A history of safe and successful operation is a good indication that your business is healthy and well run, but it does not mean that you are not at risk. Risk will always exist, despite all best efforts.
DAN's HIRA program allows you to take a second look at your operation with a critical eye and an extensive set of criteria. It's all too easy for even the most experienced among us to become complacent and overlook old hazards or new risks that have arisen. Going through the program may reinforce that your risks are well managed, but the process is at least as valuable as its, result and you'll be able to set a baseline by which you can measure future hazards and operations.

As a dive operator, the HIRA program will introduce you to entirely new fields of risk management and liability. Organized risk management, as seen in aerospace and healthcare, has not been adopted in the diving industry, even though the same types of lawsuits and losses occur. Risk is everywhere in the dive industry, and it’s easy to take that for granted or overlook the hazards. As operators and as people responsible for the safety of our employees and customers, that is something we cannot afford. The DAN HIRA program is one way for us to check ourselves and make sure that we are not taking safety for granted. Absence of accidents does not necessarily indicate safety.

Even dive professionals who do not own a dive center or shop with still face numerous hazards both in and out of the water. Being able to identify problems with operations, liability management and even customers is crucial to professionals ability to protect themselves and their students and operate successfully. Dive professionals still face risks from teaching, transporting equipment and students, running or organizing charters and many other necessary aspects of a dive business. These concerns are frequently overlooked, and they put dive professionals in harm’s way. The DAN HIRA program was designed to remedy that and keep you safe while you teach and protect your students.

The DAN HIRA program was designed to help the dive industry thrive, reduce businesses’s losses and prevent injuries. The dive industry cannot survive without its professionals, and improving dive safety cannot be limited to just recreational divers. It is provided at no cost to DAN Pro and Club Members and Business Partners as a proactive way of promoting safety in our communities and keeping our industry thriving.

The DAN HIRA program is designed for all dive professionals. Whether you are an instructor, charter operator, shop owner or run a business that offers watersports as a secondary source of income, HIRA can be applied to your operation. Because of the broad user base for the program, not all facets will be applicable to all operations and it is up to you to determine which portions of the program you stand to benefit from. This is a tool designed to help you manage your own risk and not an audit or compliance program. The goal is to help capable and driven operators improve their businesses and reduce their liability.