Knowledge is not enough.
We must apply.
Willing is not enough.
We must do.
We help you be better than yesterday.
We focus on leadership, teamwork, communication, situation awareness, decision-making, operating under pressure, learning reviews, HOP, psychological safety and just culture...
Recreation & Technical
Recreational & Technical Diving
From open water to cave and rebreather, the gaps in your training are rarely technical. Your agency taught you what to do. We cover what happens when a team stops communicating, when a plan loses its flexibility, when no one says what they're thinking. That's where dives go wrong — and that's what we teach.
Commercial & Occupational
Commercial & Occupational Diving
Commercial diving operates inside management systems, risk registers, and permit-to-work frameworks. Those systems are necessary. They are also not sufficient. The human side — team dynamics, supervisor decisions, stop-work authority, normalisation of deviance/risk — is where your serious incidents will come from. We bridge the gap between your documented procedures and how work actually gets done.
Defence & Special Operations
Military Diving
Military diving teams operate at the intersection of technical complexity, operational pressure, and hierarchical culture. Power distance, mission focus, and the reluctance to report near-misses are systemic challenges, not individual weaknesses. Our programmes — drawn from military aviation and adapted for defence diving — address them directly, in the language of people who have served.
Two sides of the performance coin:
- Does your organisation develop leaders and teams to operate in uncertain and complex environments so failure is less likely?
- Do your investigations genuinely seek to understand how it made sense for people, up and down the system, to do what they did, and feedback those lessons identified into the system to be lessons learned?
Human in the System exists for the leader who knows their teams can be better than today, and are willing to make an investment based on growth not compliance. We don't do 'box-ticking' development.
We also support those leaders who have read enough incident reports to know that 'human error' is a label, not an explanation, and who want to create a learning culture that tangibly improves their operational capacity and performance.
Built from Operational Experience
Gareth Lock, the 'human diver guy' is not a safety theorist who consults on diving and other industries. He is a technical and rebreather diver with approximately 800 dives, a fatal accident investigator for two national defence forces, and a former senior RAF officer and a tactical flight instructor. The frameworks are built from inside the environments they describe.
Grounded in Evidence
Two postgraduate degrees (Human Factors and System Safety at Lund, Sweden; Aerospace Systems at Kingston, UK), a completed MSc thesis on storytelling and learning, and fifteen years of applied research in incident analysis and non-technical skills. Academic rigour without academic distance - a pracademic.
Designed for Transfer
Every programme is built around the principle that knowledge that stays in the training room is not knowledge — it is attendance. The High-Velocity Learning LAB methodology creates the conditions in which participants discover the answers rather than receive them. That distinction is where behaviour change happens.
Where do you want to start?
Self
Coaching and individual development for leaders who want to think differently about how they make decisions, lead teams, and respond to unwanted outcomes.
Teams
Workshops and experiential programmes for teams who need to perform under uncertainty, communicate across distributed knowledge, and debrief honestly.
Organisations
Investigations, speaking, systemic interventions and long-programme engagements for organisations ready to examine how work actually happens — not how it was imagined.
Organisations that keep investigating incidents the same way will keep reaching the same conclusions. The systemic conditions that produced the last unwanted event will remain in place.
Operators who build excellent technical skills without building non-technical skills are preparing for the task they expect — not the one that tests them.
The question is not whether this work has value. The question is what it costs to keep operating without it. Find out what that financial value is...
Placeholder quotes — replace before launch
"After the workshop, I stopped writing 'complacency' in my investigation reports. I started asking what made the action make sense at the time. That single shift changed the quality of every debrief we run."
[Name], [Operations Manager], [Commercial Diving]
"This is the most useful training I have attended in twenty years of diving operations. Nothing else comes close."
[Name], [Diving Supervisor], [Offshore Energy]
"Gareth's work gave our safety team a language for the things we already knew but could not articulate to leadership."
[Name], [HSEQ Director], [Marine Construction]
"We brought this programme to forty instructors across three countries. The effect on incident reporting quality was measurable within six months."
[Name], [Training Director], [Technical Diving Agency]
Placeholder — replace before launch
"The programme fundamentally changed how I approach incident investigation. I used to look for the person who made the error. Now I look for the conditions that made the error predictable. Three of my team have since completed the course, and the quality of our safety reporting has improved beyond anything I could have mandated through policy alone. This is not training as I understood it — it is a shift in how you see the system."
