New qualification record book

[Peter Booth]

Why have we gone from a perfectly manageable qualification book to the childs toy filofax that is the new record book ? It does not fit in a pocket, and it does not look as if will last five minutes out in the real world.
If I, as a member of joe public, were to find a lost blue qualification book, It would not be a major act of kindness to pop it in an envelope, with a second class stamp and return it to the owner, or to BSAC HQ. With the new Plastic Pack, I doubt if I could be bothered with the postage and packing required for such a monstrosity.
I was hoping to complete BSAC training to advanced and maybe beyond, however I now need to find a training officer who is also an expert in microengineering, who is used to signing his name in a space 2mm high. Which bright spark thought this up, or is this just typical design by committee to try and earn a few extra bucks for BSAC HQ?.

[Trevor M]

I was hoping to complete BSAC training to advanced and maybe beyond, however I now need to find a training officer who is also an expert in microengineering, who is used to signing his name in a space 2mm high.

Your quest is over - All our instructors are Advanced Microengineers. Why don't you join us? ;)

T

[andy lewin]

Why have we gone from a perfectly manageable qualification book to the childs toy filofax that is the new record book ? It does not fit in a pocket, and it does not look as if will last five minutes out in the real world.
If I, as a member of joe public, were to find a lost blue qualification book, It would not be a major act of kindness to pop it in an envelope, with a second class stamp and return it to the owner, or to BSAC HQ. With the new Plastic Pack, I doubt if I could be bothered with the postage and packing required for such a monstrosity.
I was hoping to complete BSAC training to advanced and maybe beyond, however I now need to find a training officer who is also an expert in microengineering, who is used to signing his name in a space 2mm high. Which bright spark thought this up, or is this just typical design by committee to try and earn a few extra bucks for BSAC HQ?.

Peter, instead of filling these pages with negative vibes why not come up with a positive suggestion. "The cup is half full" is always better than "the cup is half empty". Whilst i believe the filofax is not the best design i also believe an alternative filofax is available from other sources.

By the way, how are BSAC making a few extra bucks with this filofax.

[Dave]

Why have we gone from a perfectly manageable qualification book to the childs toy filofax that is the new record book ? It does not fit in a pocket, and it does not look as if will last five minutes out in the real world.

Personally, I like the new filofax style and think that it would be likely to be more durable than the old style.


If I, as a member of joe public, were to find a lost blue qualification book, It would not be a major act of kindness to pop it in an envelope, with a second class stamp and return it to the owner, or to BSAC HQ. With the new Plastic Pack, I doubt if I could be bothered with the postage and packing required for such a monstrosity.

I doubt if many people would do it with the old book

I was hoping to complete BSAC training to advanced and maybe beyond, however I now need to find a training officer who is also an expert in microengineering, who is used to signing his name in a space 2mm high.

Obviously I have become an expert in microengineering since I have no problems signing the boxes.


Which bright spark thought this up, or is this just typical design by committee to try and earn a few extra bucks for BSAC HQ?.

I think that whoever did think it up came up with a perfectly sensible design .

Dave

[ray carlisle]

I have to agree with the last two guys. The new QRB is great. I had a trip to office world and purchased for a few quid a nice pretend leather binder with the same hole pattern and internal pockets.
Now my old QRB is tucked into one of the pockets along wiith the self cert and one or two other bits. Makes a nice package instead of a little screwed up and dog eared blue book.

[Nick McV]

. "The cup is half full" is always better than "the cup is half empty". :=

Ah, but to us specialised micro-engineers, the cup is twice as big as it needed to be!!!! B-)

I'm in favour of the new format, as changes in the training scheme can be accommodated with a simple issue of new pages, whereas my blue book has ended up with all sorts of bits stuck over pages that are out of date. Plus you can put other bits, like nitrox cards & RYA certs in it so you can loose all your bits in one go!

[ANDY LEWIN]

. "The cup is half full" is always better than "the cup is half empty". :=

Ah, but to us specialised micro-engineers, the cup is twice as big as it needed to be!!!! B-)

well said, but us philosophiser might as why.

I agee, the new format is very good except for the plastic cover which as previously mentioned is easily replaced.

safe diving

andy

I'm in favour of the new format, as changes in the training scheme can be accommodated with a simple issue of new pages, whereas my blue book has ended up with all sorts of bits stuck over pages that are out of date. Plus you can put other bits, like nitrox cards & RYA certs in it so you can loose all your bits in one go!

[Tony Bushell]

Why have we gone from a perfectly manageable qualification book to the childs toy filofax that is the new record book ? It does not fit in a pocket, and it does not look as if will last five minutes out in the real world.
If I, as a member of joe public, were to find a lost blue qualification book, It would not be a major act of kindness to pop it in an envelope, with a second class stamp and return it to the owner, or to BSAC HQ. With the new Plastic Pack, I doubt if I could be bothered with the postage and packing required for such a monstrosity.
I was hoping to complete BSAC training to advanced and maybe beyond, however I now need to find a training officer who is also an expert in microengineering, who is used to signing his name in a space 2mm high. Which bright spark thought this up, or is this just typical design by committee to try and earn a few extra bucks for BSAC HQ?.

