BSAC rightly puts a lot of emphasis on the Dive Manager's SEEDS briefing as it's a vital control for safer diving. Sometimes, however, team planning and briefing are overlooked. This bad habit may reflect the 'dive shop' mentality where, after the group briefing, customers follow dive-masters around. Insufficient team focus can result in confusion and diving incidents.

Why team diving?

BSAC Safe Diving Guide: Divers operate as a unit, with each diver taking some responsibility for the safety of the other(s).

Two heads and two pairs of hands are better than one in avoiding incidents and dealing with them if they occur. In recreational diving your buddy carries your emergency breathing gas supply.

Team roles

BSAC Safe Diving Guide: Before every dive everyone should be clear who is going to lead the dive ... It should also be understood and agreed beforehand that the [team] leader’s decisions and directions will be adhered to.

We may need to make decisions during a dive - whether for safety or just to have a better dive. It's better for a team to agree on a leader so that the person is aware of their role and makes decisions in a more efficient and timely manner than would be the case with two self-appointed leaders or no leader at all! Sometimes the choice of leader can be obvious, but even if not it's still better to have one decision-maker. If you're not the team leader on a dive, it doesn't mean that you should be passive and unthinking. Be alert and assist the team leader! Your situational awareness is important. Other roles may also be agreed. In navigation, for example, the second diver may keep compass heading while the team leader maintains depth and lookout. One diver may have the job to put up the DSMB.

Positioning

BSAC Safe Diving Guide: Before every dive everyone should be clear ... how you will be positioned underwater ... You should think carefully about how you will position yourself relative to each other.

Team members must be able to monitor each other and communicate easily and to assist one another quickly in an emergency. Teams should also be close together on the surface, where many diving incidents occur, and where two or more divers together are more easily seen.

Divers should generally be about three to five metres apart. In low visibility you need to be closer and sometimes even in physical contact. Where possible, it is good to be side by side at around the same depth so that you can see each other with minimal effort. For trainees the safest position is on your instructor's right side, at the same depth as them. This position allows you to keep an eye on each other at all times and the leader can check your SPG and quickly reach your buoyancy controls if required.

Sometimes single file is a better option. The diver in front must turn and confirm their buddy is there and OK. If you are behind, then keep approximately the same station so that the leader knows where to look for you. You can stop or go in another direction but just let the leader know first! Obviously this all becomes critical in poor visibility, at night, in wrecks or swim-throughs. Dive torches can be a useful proximity aid. Your buddy will not need to turn and check on you as often if they regularly see your light beam in their field of view. This needs to be discussed prior to the dive.

Bad positioning is when you're too far away and/or constantly changing depth, distance and position behind the leader. The worst position of all is above and behind the leader. This is the most dangerous position and ironically the one most favoured by novice divers! It's bad practice to allow other divers or any large structure to come between you and your buddy. If this occurs then you're too far apart and probably not sufficiently buddy-aware. You can also be too close to your buddy. Unless poor visibility demands it, don't be so close that you're within the arc of your buddy's kicks. It's annoying and you could have your mask or demand valve dislodged.

Photography

If there is a large camera and/or dedicated photographer in the team, the team must consider and agree whether and how it can dive safely in prevailing conditions. Photography can give rise to two important hazards. The first relates to large cameras that impede efficient swimming because of size and drag and/or because they need to be carried. The second relates to task-focus on photography and resulting lack of situational awareness and focus on safe diving.

Non-standard diving equipment and configurations

The team members of divers using non-standard equipment such as rebreathers must be briefed appropriately including, but not limited to, how to execute all aspects of a CBL if that becomes necessary. The buddy of such a diver must be confident of their ability to assist/rescue them. 

Team dive planning and SEEDS briefing

BSAC Safe Diving Guide: A dive plan understood and agreed by all divers prior to entering the water is essential.

A team dive planning discussion does not need to be formal or lengthy but it can be if required. Many issues will have been covered by the DM briefing for the group. The team briefing is focussed on the two or three divers in the team. The SEEDS approach can be used. Some things you might want to discuss are:

Safety

• Goals of the dive / team members
• Confirm divers are truly confident. Discuss any concerns. Discuss special requirements e.g. slow descents.
• If required, discuss special team strategies for managing hazards from the DM-SEEDS briefing.

Exercise = Agreed team dive plan

• Conduct: With regards to hazards and team issues methodically go over the team dive plan: safe entry – safe descent - route – max depth and profile - gas and time milestones - ascent - decompression - safe exit - "what-ifs"
• Role/s of team members e.g. navigation, DSMB deployment

Equipment and gas in the team

• Gas: O2% and quantities; computer settings; MODs and NDT
• Cameras and photography; new equipment
• Rescue of divers using rebreathers or special configurations

Discipline

• How team will stay together - proximity, positioning

Signals

• Communication - special team signals not covered in DM briefing
• Identification - unique kit for identification underwater

After this briefing the team can conduct its pre-dive (BAR) checks and enter the water, confident they are diving as a unified team.