|
|
| |
Fieldwork Safety
|
Page 1 of 7 |
This is the Mandatory Operational Code of Practice for
Field Safety produced by the Field Studies Council.
FSC OPERATIONAL CODES OF PRACTICE
No. 1 : FIELD SAFETY
The safety of our visitors, of our employees
and other people in the immediate vicinity takes priority over all other
activities.
1. Introduction
Guidance Note
The investigations carried out in the field are not only of value
in learning about the environment, they also give the opportunity
for students and visitors to become aware of safety issues, to put
certain risks into context and learn how to manage them effectively.
2. Preventative Action
- Guidance Note
The importance of preventative strategies, as advocated by the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents [RoSPA] cannot be, over emphasised
:
Safe practice is dependent on:
- Awareness of potential hazards and dangers.
- Sound judgement as to what constitutes a dangerous
situation.
- Preventing access to dangerous situations to those
ill-equipped to cope.
- Adequate supervision.
- Knowledge of how to help oneself and others in
danger.
In many accidents a contributory factor has been the
lack of control or discipline which may be more difficult to maintain
in an outdoor environment. Responsibilities rest here not only with
the leaders but also with parents and the young people themselves.
- The UM must
ensure that clear statements are made in information sent to group
organisers that suitable general behaviour is a requirement for attendance
on the course, and that students and their parents should be so advised.
In addition, parents should be advised of the role which young people
have in fieldwork safety and of the FSC's expectations as to young
people's behaviour in this context.
- Guidance Note
When carrying out risk assessments of fieldwork sites, local sources
of knowledge concerning fieldwork sites should be checked and it should
be remembered that the absence of warning signs or markers does not
guarantee safety.
3. Identification of Hazards
General aspects of safety in the field must
be covered in the formal introduction of students and visitors to
the Unit. [See FSC OCoP No.17: Formal Introduction of Visitors to
the Unit]
- The UM must ensure that general aspects of field
safety, which must be covered in the formal introduction, are documented
and available to all staff who may from time to time actually carry
out the formal introduction.
Guidance Note
In the context of field safety, it is recommended that the formal
introduction should include at least the following :
- Comment upon weather conditions and the necessity
for appropriate clothing. Later repetition [see section 6. below]
will emphasise this safety item.
- i. Any specific safety rules which the Unit has eg.
No cliff climbing, swimming only at
location X, etc.
ii. The Unit's policy towards behaviour in the field.
- The Unit's policy towards recreational time during
fieldwork.
- If appropriate at a particular Unit, specific
site hazards which occur generally in a Unit's working area must be
covered in the formal introduction to the Unit as an emphasis to any
subsequent reference to them in relation to a particular fieldwork
site.
Guidance Note
Examples of such hazards could include:
- Scarlines and scree slopes in the Malham area.
- Unstable clifftop edges on the Pembrokeshire coast.
- Becoming separated from group in or going alone
into Epping Forest.
- Open water areas such as Malham Tarn or the River
Stour.
4. Working Sites
- All FSC tutors must
have consulted the relevant Fieldwork Site Information and visited
the site before taking any group there for the first time. They must be aware of site hazards
and how they are likely to change with changing conditions. They must
be aware of any control measurements which are necessary to maintain
an acceptable risk level for the site hazards. They must know the incident procedure for the site.
Guidance Note
It is recommended that any initial visit is undertaken with another
staff member who is familiar with that site.
- The UM must
ensure that the necessary documentation of the Fieldwork Site Information
is produced, copied and distributed as required prior to any group
using a site.
Guidance Note
If a new site is to be used, it is recommended that two members of
FSC or visiting staff have reconnoitred the site and discussed possible
site hazards, access and implications with the UM before any group
is taken to the site.
It should be remembered that the absence of warning signs or markers
does not guarantee safety.
- Features or conditions relating to a working
site may change. The UM must ensure that there
is a procedure for recognising such changes and for updating the Fieldwork
Site Information. Any such amendments must
be dated.
- All students and accompanying staff must
be made aware of significant hazards together with required procedures
for the management of the risk [as detailed in the Fieldwork Site
Information] for a particular site or activity.
Such 'awareness raising' must
be carried out when the group first assembles for each activity session
or programme.
Guidance Note
It is recommended that opportunities are taken during the fieldwork
session to remind students of particular hazards.