OH Dear!
Has somebody dared to question or criticise the mighty British Sub-Aqua Club?
Surely feedback of any kind is better than the defening sound of silence and compliance.
I personally think the new training material content is excellent, only let down by the plastic qualification record book binder, have BSAC got shares in Matel? (was it designed for Sindy?). I'm sure BSAC (for a little extra passed-on cost) could have got it right first time and avoided the need for people to buy a replacement binder. Idea! another marketing opportunity, why don't BSAC produce a Neputne motif'd leather binder.
I also agree that the page size should reflect the size of the binder and give us instructors a little more space for readable signatures and qualification numbers.
Last point, these new qualification record books I believe should have been offered free of charge to people who had already commenced and/or completed Club Diver under the previous training scheme.
Come on BSAC speak to the people who "walk the walk" not just the ones who "talk the talk"
P.S. Shame on you who criticise those who offer suggestions on ways to improve on what we have got!
Tony Bushell - OWI3279
Secretary - Hyndburn BSAC (Lancashire)

[TerryH]

I personally think the new training material content is excellent, only let down by the plastic qualification record book binder, have BSAC got shares in Matel? (was it designed for Sindy?). I'm sure BSAC (for a little extra passed-on cost) could have got it right first time and avoided the need for people to buy a replacement binder. Idea! another marketing opportunity, why don't BSAC produce a Neputne motif'd leather binder.


I actually metioned this to the Mail-Shop manager on the BSAC
stand at LIDS. I said that PADI have a nice range of embossed
zip-round cases for ther divelog and you can get the same from
plastic to leather from Staples etc. So why doesnt BSAC stick a
logo on the front of a nice filo and do the same?

The response was (and I kid you not) "We dont follow PADI and
they (presumably the membership) can go to Staples and get
there own".

This is quite surprising attitude in that not only does it miss
a marketing opportunty (after all which would you prefer, PADI
log or BSAC Sindy book!), but means that some at BSAC still
think in terms of us and them and dont take on good ideas and
marketing no matter where they come from.

Good ideas, are good ideas no matter what the source.

TerryH

[Andrew Taylor]

I can't resist sticking my 2 pennies worth in.

Being in the same branch as Tony Bushell, I know only too well where he's coming from. In my (humble) opinion, the new training material, in particular, the Student Workbook, is excellent and having this bound in a format that will permit easy replacement to update with new information or practices, was long overdue. Well done BSAC.
But (and this is a big but) I've got to agree with Peter Booth and Tony Bushell with their very low opinion of the new QRB. Lets face it, it's small, very small, looks cheap and feels cheap. I fully agree with anyone who might argue that the old blue log book was getting pretty dated and was a bugger to update - but we cherished it and now it's been abandoned. Just ditched, set aside, ignored, pushed out, trod on, junked, scrapped, discarded - do I need to go on? I do feel that any existing member part way through their training has been overlooked. A new QRB was a good idea (in principal) for any new member and in particular the ability to change sections/grades easily to update with new training practices was another a good idea, but surely the old members with the old (precious) blue log book should have been catered for. The only miner concession appears to be a plastic pouch to hide the old blue log book in the back of the new QRB - presumably to hide in shame. Shame on us - the BSAC. I'm qualified to Advanced Diver and, for one, am glad I don't have to buy one of these new little beasts.

Andrew Taylor, OWI2902
Training Officer
Hyndburn BSAC 0747

[Andy Nye]

I also agree that the page size should reflect the size of the binder and give us instructors a little more space for readable signatures and qualification numbers.

*** errrr Why, surely the Diving Officers page for signing off a quailification is the page you should be looking at , not some instructors name and number ****


Tony Bushell - OWI3279 <<<<<<< is this ya mobile phone number ?
Secretary - Hyndburn BSAC (Lancashire)

[TerryH]

*** errrr Why, surely the Diving Officers page for signing off a quailification is the page you should be looking at , not some instructors name and number ****

So what do you do when it's not your club that did the module
signing?
Is the DO supposed to take an unintelligible scrawl as proof
of a skill before he signs the final page?

TerryH

[Tony bushell]

I also agree that the page size should reflect the size of the binder and give us instructors a little more space for readable signatures and qualification numbers.

*** errrr Why, surely the Diving Officers page for signing off a quailification is the page you should be looking at , not some instructors name and number ****


:=Tony Bushell - OWI3279 <<<<<<< is this ya mobile phone number ?

answer: I thought this was a site for adult discussion, maybe with some humour, not childish slagging off! "Take your ball home" and Grow up!

:=Secretary - Hyndburn BSAC (Lancashire)

[JenT]

My partner had qualified as Sports Diver under the old system, and is now doing DL. He was originally told by the club he would only have to buy the new style notes at a cost of ?8, but it was later discovered that in order to get a new style QRB he would have to buy a dive leader pack, at another cost of ?20. So he now has 2 sets of DL notes! Our club at least still seem to be confused as to what's required, maybe some more guidance from BSAC is in order?