PADI Risk Management Seminar Koh Samui 22nd July 2007

PADI's Risk Management Seminar Koh Samui 22nd July 2007





Was held at Centara Grand Beach Resort http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/ and presented by Richard Evans.

The seminar is about a dive related fatality and is filmed in a real Sydney court room where PADI Asia Pacific staff is role playing, being the accused dive instructor, plaintiff, lawyer for the defendant etc.

New in the seminar is a 10 minute part of the actual (simulated) dive, which makes the seminar a lot more interesting and visual.

In Koh Samui about 30 PADI members turned out for the seminar, the previous day in Koh Tao, 130 PADI members showed up in a far smaller room!




Here's a picture of Richard Evans and myself, just before the start of the seminar. Richard is a very well skilled and experienced presenter who has lots of interesting samples of real life stories that he sprinkles around during his presentation, especially in the questions and answers part. He's been working for PADI for 4 different regional offices for the last 17 years being involved with handling diving accidents.

Sitting in on one of his seminars is highly recommended and a very good learning experience that shows you how important Risk mgmt is in diving.




Richard during the introduction of the seminar, still using the Koh Tao slides!



A frontal view of the participants of the seminar. They seem to be very interested in what Richard has to say.

Upon closing the seminar, Richard asked everybody driving a motorbike, to drive home safely.

A point well made, since being on my own way home in my car, I witnessed the aftermath of a very messy accident involving two or three motorbikes with a very dead looking Thai person still lying on the ground with severe head wounds (not using a helmet, which unfortunately seems to be the accepted standard on Samui). One more sign that your daily life is a string of decision that can be directed by good risk mgmt.

On a different note, at the Centara Grand Beach hotel, next to the conference rooms, are three cabinets filled with shells from Thailand (or which used to be found in Thailand). A very interesting collection it truly is. This is a picture of one of the three cabinets.



One of the cabinets has this beautiful Nautilus shell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus in it, which is high on my list of things still to spot underwater.

If you have the chance to visit a PADI seminar, try to visit, especially Risk seminars for the dive professionals are well worth your time.

Stay wet and dive safely,

Camille

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