TRAVEL AND FIELDWORK SAFETY
TRAVEL AND FIELDWORK SAFETY
If staff travel and have an overnight stay – a travel risk assessment (TRA) must be carried out.If staff/students carry out fieldwork in any location (UK or overseas) a Fieldwork Risk Assessment (FWRA) must be completed.To make these processes easier, SBOHVM has integrated both forms into one Travel and Fieldwork Risk Assessment Form with detailed instructions of how to fill in each section. If fieldwork involves working with biological and/or chemical agents, then standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be provided alongside any necessary Biological COSHH and COSHH forms. These forms are in place to facilitate evaluating risks arising from work and travel.
Electronic risk assessments signed by Principal Investigators and Participants must be sent to the SBOHVM Research Travel and Fieldwork H&S Committee three weeks before proposed start date. The SBOHVM Research Travel and Fieldwork H&S Committee will review and flag any sections of concern, which may require amendments. Once the committee has approved the TFWRA (and only then) may you apply for insurance. Insurance is required for all overnight stays and must be applied for at least five days in advance of travel with an attached, approved risk assessment. Travel and/or Fieldwork that is deemed moderate risk or above requires additional sign offs. The H&S Committee will facilitate these signatures only after the risk assessment is approved.
If fieldwork is longer than 30 days and involves a post graduate researcher, a research furth form is also required. These forms must be sent to the PGR Convenors sbohvm-pgr-convenor@glasgow.ac.uk at least two weeks before you plan to travel.
Please review the advice below and don’t hesitate to reach out to the SBOHVM Research H&S Committee with any questions (general questions can be sent to: sbohvm-hs-research-enquires@glasgow.ac.uk.
CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Travel (including, but not limited to fieldwork)
- Fieldwork Risk Assessment
- Repeat Travel and Fieldwork
- Lone Working
- Insurance
- Postgraduate Students
- Training and Equipment
- Fieldwork Supervision
- Specialist Fieldwork Activities
- Reporting Systems
- Use of Vehicles
- Accidents/Incidents
- Expeditions
- References
INTRODUCTION
Travel and Fieldwork are potentially hazardous and the hazards vary with the locations visited and activities undertaken. Thus it can range from a group of undergraduates collecting insects in Kelvingrove Park, to a lone postgraduate working in the Tanzanian mountains, to a group of undergraduates and postgraduates on an expedition in a remote tropical region. In addition to the hazards associated with the activities themselves, there are additional environmental and human factors that are beyond the control of the traveler/fieldworker, and these can increase the level of risk. Changes in weather are an obvious example of this. Because of these variables it is more difficult to lay down precise guidelines for the safe conduct of travel and fieldwork than it is for, say, a laboratory-based activity. Thus the purpose of this section is to give general guidance on travel and fieldwork safety.
TRAVEL
If travel is in the UK and does not involved any fieldwork, a Generic Travel Risk Assessment is sufficient and can be applied to the travel. Participants must review this before applying for insurance. If travel is in the UK AND involves fieldwork, then only sections A-C and E (not Section D) of the TFWRA should be filled out for the activities.
If travel is international, we require individuals to use the University’s AIG International Risk Assessment tool. Access country-specific risk profiles by using your Glasgow email and Main Policy Number (15900329) to register for an account. If travel doesn’t involve fieldwork and the country has an overall low risk or below, a Generic Travel Risk Assessment may be sufficient for travel. If travel does involve fieldwork and the country has an overall low risk or below, you may use the Generic Travel Risk Assessment in lieu of Section D and just fill in Sections A-C and E. For countries that are identified as an overall risk of moderate or above, all specific categories that have moderate, high risk, and very high must be detailed in section D and risk mitigation activities must be applied to minimize hazards/likelihoods.
The template provides only an outline of some typical hazards that will need to be considered but is not necessarily a comprehensive list. It is for the assessor to identify foreseeable and significant hazards associated with the proposed work. If it is necessary to modify parts of this template to accurately capture the risks associated with your project, please do so – the most important part of risk assessment is a frank discussion of the risks involved in your project, a discussion about how those risks will be addressed and that all team members are made aware of the processes and procedures they should be following to reduce risk. This document is a tool to capture/demonstrate that those discussions occurred and that all team members acknowledge being briefed on those discussions.