Guidance Note
At the Unit, tutor could:
- discuss points listed on a pre-prepared OHP
- give a Powerpoint presentation
- guide students in completing a Risk Management
matrix
In the field, tutor could
- [following documented check list] emphasise to
students the site's particular hazards
- [following documented check list] ask students
to 'spot' particular hazards previously referred to during the briefing
at the Unit
- use available opportunities to remind students
of general field safety points eg. not to let tree branches fly
back into the person behind.
Guidance Note
It is unacceptable to solely and merely tell students 'to read a pre-prepared
notice or OHP' since there is no way of subsequently confirming /
proving that an individual student did read such a notice or OHP.
5. Weather
- Weather information must be sought each day and this
information must inform decisions for finalising the fieldwork programme
of that day.
Guidance Note
It is recommended that specialist, location-specific sources are used,
rather than national forecasts given on TV and radio, when it is intended
to carry out fieldwork at coastal, upland or mountain sites.
Such sources should also be used when general national
and regional forecasts indicate that inclement weather is likely.
The appropriate FSC HS &W Information Note [held in a Unit's HSW
Information Files] provides information on such sources of weather
forecasts.
- If the forecast is unfavourable, an alternative
investigation or site must be available to allow for any alteration
of the planned programme.
- If weather conditions deteriorate significantly en
route to or whilst at the site, the tutor must review whether the
planned fieldwork should be amended or curtailed.
- Tutors must be aware of the potential for hypothermia,
sunburn, heat exhaustion and dehydration whilst fieldwork is being
carried out.
6. Clothing
- Tutors must inform students of appropriate footwear
and clothing for each day's fieldwork, bearing in mind weather conditions
[as in section 4 above].
Guidance Note
It is recommended that students are advised that they should always
carry waterproofs and spare clothing in order to be prepared for changeable
weather, particularly when the actual fieldwork site is not in the
immediate vicinity of a Unit's buildings.
- In some cases, particular safety 'clothing'
must be issued to and worn by students, eg. safety helmets when working
at cliff bases for prolonged periods ; eye protection when a geological
hammer or hazardous chemicals are being used ; rubber gloves when
handling small mammals.
- FSC staff must set an example by wearing appropriate
clothing and footware and by carrying suitable equipment. Such staff
have a responsibility to themselves and the organisation to be properly
clothed and equipped when working in the field.
7. Safety Rucksacks
- All tutors must have easy access to the contents
of a field rucksack at all times when in the field.
- Students and accompanying staff must be made aware
of the relevant contents and their use.
8. Supervision / Head counts
- When groups are undertaking any activity in the laboratory
or classroom, or in the field, the responsibility for the safe running
of that activity rests with the FSC tutor but the group may be physically
supervised by accompanying staff or, with the UM's authorisation,
other adults.
Guidance Note
It is the DfEE's view that, during off-site visits and activities,
ultimate responsibility for the students remains with their own accompanying
teaching staff even when the students are engaged in an activity under
the instruction of another person. This is on the grounds of the in
loco parentis responsibilities of the accompanying teaching staff.
Parents have agreed to delegate this 'duty of care' to these teaching
staff, they have not agreed to delegate it to a third party.
It is also the DfEE's view that, when a group are
to undertake an activity under the instruction of a person other than
their own teaching staff, there should be clear hand over and hand
back procedures [as to who has operational authority] in place. Everyone,
including the students, must have an understanding of the respective
roles and responsibilities of the accompanying teaching staff and
the 'instructor'.
Further, if the accompanying teaching staff are concerned
that students may be at an unnecessary risk, they should share their
view with the instructor.
Accompanying teaching staff are likely to have a detailed
knowledge of their students, and so are best placed to assess the
students' physical and psychological capabilities to undertake an
activity under a particular set of circumstances or conditions. On
the other hand FSC tutors, because of their day-to-day experience
of fieldwork, the fieldwork sites, local weather conditions, etc.,
are best placed to assess the actual undertaking of the activity under
a particular set of circumstances or conditions.
It is therefore the FSC's view that, where a concern
is expressed as to 'student safety' by either the accompanying teaching
staff or by the FSC tutor at any time in relation to a planned activity,
the expressed view must be respected by all parties concerned and
an appropriate course of action must be mutually agreed.
- The tutor must be aware of the whereabouts
of all group members at all times when a group exercise is being carried
out and to this end regular head counts must be carried out.
- Irrespective of the nature of the day's fieldwork,
tutors must check that all group members are accounted for at the
beginning of any laboratory session.
