There are at least five major factors to
consider in programming emergency procedures:
A) Nature of the problem (e.g. is the SDC entrapped?)
B) Depth of water (e.g. possible to use standby
diver?)
C) Umbilical condition (e.g. severed or intact?)
D) Load line condition ( e.g. severed or intact?)
E) SDC pressure condition (e.g. pressurized
or unpressurized?)
If one fixed case is assumed for question
"A" - the SDC is entrapped - the critical examination
of the possible combinations of other
factors will require a detailed analysis of at
least sixteen possible situations and the calculation
of the most effective emergency procedures
to use in each case.
Some time ago, our firm undertook the task
of reviewing SDC emergency procedures and we
were, frankly, astonished at the number of
possible situations that had simply not been
considered previously. The procedures to cope
were equally obscure and detailed searching of
existing literature confirmed this general lack
of specific consideration. We have since been
continuously involved in compiling emergency
procedures and running field tests on various
safety devices, both SDC internal and external.
The length of this discussion is not sufficient
to describe, in detail, the total findings, but
some highlights are presented for consideration.
It should be heavily stressed that the described
approaches should in no way be considered
universal panacea's to the problems, but
merely as potentially useful alternates to current
practises.