SH293: Why does nothing change? Why do the same failures keep happening?

Over the past decade, diving fatalities have remained stubbornly consistent despite better equipment, more training, and growing participation, suggesting the problem isn’t just technical or individual error. Current safety approaches focus on equipment, skills, and counting deaths, but often ignore deeper issues like communication, teamwork, decision-making, and the wider system divers operate in. Research shows that most contributing factors in incidents come from these “upstream” conditions—such as training culture, social pressure, and organisational practices—rather than the diver’s final actions. A major gap is the lack of training and assessment in non-technical skills, which are critical for managing real-world situations under pressure. At the same time, diving lacks an effective system for learning from incidents, as divers are reluctant to report issues to organisations they believe won’t act on them. To improve safety, the industry needs a shared language around human performance, better systems for collecting and learning from data, and a culture that supports open, blame-free discussion—because without addressing these deeper factors, meaningful change is unlikely.Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/why-does-nothing-changeLinks: Rebreather fatality documentation from RF4.0: https://indepthmag.com/rebreather-forum-4-proceedings-are-available-for-free-download/DCS study from DAN: https://journals.viamedica.pl/international_maritime_health/article/view/108038If Only… documentary: https://www.thehumandiver.com/ifonlyLinnea Mills case: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/linnea-mills-death-hf-systems-lensDivers Alert Network reporting: https://dan.org/research-reports/research-studies/diving-incident-reporting-system/BSAC reporting: https://www.bsac.com/home/DOSA reporting: https://duikongevallen.nl/LEODSI and PETTEOT: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/what-is-leodsi-petteotBlogs about learning from incidents: https://www.thehumandiver.com/blog/category/learning-JC-incidentsTags: THD-English| THD-Learning, Incidents & Just Culture