Program/Discipline/Service Name: Diving Business and Technology
Unit (if applicable):
Division: AS Degree
Report Prepared by: Robert Smith
Other Review Participants:
Hazel Hans, Bob Jason, and Mary Martin
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Reviewed by Vice President/Dean: Maureen Crowley
Vice President’s/Dean’s Signature: Date:
Date submitted to Institutional Effectiveness Committee: 05/05/05
Please refer to Instructional Program Review Procedures, Guidelines, and Responsibilities for prompts and assistance in completing this Review
I.The Program Profile
A.The Purpose
UNIT PURPOSE STATEMENT: The Diving Business and Technology Services program serves the community by providing high quality training, education and credentialing for the workforce in the business of recreational diving, work diving technology and hyperbaric medical technology.
- UNIT GOAL: To provide quality education
UNIT OBJECTIVES:
- Expand participation in the DBT degree programs
- Maintain the integrity of the contract work diving safety program
- Develop HMT Program
- Expand both the Diving Business and Technology (DBT) Program and the Hyperbaric Medical Technology (HMT) Program.
B.The Faculty
Most of the key staff members have been involved in the past in the development of the original materials, revision of those materials and the actual conduct of the vast majority of the Diving Safety courses since the beginning of such training. These individuals are also involved in both course development and course implementation in other areas of diving safety, emergency medical education, and work diving operations. Their specific responsibilities and qualifications are as follows:
Robert W. Smith, Course Director
Mr. Smith, Director of the FKCC Dive Program, is the Course Director. He was a major architect in the original Diving Safety Course Syllabus and also directed the training requirements study that identified the need for these courses.
Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and an M.A. in Educational Research. As a Senior Research Scientist with the American Institute for Research, he spent almost twenty years in the development of a wide variety of training and educational programs for business, industry and government--including the U.S. military.
Mr. Smith serves as the director of all underwater activities at FKCC. He has more than forty years of experience in diving operations and supervision and is one of the nation's leading experts in diving safety and emergency management. He was the founder and director of the Human Factors Research Diving Team for the American Institutes for Research. His work and research diving experience includes scuba and surface air operations, saturation/habitat diving, search and recovery and light salvage in such environments as river locks and dams, the Great Lakes, all coastal areas of the U.S., the Caribbean and the Red Sea. A Reserve Lieutenant with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, he is an active law enforcement diver and instructor.
Mr. Smith is a certified Master Diver, Law Enforcement Diver, Diver Medic, NOAA Aquanaut (saturation diver), and Scuba Instructor. He created this country's first national training and certification program for Rescue Divers. He still teaches actively and is a consultant to the U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations on the subject of diver stress, and is well published in this and other areas. His manual, Scuba Lifesaving and Accident Management (SLAM) is still widely used and he edited the most recent edition of New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving, the classic text used by over two million scuba students. He is co-author of a 1994 publication, O2 Use for Lifeguards, published by Ellis and Associates and in 2002 received an award for the training of more than 750 DAN O2 Providers. In 2003-04, Mr. Smith supervised the development and implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Underwater Port Security training program now utilized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as part of Homeland Security.
Dick Geyer, SAS Specialist-I
Mr. Geyer, an FKCC consultant and former owner of Professional Diving Services Inc., has been associated with the Diving Safety courses since their inception in 1976. Mr. Geyer was a project associate on the training requirements study, which developed the original Diving Safety course.
He has since been a principal staff member on almost all of the Diving Safety Courses conducted for the Corps of Engineers and is responsible particularly for surface-air-supplied training and orientation to USACE diving procedures. Mr. Geyer began his diving career in the U.S. Navy in 1960. After leaving the Navy, Mr. Geyer formed his company, Professional Diving Services, Inc., in 1965. He served as Chief Diver/Supervisor and has actively worked in the field for more than forty years. Mr. Geyer has logged over 6000 working dives.