[Name], [Technical Diving Instructor / Commercial Diving Supervisor / HSEQ Leader], [Organisation or Country]
The body of work behind this is substantial. Podcasts, articles in InDepth Magazine, the Human Factors in Diving course series, and the book Under Pressure. All of it builds toward the same question: how do we get better at understanding why things go wrong?
Human in the System
Be Better Than Yesterday
Human in the System
Be Better Than Yesterday
© 2026 The Human Diver
ONLINE
The next LEARNING FROM UNINTENDED OUTCOMES online course will be running in May 2023, dates TBC but will run 17:00 GMT each day. Each online session will last 3.5 hours and finish at 20:30 GMT.
Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com
Next Class Dates/Times
The next 10-week webinar-based classes will start on 15 February 2022 starting 19:30 AEDT (time zone converter below). This is based around Australia/Far East attendees and taught by Mike Mason.
15 Feb - Introduction to HF, Non-Technical Skills and Human Error in Diving and Case Study introduction.
22 Feb - Psychological Safety and Just Culture
1 Mar - Situational Awareness
8 Mar - Decision Making
15 Mar - Communications
22 Mar - Leadership & Followership in Diving
29 Mar - Teamwork
5 Apr - Performance Shaping Factors (Stress & Fatigue)
12 Apr - Incident Reporting & Checklists
19 Apr - Goals and Accountability
Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com
ONLINE
The next LEARNING FROM UNINTENDED OUTCOMES Online course will run from 13:00-17:00 British Summer Time (BST) on 3, 10, 20, 22 and 25 September 2023.
Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com
WHAT YOU'LL GET FROM THE COURSE...
Face-to-Face Interaction/
Live Interactive Webinars
This course is available in two forms. Both involve some pre-learning to ensure the core theory is understood before the interactive sessions occur.
The two-day face-to-face workshop provides practical exercises, case studies and developing an understanding of how an event occurred by examining local rationality and using relationship-based models to help create understanding.
The 5 x 3.5 hr webinar session content is the same as the workshop but arranged over 5 sessions which allow the learning to be consolidated and not get Zoom-frazzled.
Applied Learning
Both workshops will give you plenty of practical skills and knowledge to develop an understanding of how an adverse event could have developed.
It is not about root causes (they don't exist!) but rather the emergence of factors and the presence of error-producing conditions, and how they interact.
You will be given the basic skills to make sense of an adverse event using a learning perspective, not a blaming one, working to understand what 'normal' looks like.
You won't be given a silver bullet to solve problems, but you will be given insight into how to understand local rationality to help prevent future adverse events.
Consolidated Learning
There is no way you can learn and remember everything during these two days or 5 x 3.5 hrs sessions. Therefore, each of the online sessions will be recorded and made available to the course participants. (Private information will be removed from the recordings).
After the class, there will also be regular emails every two weeks out to three months reminding you of some of the aspects of the class.
Course materials and reference papers will be made available in the back end of The Human Diver website.
BONUSES
As a student of this class, you will be given access to additional materials like presentations and briefing notes only available to those who complete a face-to-face class with The Human Diver. The goal being to grown your knowledge, develop your skills and help you take action.
YOUR TUTOR
GARETH LOCK, MSC, MCIEHF
Gareth founded The Human Diver in January 2016 when he recognised that there was a gap in knowledge within the diving community when it came to human factors, non-technical skills and the need for a Just Culture. You can see a detailed background here
He has led two reviews into military diving fatalities, one for UK MOD and one overseas with a close military ally, along with examining numerous case studies to help understand the key question 'how did it make sense'. In the global safety domain, he is recognised as someone at the leading edge of ideas of how to improve operational safety by understanding 'Work as Done' as it compares to 'Work as Imagined'.
He is currently undertaking an MSc in HF and System Safety at Lund University looking at 'Second Stories' and whether they contribute to learning.
MIKE MASON
Mike spent 20 years in the Royal Air Force, most of it flying on frontline squadrons. He now works as a flying instructor in the Royal Australian Air Force teaching young pilots to fly fighters. As well as being an accomplished instructor, he is an experienced flying supervisor and holder of a commercial pilot’s licence.
He has been an active diver since 2015 and has around 300 dives in his logbook from as far north as Iceland and as far south as New Zealand. He works part-time as a Dive Master and is also an active CCR diver. Wrecks interest him the most but he gets just as much satisfaction taking groups to see Grey Nurse Sharks at his local dive sites.
Due to his career in military aviation, Mike has lived and breathed Human Factors for his entire professional life. As he became involved with diving expeditions and supervision, he realised how much the diving world could learn from aviation. He is a great believer in Human Factors and how an awareness of them can make time spent underwater safer and more rewarding.
WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY
"This class has been a game changer for myself as it has given me the HF tools and knowledge as to how I plan to understand, interact and communicate with my dive community, dive team, work, family and even strangers."
Josh Maxwell
"In my case, It's made me dive again. I ended up very disappointed professionally with this industry, certain aspects and certain people. So much so that I even lost the desire to go in the water.
This last month, I have already done seventeen dives. I have also been motivated and encouraged by the fact that there are many people (in this case my fellow seminarians) who want a breath of fresh air in this world and to improve and change certain aspects."
Jamie Sanchez
FAQ'S
WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES FROM THE COURSE?
- Outcome 1. Oversee and manage the investigation process in line with your organisation’s or team’s guidelines regarding the severity of the event.
- Outcome 2. Lead an investigation, proactively identify latent conditions, organisational weaknesses and develop smart corrective actions.
- Outcome 3. Create an environment where people can identify error likely situations and potential incidents and are free to speak up without retribution.
- Outcome 4. Lead and influence the change needed to create learning within the team or organisation to support outcomes 1-3.
WHAT IS THE INVESTMENT?
It is just £400 (approx $500) - you have lifetime access to these materials as well as the alumni community.
WHAT DO I NEED TO COMPLETE THE CLASS?
The only thing you need is a web browser (PC or Mac) and an internet connection. As there will be interaction using web browsers and Zoom, using a mobile device on its own won't work for the interactive elements.
There are no prerequisites in terms of diving certification. Level 0: Essentials of Human Factors in Diving, is required for both the Level 3.0 online and 3.1 & 3.2 face-to-face courses.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO COMPLETE?
The course takes place over 16 hours of direct student contact and 4 hours of pre-learning and mid-course learning/consolidation via online self-study. Direct contact is either 2 x full days in a physical classroom, or 5 x 3.5-hour sessions (which includes breaks).
DO I GET A CERTIFICATE OR C-CARD?
You do get a certificate from The Human Diver which you can use for continuing professional development as long as you complete each of the homework assignments.
The course is not currently underwritten by any of the diver training agencies so you won't get a bit of plastic. Sorry! However, we are trying to do our bit regarding single use plastic.
ARE SESSIONS RECORDED?
Yes, all of the sessions are recorded which means you can refer back to them or if you are busy and can't make a session, then you can catch up later, via your laptop/desktop or via the mobile app available for iOS and Android.
HOW LONG DO I GET ACCESS?
You have lifetime access, and you’ll receive an update when we update course reference materials.
"Someone once asked me what the difference between Knowledge and wisdom is; Knowledge is gained from one's own experience, Wisdom is obtained from others experience. I feel that this class truly embodies this quote."
Jacqueline Patek
OW Diver and OR Nurse
AWARD WINNING PROGRAMME
We were so delighted that the Online Micro Class was awarded The Innovation Award at the 2018 TekDiveUSA Technical Diving Conference.
“For innovation and/or product design that has increased the safety and extended the field of technical diving.”
100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
We are so confident that you’ll benefit from this 10-Week Webinar Programme that if you’re not 100% happy with it we’ll refund your money. All we ask is that you provide some robust feedback within a month of completing the programme as to why the learning didn't happen and how we can make the class better. What do you have to lose?
Human factors and learning for high-risk work
We help high-risk organisations build teams that make adverse events less likely, and learn properly when something does happen.
Programmes and learning reviews built from operational experience in military aviation and accident investigation, and grounded in safety science.
- Defence
- Offshore energy
- Healthcare
- Search and rescue
- Engineering and construction
Trusted by teams in defence, energy, space, healthcare and beyond
Why nothing changes
Most organisations are looking in the wrong place.
When something goes wrong, the investigation usually stops at the last person to touch it. The report names an error, recommends retraining, and the conditions that shaped the decision stay where they were. When things go well, hardly anyone asks why.
Over time, the gap between how work is imagined and how it is actually done gets wider. The organisation meets the same event again, in a slightly different form, and is surprised each time.
- Plans that assume the situation will stay as it was briefed.
- Reports that end with "human error" or "complacency".
- Concerns that people notice but don't feel able to voice.
- Lessons identified that never become lessons learned.
How we work
Everything centres on the event.
An event is any outcome that emerges from normal work – a success as much as a failure. What happens before it shapes how likely it is, and how well your teams cope when it arrives. What happens after it decides whether anything changes.
