American Nitrox Divers International (orANDI) was founded by Ed Betts andDick Rutkowski in 1988.[1]
ANDI has since expanded to include offices in The United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Greece, Japan, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Philippines, Latin America, Middle East, with its home office in the United States of America.[2]
"SafeAir" is ANDI's term of art for breathing mixtures with extra oxygen added that are commonly known asnitrox or Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN).[3]
ANDI was founded by Ed Betts and Dick Rutkowski in 1988 for the following purpose - "to standardize Instructor Training, Sport Diver Training, and refill station dispensing procedures for Enriched Air Nitrox diving."[1][4] It is one of the first diver training organisations to specialize in technical diving and in the delivery of training for the use of nitrox.[5] Between the years 1989 and 2000, ANDI is reported by theDivers Alert Network as certifying 49,118 divers out of a global total of 233,798 in the use of nitrox along with the certification of 3,196 instructors (out of a global total of 32,924) to specifically teach nitrox.[6]
ANDI offers training programs for recreational diving, use of nitrox, technical diving (including rebreather), gas blending, equipment service, diver first aid and hyperbaric chamber personnel.[7] Each program is identified by “a three-letter course code”. Programs specific to diver training are also classified by a “Level of Training” in order to “differentiate the programs and their scope of training” with Level 1 (L1) being “anintroductory program for new divers or divers-in-training” while Level 5 (L5) is used for the highest level of training, i.e. “exploration courses" that "involve the use of other inert gases".[8]
Hyperbaric Chamber Awareness - HCA: Introductory background on chamber applications.[15]
Hyperbaric Chamber Tender - HCT: Basic theory and procedures of hyperbaric chamber operation to assist a qualified chamber operator in a clinical environment.[15]
Hyperbaric Chamber Operator - HCO (3 levels): Unit-specific chamber operation skills and the necessary theoretical background.[15]
Certified Hyperbaric Technician - CHT: Practical and theoretical chamber related equipment maintenance and operation skills.[15]
^M.A., Lang (2001). Lang, M.A. (ed.).DAN Nitrox Workshop Proceedings. DAN Nitrox Workshop. Durham, NC: Divers Alert Network. pp. 65–68. Archived fromthe original on October 24, 2008. RetrievedJuly 28, 2016.
^Betts, E (2001). Lang, MA (ed.).ANDI SafeAir Training. DAN Nitrox Workshop Proceedings. Durham, NC: Divers Alert Network. pp. 31–32. Archived fromthe original on October 24, 2008. RetrievedJuly 28, 2016.
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