[PSUBS-MAILIST] PSUBS Standards Committee now forming: contact Doug Farrow at SeaLordOne@aol.com

[SeaLordOne@aol.com]

Shipmates,

Hugo Marrero's white paper entitled "do we need safety standards for private submersibles?" generated some interesting discussion at this year's PSUBS convention.  My take on the conclusion was, yes we need them, but no, PSUBS does not currently have the resources to take on such a major project.  What we can do, today, is to collect, organize, describe, and recommend existing industry standards.  We can put a "safety standards" section on the PSUB's website that will educate our community about the current industry standards and show everyone where they may obtain copies of these standards.

I have volunteered to lead a committee to generate this information.  This is an "ad hoc" committee, meaning that unless something changes, it will dissolve once we deliver our final products.  While the final products will be determined by the will, size, and talents of the committee, I do have a working vision of the sorts of products we will deliver:

1.    A listing of the titles of the current version of the primary submersibles 
       standards and guidelines.
2.    A summary of the documents, and where/how to obtain a copy.
3.    A paper discussing related topics.  Do I certify my boat?  If so, how?  What is 
       involved?  How much does it cost?  What do I do about insurance?

That is my initial take on the final products.  An initial listing of standards I have found on my own includes:

1.    Rules for building and classing underwater vehicles, systems and hyperbaric facilities (2002): American Bureau of Shipping.

2.    Rules and regulations for the construction and classification of submersibles and underwater systems (1989): Lloyd's register.

3.    Guidelines for the design, construction and operation of passenger submersible craft (2001): International Maritime Organization (United Nations       
       Organization).

4.    Safety standards for pressue vessels for human occupancy (2002): American Society for Mechanical Engineers.

5.    Guidance for the certification of passenger carrying submersibles (1993): United States Coast Guard.

The committee, once formed, can get into a discussion of how far we want to spread out looking for standards.  The offshore drilling industry has guidelines for its submersibles (Association of Offshore Diving Contractrors) for example.  The Welding Research Council has guidelines for steel.  Do  we want to include those as well?  We do need to put some limits on how far we will take this.  For myself, I would rather deliver on a modest goal than fail to deliver on an ambitious one.

How will we organize and manage this project?  For today, I am putting out this call for volunteers.  Later I will put out a call for standards, to tap into the knowledge base of the entire PSUBS community.  We will begin our work as a community by simply sending e-mails to one another.  Each member of the committee will send all comments to the entire committee.

I am hoping the group will in time include at least a couple of people with enough technical savvy to move us into some more efficient, collaborative, web-based communication method.  But to get us started, I am simply asking those who want to participate on the PSUBS Standards Committee to send me an e-mail at SeaLordOne@aol.com.

Please indicate any knowledge, skills or expretise you have that may be of particular relevance to this project, and any resources (technical, informational or managerail) you may be able to bring to the table.  If all you have to bring to the table is a desire to assist the community, well, that is quite enough indeed.  A lot of this work will invlove simpy reading and summarizing existing standards.  The distribution of labor will depend on the size and diversity of the group who volunteers.  We need  to have our final product up and running prior to the next annual convention.

Ray has agreed to serve on the committee.  This assures us of the PSUBS seal of approval, and also provides the requisite level of adult supervision for me and the chaps who sign up for the group.

Who is with me on this?

'Doug Farrow