- If a group fieldwork exercise is being undertaken,
headcounts must be taken on suitable occasions :
Guidance Note
It is recommended that some or all of the following may be such suitable
occasions :
- before departure from centre to fieldwork site.
- on arrival at the fieldwork site. If group has
been transported to a drop-off point, head counts must be taken
before leaving the vehicle and again on arrival at the actual fieldwork
site.
- before and after a lunch break if the group has
been gathered together for this purpose.
- if moving from site to site, on departure from
one site and on arrival at the next site.
- at regular intervals during any walk. The frequency
will depend upon the nature of the terrain and the judgement of
the tutor. Use of techniques, such as leader / back-markers, are
seen as suitable alternative strategies on these occasions.
- before departure from the fieldwork site. If the
group is being transported from a pick-up point, head counts must
be made before leaving the fieldwork site and again before the transport
leaves the pick-up point.
- In cases where group members are spread
over a wide area [eg. project work, urban fieldwork] or dispersed
to a number of sites [eg. rural settlements], they are regarded as
Groups Away from Permanent Supervision.
The supervision and monitoring procedures for such
groups are detailed in FSC OCoP No.3. : Groups Away from Permanent
Supervision [GAPS]
9. Staff / Student Ratios
- Any decision with regard to staff / student ratios
is a matter of professional judgement. The criterion for such decisions
must be that of 'providing an adequate level of supervision'.
Guidance Note
This is the advice given in the A.O.E.C., A.O.E.A., N.A.O.E. and N.A.F.S.O.
booklet "OUTDOOR EDUCATION SAFETY AND GOOD PRACTICE: Guidelines
for Guidelines".
Similar advice is given in the DfEE booklet 'The Health & Safety
of Pupils on Educational Visits" and in the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers [ATL] booklet "Taking Students Off-site".
Even though the latter two references do actually give particular
staff / student ratios, it is always in the context of the above advice
and with the implication that they are 'for guidance purposes only'
and should be modified when appropriate in the light of specific circumstances'.
[See also FSC HSW Information Note No.20 in the HSW Information Files,
Location Ref No. D05, held by each Unit.
NB. Copies of the above booklets are held by FSC HO.
- The UM and the tutor must decide what the
appropriate staff / student ratio is for any given combination of
particular group, activity, venue and prevailing conditions.
Guidance Note
This requirement does not prevent the UM, in consultation with other
staff, establishing general guidelines as to appropriate ratios of
particular types of groups or activities, or for particular venues.
Such establishment could then be documented eg. in a USO, or as part
of the Fieldwork Site Information held by the Unit.
The ATL make the following recommendation:
'A judgement has to be made when all the risks have
been assessed. Having weighed up the risks, the teacher should keep
a written record of that assessment and the reasons for the final
decision.'
In respect to this advice, 'consideration of appropriate
staff / student ratios' could be a factor in the risk assessment procedure
to be carried out for all fieldwork sites, and the 'documenting of
general guidelines' referred to above could be seen as part of the
procedure for managing the hazards indicated by such risk assessments.
- In deciding on the staff / student ratio
the role of accompanying staff, of ancilliaries and of parents needs
to be considered by the Unit staff. Where such personnel are to be
used in this context, their role must be clarified with and agreed
to by such personnel. Any such arrangements must be appropriately
documented and copies made available to all personnel concerned.
Guidance Note
Reference can be made to FSC OCoP No.29: Accompanying Staff which
refers to accompanying adults in making staff / student ratio decisions.
Guidance Note
LEAs frequently have their own 'rules' which schools have to follow
with regard to 'staffing of out of classroom activities'. As well
as staff / student ratios, this can also include requirements as to
appropriate staff for the gender of students involved.
Schools may be relying on the FSC to fulfil a requirement of their
LEA that 'a female member of staff is available to provide pastoral
care and supervision of female students'.
Instances are known where schools have used coach
drivers in order to fulfil an LEA requirement for staff 1 student
ratios during the journey to a Unit, but then expected an FSC staff
member to be available 'when the coach driver was taking a lunch break'.
Such examples serve to emphasise the need for Units
to establish any such requirements on the part of the school prior
to the course and agree with the group organiser a mutually satisfactory
arrangement.
- Guidance Note
A possible exception to the above requirements and guidance is that
of 'adventure activities' as defined by the Activity Centres [Young
Persons' Safety] Act 1995 and the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations
1996.
Where there is a relevant National Governing Body for a particular
adventure activity, the advice and guidelines of that governing body
[as to operating procedures] is stressed as an important reference
by the DfEE, the ATL and many LEAs [in their own guidance to teachers].
