Cert Card Idea/question

[thesmoothdome]

Originally Posted by Bill22

I agree that all you need is the highest cert that you will need for the diving you're doing. I also seem to remember another thread about that where someone mentioned the possibility of potential liability just for being there if there were an accident and being a pro. Seemed like a little stretch, but then anyone can sue anyone if they want to (and usually do :-D)

yeah, that worry has been kicked around since well before I earned my first pro cert. I never put much stock in it though. Like you said, if someone wants to sue, they're going to sue. It really doesn't matter if you're carrying a pro card either though. If lawyers are involved, they'll find out you're a pro even if you don't advertise it.

[paintsnow]

thanx famselfish, i didnt know you had to have AOW to get rescue.

i guess ill just get a rescue card with nitrox on it then.

and back to the server topic
i heard that PADI is doing something where dive ops can look up your cert card online.

how would that work? they enter your name and get a bunch of files with all the different certs?

and if you do change your address, they either have to go back and change it in all your cert files, or the others would be out of date.

what idiot decided to make a separate file for each cert in the first place?

it would also be nice for PADI to allow divers to access their profile, and look at their cert cards and maybe print out temps, or inform them of any address changes.

also this system would allow for divers getting a new cert to just put down their diver number on the form with an updated picture, instead of filling out their personal info 10 times.

so i suppose it might take a lot of man hours now, but it will really be beneficial in the future
hum...

[Bill22]

Originally Posted by paintsnow

thanx famselfish, i didnt know you had to have AOW to get rescue. i guess ill just get a rescue card with nitrox on it then.

and back to the server topic
i heard that PADI is doing something where dive ops can look up your cert card online.how would that work? they enter your name and get a bunch of files with all the different certs? and if you do change your address, they either have to go back and change it in all your cert files, or the others would be out of date. what idiot decided to make a separate file for each cert in the first place? it would also be nice for PADI to allow divers to access their profile, and look at their cert cards and maybe print out temps, or inform them of any address changes. also this system would allow for divers getting a new cert to just put down their diver number on the form with an updated picture, instead of filling out their personal info 10 times.
so i suppose it might take a lot of man hours now, but it will really be beneficial in the futurehum...

Well probably important to remember that this started out as a paper system :-)

That's good to know that you can have Nitrox added on to your card. I'm getting my Nitrox cert when I go to the Philippines next month and will also be starting my Rescue Diver course soon. Not sure if I'm going to do Rescue before I go or after I come back. If I do it before I go, I'll just ask my instructor to hold it until I get back so I can add Nitrox to it.

When I started diving again this year I had to replace my AOW card because it had been lost. I gave a PADI instructor my name and date of birth and he was able to pull it up. So part of the discussion upon further thought is moot. Don't know why I didn't think of this at the beginning of this discussion ;-) PADI already has cominbed all your information and it's listed under your name and date of birth.

Extremely unlikely that someone with your exact name would be born on the same day as you. If there did turn out to be more than one, then of course you would have to expect to be asked to provide additional information to narrow it down, like where and when etc...

Once I had my card number I was able to register online with myPADI and update my contact information. Then I ordered a replacement card online. I provided a digital photo and a credit card number and in less time than you say "abracadabra" I had a new card :-) Just go to: www.padi.com

On myPADI it has a place to keep up with your equipment (serial numbers, maintenance etc...) your contact information which you can edit online, your education listing all the PADI certifications that you have and the dates you attained them (should have numbers too, but they don't), a log where you can input information about your dives and allow it to be shared with others who may be interested in diving those spots, and a buddy finder which allows you to search for buddys in your area.

[paintsnow]

wow
great info bill22
thanx a bunch

[Bill22]

Originally Posted by paintsnow

wow
great info bill22
thanx a bunch

You're welcome :-)

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

It actually would be more work for the agencies. Then they'd have to look you up each time. Now they can just pop in your info. But the real thing is it doesn't much matter as you just carry the highest card. Your college papers don't also show where you went to high school and grade school and kindergarten.

The only card I carry is my nitrox card. You can't get a nitrox card unless you're certified to dive - so that one says I'm a diver, and I'm nitrox... good enough!

I don't need to show them also my advanced, and rescue, and dive master, and instructor, and instructor trainer, and course director. What would be the point? If I'll be teaching while I'm on a trip I'll carry my course director card - but otherwise... just my nitrox.

As Bill22 pointed out, it's actually a lot faster to look up an existing record than to create a new one from scratch.

And, as it happens, PADI DOES track existing card holders all under one account, as long as everything is listed on your PIC the same way. By logging into PADI's website and providing my name and birthday, they list a complete listing of every certification and specialty card I hold, along with what date I got it. So clearly they do maintain all that info, they've just made a conscious decision to NOT do a combination card listing it all. (aside from the nitrox combo card that you have to pay extra for)

The argument about multiple cards doesn't fly, either. If I was AOW with Nitrox, and then got Rescue, and Drysuit specialties, I would have at least 4 cards: 1) AOW, 2) AOW+Nitrox, 3) Rescue+Nitrox, 4) Rescue+Nitrox+Drysuit. That gives me plenty to choose from when I need to leave a card somewhere.

To my knowledge, SSI is the only company that lists all your certs on one combo card. I wish the other agencies (PADI in particular, strictly from my perspective) would take up the idea... I know there have been a lot of thread of ScubaBoard with people expressing this same wish.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by paintsnow

i heard that PADI is doing something where dive ops can look up your cert card online.

how would that work? they enter your name and get a bunch of files with all the different certs?

and if you do change your address, they either have to go back and change it in all your cert files, or the others would be out of date.

what idiot decided to make a separate file for each cert in the first place?

it would also be nice for PADI to allow divers to access their profile, and look at their cert cards and maybe print out temps, or inform them of any address changes.

also this system would allow for divers getting a new cert to just put down their diver number on the form with an updated picture, instead of filling out their personal info 10 times.

so i suppose it might take a lot of man hours now, but it will really be beneficial in the future
hum...

Go to www.padi.com and click "Keep Diving". Then click My PADI in the upper left corner. You can look up all of your info. Once you log in (create an account, that is) you can go to the Education tab and all of your certs will be listed.

[paintsnow]

hey compudue, thanx for pointing out the education tab, i hadnt noticed those at first.

also
who finds this weird, when i look under education i see this

Open Water

31 Jul 2006

Discover Scuba Diving

9 Dec 2006

Advanced Open Water

24 Jun 2007

im totally confuzed
discover scuba after being certified for 4 months?
oh
and the fact that i never took a discover scuba course.....

hum...

[Zenagirl]

Just e-mail PADI and tell them of the error, they'll correct it. Might be someone with the same name, or a typo that caused it.

I had to e-mail them because they had some of my certs under my name with my middle initial and other certs without the middle initial. I simply asked them to combine them and voila!

[Vercingetorix]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

The only card I carry is my nitrox card. You can't get a nitrox card unless you're certified to dive - so that one says I'm a diver, and I'm nitrox... good enough!

I'll try that (not that anybody ever checks my card for tank refills).

My question, would your idea work for Joe Average diver? Not to suck-up or anything, but you're power-house in the dive gear manufacturing community. Ask any manufacturer or any LDS, "Have you heard of Larry at ScubaToys?" The answer will be yes.

So, I'm thinking that you could hand a dive operator a piece of toilet paper with the words "I'm Larry of ScubaToys" scrawled with green crayon, and you'll encounter few problems. And, no, I'm not being facetious here.