: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-2
Part Three: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-3
Error Producing Conditions: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/hf-for-dummies-part-9-error-producing-conditions
Building psychological safety: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-1
PACE tool: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/navigating-the-authority-gradient-pt2
Negative norms need to be recognised: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/what-are-we-pretending-not-to-know
Normalisation of drift vs pushing boundaries: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/drift-vs-advancement-how-do-we-push-limits-safely
Tags: English, Fatigue, Human Error, Jenny Lord, Performance Shaping Factors
In this episode, we continue exploring the “Dirty Dozen,” a set of human factors that can lead to mistakes in diving, by looking at pressure, lack of awareness, and lack of knowledge. These factors affect divers of all levels because they shape how we think, act, and make decisions underwater. Pressure—whether from time, money, or other people—can push divers into taking risks or rushing, while lack of awareness can cause them to miss important changes in their surroundings. Lack of knowledge, including not knowing what you don’t know, can lead to poor decisions or unsafe actions, especially in new environments or with unfamiliar equipment. We also discuss practical ways to manage these issues, such as improving skills so tasks become automatic, sharing responsibilities within the team, building a supportive culture, asking open questions, and staying curious about the “why” behind procedures.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-3
Links: Part One: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-1
Part Two: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-2
Part Four: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-4
Tags: English, Communication, Fatigue, Jenny Lord, Performance Shaping Factors, Situation Awareness, Stress
In Part 2 of this blog, we delve into three more of the "Dirty Dozen" human factors—stress, complacency, and lack of teamwork—and explore their impact on diver performance and safety. Stress, whether acute or chronic, can reduce awareness and decision-making ability, while complacency often arises in routine tasks, lowering vigilance. A lack of teamwork, meanwhile, undermines coordination and increases risks during emergencies. Practical countermeasures like using checklists, fostering psychological safety, and setting clear team goals can help mitigate these issues, creating safer and more effective dive environments.
Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-2
Links: HALT Model: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/stress-a-challenge-we-all-face
Becoming a team: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/practical-application-of-teamwork-in-diver-training
Building Psychological Safety blog series: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/team-building-psych-safety-1
Part 1: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-1
Part 3: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-3
Part 4: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/reframing-the-dirty-dozen-part-4
Tags: English, Gareth Lock, Human Error, Human Factors, Jenny Lord, Teamwork
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