A National Governing Body may provide advice and guidance [if not
actual statements] as to staff / student ratios and as to the qualifications
of people who act as leaders and / or instructors in the activity.
Such information would undoubtedly form the 'standard' against which
both the issuing of a licence and the circumstances of any incident
will be judged. Whilst a Unit may have operating procedures which
are different to those given by a National Governing Body, it should
be remembered that the operating procedure is then likely to be more
difficult to justify both in order to gain a valid licence and at
any inquiry into an incident.
 |
|
10. Boat Safety
Details are given in FSC OCoP No.5: Small Boats Safety
and FSC OCoP No.6: Use of Boats on Inland Waters.
11. Unit Backup to Fieldwork
Groups
- A designated member of staff must be available at
all times [including weekends] on the Unit premises, when any group
is actually out of the Unit buildings carrying out fieldwork activities,
in order to provide assistance to a group if necessary.
- The name and location of this staff member must be
displayed at a location known to students and visitors so that they
can be found by a student or visitor returning to the Unit for assistance.
- When appropriate, this staff member must also be
covering or have access to the Unit's telephone communications system
so that they can be contacted for assistance from a fieldwork location.
- In the event of an emergency in the field, the tutor
must ensure that any appropriate emergency services are contacted
directly from the fieldwork location, not via the Unit.
Guidance Note
If emergency services are required and particularly if it is necessary
to send other members of the group to summon such assistance, it is
important that the tutor emphasises that a direct '999 call' must
be made.
Attempting to contact the Unit and then expecting staff there to make
the '999 call' is not advisable because:
- It may not be possible to actually get through
to the Unit.
- It is possible that the message may be mis-interpreted
[eg. Unit may believe that it is their assistance which is required]
or the correct message may not be conveyed [eg. emergency services
goes to Unit, not to fieldwork site, believing that to be the location
of the incident].
12. Accident / illness in the
field
- In the event of an accident / illness occurring in
the field, a group must not be left unattended.
Either :
The tutor leaves the party in the care of an accompanying staff or
authorised adult while they seek assistance / remove patient to safety.
[If this action is taken, the tutor must name the designated person
and announce that the person is now in charge of the group. The tutor
must tell the designated person what action the tutor intends to take
and give the designated person any appropriate advice or information
before the tutor leaves the group's location.]
Or :
The tutor stays with the group and dispatches an accompanying staff
or authorised adult or two students to obtain assistance [Before they
leave, the tutor must fill in the Incident Message Form and give it
to the person[s] going for assistance. See FSC OCoP No.2: Production
and Use Of Fieldwork Site Information for details of Incident Message
Form.]
- In deciding on a course of action, the
tutor must take into account the necessity or likely necessity for
first aid treatment and the presence of suitably trained personnel
amongst the party.
Guidance Note
If the Emergency Services are required, it is recommended that the
Unit be contacted immediately after the Emergency Services have been
summoned so that:
- The Unit knows of the emergency.
- Any practical arrangement necessary can be made.
13. Use of Communications Equipment
- Mobile telephones and shortwave / HF transceivers
can in certain circumstances or locations be a useful and speedy means
of summoning assistance but must be regarded as a secondary or additional
means since reception can not be guaranteed at all times and under
all circumstances. As with all electrical and electronic equipment,
they are liable to fail / break at the critical moment. Thus the carrying
and use of such equipment is not a mandatory requirement with the
single exception noted below.
- The only exception to the practice given above is
that of an activity in boats in circumstances where FSC OCoP No.5
: Small Boats Safety procedure specifies the carrying and use of communications
equipment as a mandatory requirement.
Guidance Note
It is sensible for Units to undertake trials with mobile phones at
their fieldsites in order to establish their reliability as a means
of communication, and to continue to monitor the situation particularly
as the coverage by mobile phone transmitters increases.
Guidance Note
With the increasing ownership and use of private phones, mobile phones,
etc., BT are finding that public phoneboxes are becoming uneconomic
in rural areas and are removing them. Units should be aware of this
situation particularly in respect to the need for them to keep Fieldwork
Site Information updated.
14. Tetanus
- Regardless of the occurrence of the causative agent,
the incidence of tetanus in the UK, as a disease, is relatively low
as a result of the availability of a suitable vaccine.
- As part of their normal pre-course information, Units
must advise group organisers or individual course members [as appropriate]
that it is the FSC's recommendation that students check with their
own GP as to the advisability of being given a tetanus vaccination.