FIELDWORK RISK ASSESSMENT
Central to safe fieldwork is the assessment of the risks associated with the activity, identification of potential hazards and taking steps to eliminate the risks, or reduce them to acceptable levels. Thus it is crucial that those responsible for fieldwork, whether it be a teacher of an undergraduate class, a supervisor of postgraduates or an expedition leader, have the qualifications and experience to carry out such a risk assessment. It is essential that there is documentation of the risk assessment procedure - which identifies the risks involved and the steps taken to reduce/eliminate them.
Travel and Fieldwork Risk Assessment Form (TFWRA) must be completed and returned to the Health and Safety Committee (sbohvm-hs-fw-travel@glasgow.ac.uk) a minimum of three weeks before any work is started. Approval of the FWRA may require amendments and additional authorization, so It is imperative to submit as early as possible. It is essential that fieldworkers - undergraduates, postgraduates, technicians or expedition members - are warned of the potential risks and the steps to be taken to reduce these and sign the participant declaration. It is essential that the supervisor/leader checks that the key points are understood by the participants but is also the responsibility of participants to review and assess the risk assessment thoroughly. Part of the action to reduce the risks may involve the organization of appropriate training (identified by the risk assessment procedure) for fieldworkers. An older Fieldwork Risk Assessment Checklist may help with thinking through potential hazards and mitigation activities. We have also included a checklist in Table C1 in the TFWRA to help with planning. Potential hazards are given in sections D (Trip-Specific) and sections E (Fieldwork) in the TFWRA. These are non-exhaustive, amend the form as required.
For fieldwork carried out by postgraduates the risk assessment should involve the postgraduate and the supervisor. Final review must be completed by the Health and Safety Committee. Fieldwork determined moderate risk or above must be signed by the Director of Research after Committee approval. All activities should be reassessed annually, or more frequently if significant changes occur in the work, setting where work is taking place or personnel.
While those who organise fieldwork (Principal Investigator) have a responsibility to assess the risks associated with the work and take action to reduce these, those carrying out fieldwork, whether employees or students, have a responsibility to take reasonable care. Thus they must make sure that their activities do not pose a threat to other fieldworkers or to the public.
REPEAT TRAVEL/FIELDWORK
We recognize that some travel and fieldwork requires repeat visits and that exact dates are not possible to include in the initial risk assessment. FWTRA are valid for three years from initial sign-offs, as long as there is no change in activities undertaken, no change in risk due to political/environmental conditions, and no change in personnel. If you are in a position of travelling or conducting fieldwork that is already covered, please fill in a Travel and Fieldwork Risk Assessment Supplement and submit to the Travel and Fieldwork H&S Committee (sbohvm-hs-fw-travel@glasgow.ac.uk) one week before travel. This can be appended to the original approved TFWRA form and insurance MUST be applied for again. This is only for use if there are not changes in activities, travel-associated risk or personnel. It is the responsibility of the PI and participants to ensure that the original TFWRA still applies.
LONE WORKING
Lone fieldwork should only take place in exceptional circumstances and special precautions have to be taken. There must be strict procedures for indicating the location of the fieldwork and the estimated time of return. In remote areas this may involve leaving information with the police, mountain rescue or coastguard. Having a good communication system is particularly important for lone fieldworkers. The provision of mobile or satellite phones for work in remote areas is strongly recommended. Where fieldworkers expect to return to the University after normal working hours it may be necessary to set up a system with University Security such that workers report to the Gatehouse at a stated time and there is an agreed procedure if the worker fails to report (this can be done through SafeZone’s Check In system). All fieldworkers and travelers must download SafeZone. This should be downloaded before work commences and individuals must register for their own account within the University. This allows you to directly contact the University of Glasgow Security Team if assistance is required. Staff and students may also choose to use the ‘Check-In’ feature when lone working.
