Computers and Decompression Planning

[scubert]

Gert,
I think this problem is symptomatic of the whole dive industry right now. There exists an attitude of "no problem" to all of diving right now, perpetuated by the big training companies. Divers can advance through courses too quickly without actual dive experience, and without the repetition of even basic skills needed to turn actions into reflex-actions. Mix-gas computers are another sign of this ever softening skill requirement.
I am always suprised when people don't have ANY dive plan, even an informal one. I won't pretend that I sit down at my computer and plan every dive I make before I make it, but I do have an idea of our max depth for a dive and my air comsumption at that depth and the reserve I want to leave. I do use my computer as a guide throughout the dive, but then I rarely do deco, and if I do it's only a short hang with the same gas used on the bottom.
While I think a lot of DIR/GUE procedures are fantastic, I don't always think you need to 'do it right' to do it correctly. However, something needs to be done to stiffen the big training agencies requirements, or possibly lengthen the training again, or more accidents WILL begin to happen