- The FSC considers that, in their own interests, all
FSC staff who carry out fieldwork must seek their GP's advice with
regard to tetanus vaccination.
- Tetanus is a reportable occupational disease under
RIDDOR. If tetanus is contracted by an FSC employee or a self-employed
person as a result of undertaking an FSC fieldwork activity, an appropriate
report must be sent to the HSE area office. [See FSC OCoP No.2l.]
Guidance Note
Tetanus or Lockjaw is caused by the bacterium
Clostridium tetani which is found in soil or on objects which have
been in contact with such soil. Infection generally occurs when
the bacterium enters the body through an open wound. [There are
cases, perhaps anecdotal, of people contracting the disease after
pricking themselves on a thorn whilst pruning roses.] Once contracted,
prognosis for the disease is not good in that it is certainly acute
and almost invariably fatal. However, the immunity conferred by
vaccination is 100% effective. Obviously, people who regularly 'work
outdoors' are at the greatest risk of infection and usually such
people are advised to have tetanus injections by their own OP, hence
the mandatory requirement under 14.3. above. Although most people
are initially vaccinated against tetanus, as part of routine vaccination
programmes for children, continued immunity against the disease
requires periodic 'booster injections'. It is these booster injections
which people either deliberately or accidentally forego and thus
they 'lose' their immunity to the disease. Hence the recommendation
under 14.2. above.
It is important that people consult their own GP because
- GPs seem to vary in the timing of booster injections
[between 5 and 10 years] presumably on their assessment of potential
risk of infection and the gradually declining immunity conferred
by a vaccination.
- The GP may be aware of other medical reasons why
a vaccination may not be advisable.
15. Infectious diseases
- Certain disease causing organisms are waterborne
or may be transmitted to humans by mammals or insects or other arthropods.
- At the time of writing, the following diseases are
known to be potential or perceived hazards in the context of fieldwork
:
- Leptospirosis
- Lyme Disease
- Q Fever
- Toxicara
- E. coli infection
Detailed information on these diseases is given in
the appropriate FSC HSW Information Notes contained in the HSW Information
Files held at each Unit.
As the FSC becomes aware of further information on
these or other diseases, this FSC OCoP and the information in the
HSW Information Files will be amended and updated.
- All tutors must be aware of such diseases
and their causes.
- The location at the Unit of appropriate information
on the diseases, their causes and prevention must be documented and
contained within the Fieldwork Site Information system of the Unit
[See FSC OCoP No.2.]
- Accompanying staff and students must be made aware
of these problems as appropriate and as per section 4.4. above.
- The UM must seek to obtain written information on
the occurrence of these diseases within the working area of the Unit.
Such information is essential to the Risk Assessment Procedure for
these diseases and may be useful in setting the diseases in context
for the students and accompanying staff. The information will be audited
during periodic visits to the Units by the FSC Systems Officer at
the direction of the CEO.
Guidance Note
It is strongly recommended that the Chief Medical Officer of the local
National Health Service Trust or Senior Staff at the nearest Public
Health Laboratory should be the personnel initially contacted with
regard to such written information.
- Diseases caused by pathogenic organisms
from water bodies contaminated or likely to be contaminated by human
sewage effluent are the only exception to the practice given in section
15.6. If such contamination is known to or known to be likely to occur
at a fieldwork site, then infectious diseases must be treated as a
known hazard for the site and appropriate actions taken.
- Leptospirosis,
Lyme Disease and
Q Fever are reportable occupational diseases under RIDDOR.
If an FSC employee or a self-employed person contracts any of these
diseases as a result of an FSC fieldwork activity, an appropriate
report must be sent to the HSE area office.
[See FSC OCoP No.21.]
16. Specific Habitats
- It is recognised that certain habitats may have safety
implications and considerations which are largely specific to that
habitat. Such implications and considerations must be taken into account
by Units when documenting their Fieldwork Site Information and other
related material.
- Units will be advised of these specific habitats
and features by means of appendices to this FSC OCoP.
- Currently these habitats are :
- Marine and Estuarine Shores including Sanddunes
[See Appendix 5].
Appendix 1 - Location-Specific Sources Of Local
Weather Information
Appendix 2 - Leptospirosis
Appendix 3 - Lyme Disease
Appendix 4 - Q-Fever
Appendix 5 - Marine and Estuarine Shores including
Sanddunes
|
| 1 | 2
| 3 | 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
|
Page 1 of 7
|
|
