Checklists and rebreather diving.
I read 'The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.' by Atul Gawande a few years ago, and again more recently and on both occasions I was struck by its relevance to CCR or other deep technical diving (and even diving generally).
The book, as the name suggests, makes the case for how valuable checklists can be to ensure that no matter how confident you are in the process, having a list to follow is a good way of avoiding errors and catching problems early. The books use cases focus largely on medicine (the author is a medical doctor), construction and aviation but apply just as well to diving and especially CCRs with an extended number of preparation steps.
Now CCR diving and divers tend to have a 'my unit is bigger and better' and 'don't tell me what to do' mentality and generally would probably benefit from being a little more cautious and a little more humble.
When it comes to the SF2 - I'd like to believe that I know the steps backwards and forwards, I know my unit well enough to set it up effectively and safely. That said, I still use a checklist more often than not. It costs nothing and just serves as an extra confidence step that functionality is all working correctly. Have I connected the Automatic Diluent Valve correctly for instance. I had one quarry dive when I hadn't - not especially a problem as I can easily drive it manually, but a bad feeling when you inhale and nothing comes out!
The checklist I use was the one I was given on my first CCR course - the SSI one provided to me. Now while I have a couple of laminated copies kicking around in the workshop, the SSI list appears to have disappeared off the internet. It's not on their website and no copy I can find on other sites. So I was left to create my own. Provided below for anyone else who might be interested;