In this paper, we focus on the collective dimension of the deep-sea diving work and, specially, the subjective compounds implicated in such activity, because we consider such aspects so fundamental to think the security and the reliability of the complex social-technical systems. We took as empirical field the investigation conducted by Figueiredo (2001) concerning the conditions in which this activity is developed in the Campos Oil Fields (Northern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro), that is permanently outsourced and inserted in the offshore oil industry. Our analysis showed that when some of the so-called fundamental rules of work are not considered, such as the decisive role that these rules perform in the execution of the tasks, the way of labor organization is presented, creates serious obstacles to cohesion and to consolidation of the work collectives, mining the inner cooperation potential, with serious risks to the reliability of the analyzed system and to the mental health and security of the divers.
Work organization; work collectives; health and security; subjectivity; deep-sea diving; offshore oil industry