Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)

Regulations

Diving Regulations, 2009

1. Definitions

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In these Regulations, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act shall have the meaning so assigned and, unless the context otherwise indicates—

 

"air"

means normal compressed air suitable for breathing while diving;

 

"airlock operator"

means a person registered as an airlock operator for compressed air work contemplated in regulation 13, who enables compressed air workers to enter a pressurized working area on the other side of the personnel lock (such as a caisson, tunnel or shaft), but does not include operators of chambers during diving operations involving class I, II, III, IV, V and VI divers;

 

"assistant life-support technician"

means a person registered as an assistant life support technician contemplated in regulation 7(1), who assists a life support technician with his duties of life support and treatment in chambers and has been trained in all aspects of saturation life support;

 

"benign conditions"

means a tank or pool artificially constructed for the purpose of swimming or diving or for use as an aquarium, where—

(a)the diver is in full view 'from the surface or viewing windows at all times;
(b)there are no hazards from entanglement or entrapment; and
(c)the water depth does not exceed 8m;

 

"caisson"

means a structure extending below ground or water level into which workers may enter through a lock into a pressurised atmosphere, and includes a pressurised tunnel, shaft or similar structure;

 

"chamber"

means a pressure vessel for human occupation having internal dimensions sufficient to accommodate at least one diver lying in a horizontal position as well as one other person, and which allows the ingress and egress of personnel while the occupants are under pressure;

 

"chamber operator"

means a person registered as a chamber operator contemplated in regulation 15(1), who is qualified to operate an air-diving chamber under the auspices of a qualified diving supervisor;

 

"class I diver"

means a registered saturation diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is, trained in all aspects of saturation and bell diving;

 

"class II mixed gas diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in all aspects of mixed gas diving using surface supplied diving equipment to a maximum depth of 75 metres, with an open bell or diving stage, excluding saturation diving;

 

"class II air diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is, trained in all aspects of air diving using surface supplied diving equipment with an open bell or diving stage, to a maximum depth of 50 metres;

 

"class III nitrox diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in all aspects of nitrox diving using surface supplied diving equipment, to a maximum depth of 30 metres;

 

"class III air diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in all aspects of air diving using surface supplied diving equipment, to a maximum depth of 30 metres;

 

"Class IV nitrox diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in all aspects of nitrox diving using SCUBA, to a maximum depth of 30 metres; "class IV air diver" means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in all aspects of air diving using SCUBA, to a maximum depth of 30 metres;

 

"class V diver"

means a registered scientific diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in air SCUBA diving to a depth not exceeding 20 metres and diving under the code of practice for scientific diving;

 

"class VI diver"

means a registered diver contemplated in regulation 10(1), who is trained in air SCUBA diving to a depth not exceeding 8 metres and diving under the code of practice for diving in benign conditions;

 

"client"

means a person for whom diving work is performed

 

"code of practice"

means a code of practice made under regulation 24(b);

 

"competence"

in relation to diving work, means having the knowledge, training and experience specific to the work or task being performed: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995), these qualifications and training shall be deemed to be the required qualifications and training; declared competent by an accredited assessor or institution

 

"compressed air work"

means working in a caisson, where the structure is pressurised to render the working area dry or stable, and includes such structures that are compressed with air or other mixtures of gases;

 

"compressed air worker"

means a person registered as a compressed air worker contemplated in regulation 16(1), who is trained in compressed air work;

 

"designated medical practitioner"

means a medical practitioner designated in accordance with regulation 19;

 

"dive"

means—

(a)entering water or any other liquid, or a pressurised environment in which a person is subjected to pressure greater than 100 millibars above atmospheric pressure, where in order to survive in such an environment a person breathes air or other gas at pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and "a dive" and "to dive" shall have a corresponding meaning; or
(b)operation of a ROV;

 

"diver's logbook"

means a logbook in a form set out in Annexure A of these Regulations;

 

"diving advisory board"

means the advisory board established under regulation 23;

 

"diving apparatus"

means any type of diving equipment that can enable a person to breathe while diving;

 

"diving contractor"

means—

(a)a person who is the contractor of a diver engaged in a diving project,
(b)a ROV contractor who employs ROV pilots; or
(c)a compressed air work contractor who employs compressed air workers;

and includes a self-employed person who is not working as a subcontractor;

 

"diving operation"

which includes ROV dives, means the activities in which at least one person takes part or will take part as a diver and extends from the time when that person, or the first such person, commences to prepare to dive until that person, or the last such person, has left the water, chamber or other environment in which the dive, or any part of the dive, took place and has completed any decompression procedures, including any therapeutic recompression and time spent breathing oxygen or other gas mixture at the surface for the purposes of precautionary accelerated inert gas washout, and includes the safety decompression sickness monitoring period after the dive;

 

"diving operations record"

means the record containing the required particulars for each diving operation set out in Annexure B to these Regulations;

 

"diving project"

means any activity, made up of one or more diving operations, including the preparation for, participation in and activities following a diving operation that are directly linked to a diving operation;

 

"diving project plan"

means a plan contemplated in regulation 5;

 

"diving supervisor"

means a registered diving supervisor contemplated in regulation 9(1), who is trained as a diving supervisor;

 

"diving system"

means all equipment in support of a diving operation, including chambers, bells, handling systems and diving apparatus;

 

"hyperbaric operation supervisor"

means a registered hyperbaric operations supervisor contemplated in regulation 14(1), who supervises compressed air work;

 

"instructor"

means a registered instructor contemplated in regulation 6(1);

 

"life-support supervisor"

means a life support technician contemplated in regulation 7(2);

 

"life support technician"

means a registered life-support technician contemplated in regulation 7(1), who is trained in all aspects of saturation life support;

 

"nitrox"

means a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, where the percentage of oxygen in the mixture is greater than that of normal air and does not exceed a maximum partial pressure of 1.6 atmospheres absolute of oxygen at any given time, but does not include therapeutic gas mixtures;

 

"operations manual"

means a manual contemplated in regulation 21;

 

"ROV"

means a submersible remotely operated vehicle;

 

"ROV operations record"

means a record containing the required particulars for each diving operation set out in Annexure B;

 

"ROV pilot"

means a registered ROV pilot contemplated in regulation 12(1), who is trained as an ROV pilot;

 

"ROV supervisor"

means a registered ROV supervisor contemplated in regulation 11 (1);

 

"SAUHMA"

means the Southern African Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Association;

 

"SCUBA"

means self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, in which the supply of breathing mixture carried by the diver is independent of any other source;

 

"systems technician"

means a technician appointed in accordance with regulation 8(3);

 

''trainee diving supervisor"

means a registered trainee diving supervisor contemplated in regulation 9(1), who has successfully completed the theoretical training for diving supervision and is working under the auspice of the qualified diving supervisor;

 

"training standard"

means a training standard made under regulation 24(a).