Human Factors in Diving
Every diver makes mistakes. The difference between a close call and a serious incident often comes down to how teams communicate, how they notice small changes, and how they respond under pressure. That is what human factors are about: the human side of safety.
What Are Human Factors?
Human factors are the psychological, cognitive, and social elements that shape behavior. In diving, they explain why smart people make poor choices and why good teams still have bad days. Instead of asking who messed up, human factors ask why it made sense at the time. That question leads to better answers and safer habits.
This approach started in aviation and medicine, where small decisions can cascade into catastrophe. Diving is no different. Every accident chain starts long before a diver gets wet.
Why “Human Error” Isn’t the Full Story
Calling something human error ends the conversation too early. Most incidents result from several small breakdowns that line up under the right or wrong conditions. Fatigue, distraction, rushed schedules, poor communication, and misplaced confidence combine quietly until a problem surfaces.
When we stop at “it was diver error,” we lose the chance to learn what the system allowed and what the diver missed. Human factors give us the tools to find those lessons instead of assigning blame.
Core Concepts to Understand
- Situational Awareness: Seeing what is happening around you and ahead of you before it becomes urgent.
- Decision-Making Under Stress: Recognizing how task loading and time pressure narrow focus and reduce judgment.
- Communication and Teamwork: Clear pre-dive planning and underwater signaling prevent confusion when seconds matter.
- Normalization of Deviance: Repeating small shortcuts until they feel safe simply because nothing bad has happened yet.
Why This Matters to Recreational Divers
Human factors are not just for technical or professional divers. They show up every weekend at local quarries and vacation resorts.
- Skipping a buddy check because you feel rushed or assume your gear is fine.
- Trusting rental gear without testing it because the shop should have serviced it.
- Following a weak plan because you do not want to question the most experienced diver in the group.
These moments rarely cause immediate harm, but they erode safety margins. The fix is awareness, not paranoia. It begins with noticing how small pressures shape your choices.
Improving as a Team
Diving safely is rarely about one person’s skill. It is about collective performance under real conditions. Teams that talk openly about mistakes, review dives honestly, and share lessons without blame improve faster and fail less often. That is what “Just Culture” means in diving: accountability without shame and learning instead of hiding.
Learn More from The Human Diver
The most respected voice on this subject is Gareth Lock and his organization, The Human Diver. His book and courses bridge the gap between theory and what actually happens underwater.
I completed The Human Diver online course and read Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors. It remains the most valuable non-skill-based training I have taken as a diver. It reshaped how I think, plan, and coach.
- Website: The Human Diver
- Book: Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors
- Courses: Online and in-person programs on human performance and error management