Before the event
Make it less likely, and cope well when it comes
- High-Velocity Learning LAB
- Train the Trainer
- Safety leadership coaching
After the event
Understand how it made sense at the time
- Learning from Emergent Outcomes
- Just Culture workshops
- Investigations and advisory
What you learn after the event goes back into how teams prepare and operate
If you work with bow-tie analysis, the shape will look familiar. The bow-tie centres on losing control of a hazard and stops at the consequences. Here the event can be a success or a failure, and what you learn goes back into the left-hand side. That return path is what makes change last.
What we do
Programmes for both sides of the event.
Build teams that adapt when the plan stops fitting.
Most incidents don't start with a technical failure. They grow out of how a team communicates, leads and decides when the situation is moving faster than the plan. These programmes build that capability through experience rather than slides.
High-Velocity Learning LAB
An immersive simulation in which no one can solve the problem alone. Teams work under time pressure, then debrief what really happened, and discover for themselves how they communicate, lead and decide.
Train the Trainer
Build facilitation skills in your own people so they can lead debriefs and learning conversations that look at conditions, not just actions, long after we have gone.
Safety leadership coaching
One-to-one work with leaders who want to change how they respond to bad news, how they run debriefs, and the conditions they set for people to speak up.
Learn how it made sense to the people involved.
"Human error" is a label, not an explanation. These programmes build the skills to review events, good and bad, by looking at the conditions people were working in, so the lessons reach the system rather than stopping at an individual.
Learning from Emergent Outcomes
Build the capability to run learning reviews that look past the last action to the conditions behind it. Based on the LFEO framework and the book of the same name.
Just Culture workshop
How your organisation responds when things go wrong shapes what gets reported next time. This workshop helps leaders respond in a way that keeps people talking.
Investigations and advisory
Independent learning reviews of serious events, and support for your own investigators. Drawn from fatal accident investigations carried out for two national defence forces.
Long programmes
A programme that connects both sides of the event, so what you learn from reviews shapes how your teams prepare, brief and debrief. Built around your operation and measured against outcomes you agree with us at the start.
Speaking and keynotes
Keynotes and leadership sessions on human factors, Just Culture and learning from everyday work. Grounded in stories from aviation, defence and accident investigation, with something practical to take away.
Results
What changes when the conditions change.
A few words from people who have been through our programmes. See more results →
My initial reservations were rooted in thoughts of, "this safety course will only serve to make my team and I too risk-averse." The opposite is the truth. … they can achieve more, enjoy more, and as a side-effect, they will be safer.
I'm currently in a position where I'm often leading a team of people much more experienced than I am – doing this course has helped me see how to lead without needing to be the most experienced person in the room.
I often find it challenging to truly grasp/engage with the components of courses that teach 'soft' skills… I found the structure of the course, with a mix of learning modules followed by scenarios that actually required using the skills, to be extremely effective in solving this disconnect.
How we start
A simple way in.
A curious conversation
A short call to understand what is going on in your organisation and whether we are the right people to help. There is nothing to prepare.
A proposal that fits your context
We agree the outcomes, format and cost in writing before anything is booked, so you know exactly what you are taking back to your leadership team.
Delivery and follow-through
Every programme ends with agreed actions and a plan for what happens next, so the learning reaches the work rather than staying in the room.
Who we are
Built from inside the environments we work in.
Human in the System was founded by Gareth Lock, a former senior RAF officer and tactical flight instructor who has spent the last decade applying human factors and safety science to high-risk work. He describes himself as a pracademic, and the programmes reflect that: academically sound, and designed to be used on Monday morning.
Gareth works with a small team of experienced facilitators across Europe, North America and Australasia, many with backgrounds in military aviation and operational leadership.
Meet the team- 25 years in the Royal Air ForceC-130 navigator, tactical flight instructor and capability delivery in defence procurement.
- Fatal accident investigationsReviews carried out for the UK Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force.
- MSc Human Factors and System SafetyLund University, with research on storytelling and learning from events.
- AuthorUnder Pressure and Learning from Emergent Outcomes.
New book · Pre-orders open in November
Learning from Emergent Outcomes
When something goes wrong, the first question is often “who messed up?”
The practical companion to Under Pressure, and the framework behind our learning reviews. It shows how to prepare for a review, discover what happened without blame, make sense of what you find and embed the learning so practice changes. Its stories come from diving, and the method applies to any team that works with risk. Pre-orders open in November.
Gareth Lock MSc
Register your interestBook a call
Start with a curious conversation.
Tell us what is happening in your organisation, what you have already tried, and what you would like to be different. We will be honest about whether we can help, and point you elsewhere if someone else would serve you better.
Prefer email? Write to [email protected] and we will reply within two working days.