Mr. Geyer has been on continuous contract as consultant and diving contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1967. His work encompasses all phases of construction and repair activity on USACE projects. Mr. Geyer has authored the curriculum for and taught Diving Tender Courses and Cutting/Welding Courses. Mr. Geyer was a major contributor to the original Diving Safety Course Syllabus, and much of his material is retained in the current course materials. He has developed training materials used in the National YMCA Scuba Manual as well as for PADI specialty courses at his training facility, and for a variety of diver training programs for the Army Corps of Engineers. As a Master Scuba Instructor and Instructor Trainer, he is highly experienced as a trainer of both recreational and working divers.
Mike McGovern, SAS Specialist-II
Mr. McGovern, an FKCC consultant and former Owner/President of Midwest Marine Contracting, Inc., is a major content author of the Diving Safety course materials, and has served as an instructor in that course since 1979. Mr. McGovern is responsible for providing much of the classroom and field training in SAS diving techniques.
As one of the original founders of Midwest Marine Contracting, Inc., in 1973, Mr. McGovern has supervised and completed many underwater projects for the government, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, EPA, State DOT’s, TVA, and U.S. Coast Guard, as well as the private sector. These inland projects have involved underwater construction and maintenance of hydroelectric dams, intake structures, pipeline crossings, bridges, locks and dams, water and waste water facilities, outfalls, nuclear reactors, and spent fuel pools, underwater salvage and demolition. He is a top graduate of Commercial Diving Center, Wilmington, CA. He has over twenty five years experience of the inland commercial diving field including Sur-De-O2 chamber operations above sea level, altitude dives above 12,000 elevation, commercial Nitrox diving, certified underwater welding program, contamination diving in both the nuclear environment and waste/contaminated water. His company developed the Series Exhaust Valve in the 1980’s for nuclear diving which is a standard today for all major diving helmets. He standardized the use of an air manifold/rack box for air diving operations and implemented four-wire communication in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, respectively.
Mr. McGovern was heavily involved in recreational scuba instruction as a YMCA Scuba field representative for ten years. Midwest Marine Contracting, Inc., was an active member of the Association of Diving Contractors, Inc. (ADC). He served six years on the Board of Directors of the ADC and was chairman of the Underwater Bridge Inspection Committee. He was formerly responsible for in-house training of all employees of Midwest Marine Contracting, Inc. In that capacity he developed a complete in-house program with all supporting course materials, including a diving training facility. He has developed training manuals in the areas of underwater welding/cutting procedures, mobile decompression chamber treatment, diving in a nuclear environment, commercial diving safety, and underwater bridge inspection. He is acknowledged as a contributor in the “Bridge Inspector’s Training Manual/90” published by the Federal Highway Administration.
Eric Denhart, Equipment Officer
Mr. Eric Denhart, an FKCC consultant and commercial diving operator in Key West, Florida, maintains the diving equipment for all of the Diving Safety Courses. Mr. Denhart has served as the Equipment Officer for all but one of the Diving Safety courses conducted in Key West, Florida, since 1980. He was employed as Dive Locker Manager at the National YMCA Center for Underwater Activities from 1980-1986, and was certified as a YMCA scuba instructor in 1981. He now operates his own commercial diving firm in Key West, Florida, which uses the full range of diving equipment, both scuba and SAS, utilized by working divers and applied to these courses.
Richard Zahorniak, Equipment Specialist
Mr. Richard Zahorniak, an FKCC consultant, equipment specialist and owner of High-Tech Diving and Safety, Inc., has staffed almost all of the Diving Safety courses conducted for the Corps since 1984. With commercial diving experience since 1976, and as owner of High-Tech Diving and Safety, Inc., since 1986, he specializes in equipment suitable for diving in contaminated and cold-water environments. He has contributed to the development of the NOAA and EPA standards on diving in hazardous environments, and is currently working with numerous government agencies where thermal protection and protection from the environment are absolutely critical.
