Most accidents that happen with technical divers can be traced to lapses or stressors at the surface which snowball to problems underwater. It doesn't matter how good your underwater skills are if the non-technical skills are not dialed in. Predive checks, honest post dive debriefs, and a low distraction prep environment are the keys to reducing missteps at the surface that lead to problems underwater. It is impossible to overstate how important non-technical sills, (also called human factors) are for technical divers.
“Low distraction prep environment” is, at many dive sites, completely impossible. Large groups scrambling, loud boat engines, swimmers asking questions constantly, etc. So, do we only dive in small groups at quiet sites? Obviously no, however feeling “rushed” to prep equipment or get in the water is the most overlooked danger in technical diving environments.
The best way to maximize success in these situations is to be extremely efficient. Arrive to the dive site ready to rock. That minimizes the impact of distractions on equipment prep and delays. Most important, being efficient allows us to avoid being rushed, which is extremely dangerous in the technical diving environment.
How to be efficient
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance (the 5 Ps)
The days before diving are the ones that matter the most. Organize equipment by the order it’s used in and store appropriately for the diving environment. For example, if the last thing you use is a wetsuit, that should go at the bottom of the bag/box. When diving consecutive days set aside time in the afternoon devoted to prepping equipment for the next day.
All the extras but none of the luggage
Every technical diver needs backups and backups for backups. Make sure these backups on backups are in the fewest bags/boxes possible. Every item having a separate container will make for difficulty loading, unloading, and finding. We suggest a few UK boxes to keep spares dry, stored inside of a milk crate or mesh bag. If boat diving, make sure whatever you have is easily stowed below the bench, in the v-berth, or wherever gear is stowed on the vessel.
Minimum trips
Your goal should be the fewest possible trips to the water to drop equipment off while staying comfortable and not over exerting yourself. This applies to loading gear on the boat as well. Making fewer trips from the car to the boat gives you more time to relax and is more organized.
Examples of efficient storage solutions.
Maybe this information is “common sense” to you, and that’s great. Being rushed or not organized can quickly snowball into stress that will affect you underwater. That’s being efficient at the surface is a critical skill as a technical diver - just as important as any underwater skill.