One factor which should be considered in any fieldwork risk assessment, but which is of particular importance with regard to lone field workers, is the risk of human hazards to the fieldworker. This may involve a consideration of local crime rates and consultation with the police may be advisable. We recommend individuals review the University’s Lone Working policy which includes a risk assessment and several mitigation actions to minimize risk while lone working.
This form - Lone Worker Field Trip Record - can be used to track team member locations but details of a check in plan should be included in the TFWRA.
INSURANCE
Employees and students of the University of Glasgow undertaking fieldwork in the UK, as part of their work/course, are covered by the University's insurance policy if a risk assessment is in place. Travel/Fieldwork MUST be registered through the TRICAP portal a minimum of 5 days before travel if an overnight stay is involved (this includes within the UK) and all trips outside the UK.
Please note that the University also has some insurance-related requirements concerning travel. If travel/fieldwork is deemed moderate risk or above, the approved risk assessments must be uploaded to the including rules on use of University vehicles that may be relevant to work away from the University. If there are additional questions of whether your specific activities are covered by insurance – please send questions to Insurance directly (finance-insurance@glasgow.ac.uk)
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
We recommend that students take the ‘Preparing for research fieldwork’ online course. It has several useful resources and covers a diversity of challenges and resources with regards to fieldwork. If students are on fieldwork or travelling for greater than 30 days, there must be a plan in place for contact with the student’s supervisor and identification of local hosts. This is detailed in a research furth form. These forms must be completed by the student and supervisor and sent to the PGR Convenors sbohvm-pgr-convenor@glasgow.ac.uk at least two weeks before you plan to travel.
TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT
The University organizes training courses in first aid. If you and/or your group has identified training needs – please email the Travel and Fieldwork H&S Committee – we will try and help!
Those undertaking fieldwork have to be suitably equipped for the possible working conditions, and instructions should be given in advance about the clothing and footwear required. Fieldwork leaders should refuse to take participants on field trips if they are inappropriately clothed. Appropriate protective clothing should be worn for specialist fieldwork e.g. safety helmets and harnesses for tree or rock climbing and hand protection for sampling in freshwaters. Where fieldwork requires specialist equipment, this should be checked regularly and these checks recorded.
In all fieldwork it is important that the participants have a level of fitness and state of health appropriate for the activities to be undertaken. It is advisable to ascertain if participants have a medical condition which might make the proposed fieldwork particularly hazardous. Anti-tetanus injections are strongly recommended for anyone undertaking fieldwork.
As the above sections indicate, safe fieldwork may involve considerable investment in training and safety equipment, research groups should include costs of safety training and equipment (e.g. first aid kits, mobile phones etc.) in grant applications.
FIELDWORK SUPERVISION
The comments below relate to undergraduate field trips. Postgraduate supervisors might well be expected to accompany postgraduates during their introductory fieldwork, where work involves risks that are higher than normal or where the postgraduate is using field equipment for the first time.
Levels of supervision have to be appropriate for the activity undertaken and the experience of the participants. Thus for a group of undergraduates working in a mountainous area the level of supervision should be higher than for a field trip to a local park. For most field trips there should be at least two appropriately qualified and experienced supervisors. It is strongly recommended that at least one of the supervisors has a first aid qualification recognised by the Health and Safety Executive and that all supervisors are trained in emergency first aid. First aid kits should normally be carried on field trips.
When fieldwork involves habitats where higher risks are involved e.g. caves, cliffs, mountains, rivers, seashores, the training and supervision must be increased to appropriate levels. Thus training in boat handling, climbing or mountain survival may be necessary. The use of boats in fieldwork poses special risks and additional training will be required please consult with the SCENE field station Manager if further advice is required.
SPECIALIST FIELDWORK ACTIVITIES
All fieldworkers working from small boats must wear a life jacket and should be able to swim at least 50m. Anyone contemplating fieldwork which involves diving must consult with the SBOHVM Diving Adviser.