Mr. Zahorniak holds Assistant Instructor and Divemaster certifications through PADI. He is a graduate of the Commercial Diving Program at Coastal Diving Academy in Bayshore, New York, with a rating of Commercial Deep Sea Diver and has worked as a diver/tender for Undersea Systems, Inc., and New York Submarine. His commercial diver experience included construction, inspection, and laying of power cables, power plant maintenance and offshore hydrographic studies. He has also developed programs to assist police and fire departments involved in Surface Air Supply and/or contaminated water diving.
Robert S. Jason, Facilities Manager and Instructor
Mr. Jason, Work Diving Instructor, Hyperbaric Technology Instructor, and Dive Facilities Manager at FKCC, is a retired Navy Diving Instructor and Diving Supervisor. Chief Jason began diving in 1962, became a U.S. Navy Diver in 1968 and a Scuba Instructor in 1973. His work diving experience includes underwater construction, mixed gas use, welding and cutting, underwater blasting and salvage. His diving specialties include Dive Rescue, Ice Diving, Deep Diving, Underwater Search and Recovery, Underwater Photography, Research Diving, Nitrox Diving and Law Enforcement Diving. He is experienced with cold weather, river, and surf operations. Mr. Jason taught scuba diving at Trinity College, Central Connecticut State College and Choate Rosemary Hall before coming to FKCC in 1993, where, in addition to instructing, he has been responsible for development of advanced courses in Equipment Repair, Underwater Photography, and Diving Medical Technician. In 2003-04, he developed and implemented an Anti-Terrorism Underwater Port Security training program now utilized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as part of Homeland Security. He has designed and installed the facilities air system, nitrox system and hyperbaric system as well as maintenance of the physical facilities utilized in this course.
Hazel J. Hans, Business Manager
Mrs. Hans, a Scuba Instructor and Coordinator of Diving Programs at FKCC, serves as the Business Manager for all of the Work Diving courses conducted at FKCC. She holds her Scuba Instructor certification through PADI and her O2 Instructor certification through DAN. She is also a certified Lifeguard and a Water Safety Instructor with the American Red Cross. She holds an A.S. Degree from FKCC in Diving Business Management and a B.A. in Business Administration.
Mrs. Hans has been diving since 1968. Her work diving experience encompasses marine and archeological research projects. She has served as both an instructor and an administrator on Army Corps and other diving courses at FKCC since 1992.
Kenny Lingle, Technical Diving Specialist
Mr. Lingle has been a diving instructor at FKCC since 1994, teaching both basic and advanced scuba as well as equipment repair, dive rescue and dive master courses. He now also serves as primary instructor for the college’s scuba instructor training courses. During this time he has also served regularly as a staff member on the college’s Work Diving Safety courses. Mr. Lingle holds AS degrees in Diving Business Technology and Business Administration, as well as an AA degree. His certifications include PADI Master Instructor, NAUI Instructor, EAN Instructor, 1st Aid/CPR Instructor, DAN O2 Instructor, EAN Gas Blender, Tri-Mix Gas Blender, and Technical Diver.
Mr. Lingle began diving in 1972. His diving history includes over 4,000 dives; with experience in salvage diving, search and recovery, zero visibility, and open ocean diving. He is qualified and experienced in decompression diving using both technical scuba (multi-gas) and surface-air supplied equipment.
Marshall L. Harris, Primary Scuba Instructor
Mr. Harris has served as an Adjunct Instructor for FKCC’s degree program in Diving Business and Technology as well as its Work Diving Safety program since 1996. He holds an AS degree in Diving Business and Technology and is certified as a Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Scuba Instructor, EMS First Responder and Firefighter III. He is a qualified hyperbaric chamber operator and holds his 100-ton Captain’s license.
