EUF Certification
European and International Standards define the state of the art for safety and quality of scuba diving training organisations and dive centers.
EUF Certification International provides them the opportunity to prove their competence and quality of service and confirms as an independent body, that a service has been tested and that its quality is subject to proper control mechanisms.
A co-operation between the European Underwater Federation (EUF) and Austrian Standards.
The European Underwater Federation was first formed in 1989 by a number of non profit distributing European diver federations and subsequently expanded to include the major profit distributing training agencies. It thus acts as a platform to represent and protect the interests of European recreational diver at the EU level. EUF has supported the development of such standards by the CEN working group. EUF is the European platform for the recreational diving community and is a non-profit company limited by guarantee and registered in the UK.
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TRAINING ORGANISATIONS/SYSTEM
HOW CERTIFICATION WORKS
All entities providing recreational scuba diving training systems and certification and which assume responsibility for the implementation and quality management of scuba diver and scuba instructor training can apply for certification. The standards provide the opportunity for certification of scuba divers as well as for scuba diving instructors.
On submission of the application for certification, the training organisation must provide specified information and documentation (e.g. training standards, training material for students). These are checked as to whether they meet the requirements of the applicable standards and justify the performance of on-site audits.
Assessments within the framework of the certification procedures are carried out by an audit team. This audit team is composed of a Lead Auditor who is appointed by Austrian Standards and a Technical Auditor who is a professional from the diving training industry.
In order to validate the practical aspects of the training system, on-site audits are performed by the observation of a number of scuba diver and scuba instructor training events at appropriate levels. The number of training events to be audited is determined from the number of certifications issued per year.
EUF Certification International assesses on the basis of the audit report as to whether the training organisation has met all requirements in accordance with the European/International Standards. The certificate will be valid for a maximum of 5 years.
Relevant Standards
EN 14153/ISO 24801
The European Standard EN 14153 / International Standard ISO 24801 consists of the following parts:
- EN 14153-1 / ISO 24801-1 Recreational diving services - Safety related minimum requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 1: Level 1 "Supervised Diver"
- EN 14153-2 / ISO 24801-2 Recreational diving services - Safety related minimum requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 2: Level 2 "Autonomous Diver"
- EN 14153-3 / ISO 24801-3 Recreational diving services - Safety related minimum requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers - Part 3: Level 3 "Dive Leader"
Competencies and qualifications of recreational scuba divers of the different levels:
EN 14413/ISO 24802
The European Standard EN 14413 / International Standard ISO 24802 consists of the following parts:
- EN 14413-1 / ISO 24802-1 Recreational Diving Services - Safety related minimum requirements for the training of scuba instructors - Part 1: Level 1
- EN 14413-2 / ISO 24802-2 Recreational Diving Services - Safety related minimum requirements for the training of scuba instructors - Part 2: Level 2
- ISO 11107 Recreational diving services - Requirements for training programmes on enriched air nitrox (EAN) diving
- ISO 11121 Recreational diving services - Requirements for introductory training program-mes to scuba diving
Competencies and qualifications of recreational scuba instructors of the different levels:
DIVE CENTERS
Prior to the audit, the applicant shall submit written documentation (e.g. legal form and organizational structure of the service, description of all offered services, list of diving personnel) regarding the services to be certified. The documentation shall be checked and evaluated by the Lead Auditor prior to the audit. A positive evaluation of the documentation is a prerequisite for the conduction of the on-site audit(s).
All assessments in the framework of the specified certification procedures shall be carried out by at least a Lead Auditor. The Lead Auditor is appointed by Austrian Standards. The Lead Auditor may be accompanied by a Technical Auditor with experience in the field of recreational diving service provision.
In order to validate conformity of the services offered, evidential audit(s) shall be performed where access to the diver training records can be provided and where the observation of scuba diver training events, guided and/or organised dives is possible. The audits consist of a theoretical and a practical part.
The result of the audit is assessed by EUF Certification International. The positive assessment of the audit is the prerequisite for the issue of the certificate. The certificate will be valid for a maximum of 6 years if intermediate audits are carried out at least every 2 years.
Relevant Standard
EN 14467 / ISO 24803
The standard EN 14467 / ISO 24803 specifies performance requirements for the service provider, commonly known as the "Dive Center".
A service provider can offer scuba diver training and education, guided dives and rental of diving equipment, and can offer courses leading to one or more of the scuba diver or scuba instructor qualifications specified in.
This International Standard specifies requirements for each of these services separately. Thus, although a client might be provided with two services at the same time, for example diver training and rental of diving equipment, the client is considered to be in receipt of two distinct services.
Service providers may often supply compressed breathing gases. This service is not covered in this International Standard as it is usually covered by national legislation.
This International Standard for service providers has a key role in this series of standards for recreational diving services as it specifies requirements that are common to the provision of training and certification of scuba divers and scuba instructors as specified in the other standards in the series.