Electro fishing is a potentially hazardous activity and there are strict regulations relating to the procedure. Anyone contemplating such work should contact the SCENE field station Manager.
Collection of biological samples and chemical handling, even outside of the UK, should have proper handling and disposal standard operating procedures in places. Biological COSHH and COSHH forms can be used to ensure safe handling and disposal.
REPORTING SYSTEMS
Reporting systems are a key feature in safe fieldwork. This is particularly so in postgraduate research and on expeditions, where workers may be working individually or in small groups. A 'base' must be identified and the base must be aware of the location of fieldworkers and the activities they are undertaking. There must be an agreed means of communication between the fieldworker and the base and a plan of action if the fieldworker(s) fails to report at the agreed time.
USE OF VEHICLES
Vehicles are an integral part of much fieldwork. Drivers must first examine the information at the University Transport Services site
On long field trips and expeditions there must be sufficient experienced drivers to reduce the risk of accidents due to driver fatigue.
ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS
TFWRA should cover actions to be taken in the case of an accident/incident and all members of the group must be informed of these procedures. A written report must be made of the accident/incident as soon after the event as possible. Accident/incident report forms should be completed and submitted online. Please report any incidents and ‘near-misses’ to the SBOHVM H&S committee as well. You can also email the with any concerns and these will be handled in a confidential and discrete manner. The committee is a resource – so please reach out.
EXPEDITIONS
In recent years School staff and students have had increased involvement with expeditions. The risks associated with expeditions, particularly those to remote areas, or regions which experience extreme climates, are higher than for normal fieldwork. Hence expedition organisers/leaders have to have considerable training/experience and detailed risk assessments need to be carried out. Many fieldwork matters which are relevant to expeditions have been dealt with in earlier sections, but some matters should to be considered in greater detail.
There must be a clear chain of command, with a leader and deputy leader(s) and all participants must be aware of this. There must be detailed procedures to deal with accidents and incidents and a contingency plan to deal with incapacity of the leader(s). Expedition members must be informed of these procedures. Participants should have appropriate levels of training, experience and fitness for the work they will be expected to do.
Participants should be informed of potential health hazards and the steps to be taken to reduce these. Appropriate vaccinations and other preventative treatment should be arranged. It is advisable to obtain declarations from expedition members as to their state of health. For example, it would be essential to know if anyone suffered from diabetes, epilepsy or severe asthma. If the expedition is going to a remote area then dental check-ups should be recommended. In remote areas special consideration has to be given to catering, food and personal hygiene and the provision of clean drinking water. Information on the nearest healthcare facilities should be obtained. It is essential that leaders of expeditions have appropriate first aid qualifications. For expeditions to remote areas it would be desirable to have someone with a medical qualification and to have all participants trained in emergency first aid. An appropriate number of 'mobile' first aid kits should be obtained.
The political situation in the country to be visited should be assessed, when considering activities to be undertaken and areas to be visited and the Foreign Office may need to be consulted. Having a 'Host Institution' can be very useful in this context. Written permission should be obtained for areas to be visited and work to be carried out; having a Host Institution can again be valuable in obtaining this.
On expeditions it is vital that a 'base' is set up and that good communications are maintained between fieldworkers and the base. This is particularly important if the expedition splits into smaller groups. Contingency plans must be in place for reporting to base and for steps to be taken if field groups fail to report at the expected time. The University Emergency Contact Card should be carried so that in the case of a serious accident/incident the University can be informed with the minimum of delay.
REFERENCES
- Code of Practice for Fieldwork (1995), Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals, ISBN 0948890495
- Safety in Biological Fieldwork (1990), Institute of Biology
- Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), ISBN 0108863304 HMSO
- Boating Safety - Inland Waters (1994), Royal Yachting Association
- Safety in Mountains (1988), Barry, J and Jepson, T, British Mountaineering Council, ISBN 0903908956
- Travellers' Health - How to Stay Healthy Abroad (1992), Dawood, R, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192622471
- Expedition Planner's Handbook and Directory (1993), Winsner, S and McWilliam, N, Royal Geographical Society ISBN 0907649548