Mr. Harris has been diving since 1962. He began working as a law enforcement diver in 1973, first with the Panama Canal Zone police and then with the US Customs Marine Enforcement Division. His other work diving experience includes surface-air-supplied decompression diving. Mr. Harris worked for the U.S. Marshal’s Service from 1989 until 2000. He also worked as a volunteer fire/rescue firefighter with the Sugarloaf Fire Department from 1990 until 2002.
Dr. Richard Guobaitis, Diving Medical Officer
Dr. Guobaitis joined FKCC as its Diving Medical Officer in 2002 and will serve in that capacity during this course. Dr Guobaitis earned his M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1997 and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Boston City hospital in 1991. During ten years at the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Guobaitis served appointments as Attending Physician, Instructor, Emergency Medicine Advisor, Faculty Advisor and Education Director. During that same time, he served as Medical Director for several local dive operators. At the present time, Dr. Guobaitis is the Diving Medical Officer for the project raising the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley several miles outside Charleston Harbor. He is responsible for the medical care of over fifty divers and has produced all safety and medical protocols used in that project.
Dr. Guobaitis relocated to Key West in 2001 as a Partner at the Truman Medical Center. He also serves as Preceptor for Third Year Medical Students for the University of Miami and Dartmouth Medical School, and as Medical consultant for Mel Fisher’s Salvage Management Co.
Claude (CJ) Behrens, Instructor
CJ Behrens is recently retired from over twenty years of service with the US Navy as a Chief Petty Officer and Chief Diver. His assignments included Leading Chief Petty Officer and Division/Detachment Officer at Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Detachment Eighteen as well as Safety Officer, Division Officer and Weapons Officer of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two (MDSU 2). Both of these assignments involved mine search and recovery operations using hand held active sonar, Dukane sonar and Pinger receivers and Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
Chief Behrens was a diver and supervisor on the TWA-800 recovery and salvage operation that retrieved over 90% of the materials at depths greater than 100 ft. Following 9/11 he supervised and dived 2.5 days of around-the-clock mine search hull inspections on all naval vessels in the Port of Norfolk.
While Division Officer at MDSU 2, Chief Behrens brought on line a “pre-dive school” diver candidate training program that produced a 98% graduation rate against the 60% school average. He is currently certified as a NAUI Scuba Instructor and is completing requirements for his AS degree in Diving Business and Technology at Florida Keys Community College.
Ronald K. Miller, Instructor
Ron Miller has been with theFairfax County Police Department since 1976. Fairfax County is in the Northern Virginiaarea, which is located outsideWashington, D.C. He is currently assigned to the Homicide Unit in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. He recently completed over five years in the Sexual Assault Unit. Since 1976his assignments included Patrol, Narcotics, Child Services, Financial Crimes, Fugitive Unit and Flight Officer Medic on the Helicopter Unit with special responsibility for Aquatic Safety. He has been involved in Underwater Search and Recovery work since the early 1970's and is the leading Co-Founder/Instructor of Fairfax County's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit. He is currently an Instructor with theNational Academy of Police Diving and holds several other keycertifications.
Mr. Miller is a certified YMCA Gold Star Scuba Instructor who has been diving since 1969 and instructing since 1975. He holds Specialty Instructor certificates in Public Safety Diving, Search and Recovery, SLAM, and Ice Diving. He is also a certified Swift Water Rescue Technician and has developed training programs in these specialties. He is co-author of the YMCA Underwater Search and Recovery Manual. Mr. Miller has been the Course Director of the Scuba Lifesaving and Accident Management (SLAM) program in the northern Virginia area since 1984. His research and work diving experience includes search and recovery and light salvage in the eastern United States, including Key West Harbor, and archeological research diving in the English Channel. He has served as a Lead Instructor for large cruise ship hull search training in the Port of Key West.
Mr. Miller holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in Forensic Science/Special Studies from George Washington University (Washington, DC). He is certified as an instructor in Underwater Police Science and Technology and is a Virginia certified law enforcement instructor.