Field Safety

Scope

The Field Safety Program at Carleton University is designed to identify and assess both existing and potential hazards associated with off-campus field work, which may pose uncommon risks compared to individuals’ daily activities. This encompasses off-campus field activities within the country and abroad. The program places significant emphasis on the role and responsibilities of supervisors in identifying hazards, performing risk assessments and implementing controls.

Applicability

This program is applicable to all university personnel including staff, students, postdoctoral research fellows, volunteers, interns, and faculty engaging in off-campus activities including data collection, sampling, analysis, academic field trips, and academic courses. Such activities may encompass various disciplines including the Departments of Biology, Geography and Environmental Studies, Environmental Science Program, and Northern Studies among others.

Activities covered by the program include:

Domestic field activities at remote sites
Domestic field activities at non-remote sites
Domestic field courses and field trips
International field activities at remote sites
International field activities at non-remote sites
International field courses and field trips

Definitions

A remote site is delineated by both distance and accessibility, referring to an off-campus location situated beyond approximately one hour’s travel time from access to definitive treatment for illness, injury, or other unintended consequences. If within Canada, it will be a Domestic remote site, while outside of Canada would be an International remote site.

Definitive treatment denotes the most suitable course of treatment for a patient, as determined by a medical professional, following consideration of all available options (e.g., surgery for internal bleeding, casting for a broken bone, suturing for a deep laceration).

Domestic field activity pertains to off-campus field operations conducted within Canada. This includes the domestic research expeditions, field courses and field trips.

International field activity refers to all off-campus field activities happening outside of Canada.

Domestic non-remote site is a site within Canada where it takes less than an hour to seek definitive treatment.

Field trips describe opportunities for incorporating outside experiences into a particular
course. This may take the form of field trips to relevant locations, or it may be more project-based field
work with students regularly visiting or working at one site as part of a Field course project.

Roles and Responsibilities

The workplace includes any land, premises, location or thing at, upon, in or near which a worker performs work for the employer. Under this definition, the field site is considered a workplace, thereby rendering the supervisor accountable for the health, safety and well-being of participants engaged in field activities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSO 1990, c O.1. The Act stipulates that employers must provide employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm, of which the employer knew or ought to have known. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to conduct risk assessment for all field activities. In instances where hazards cannot be eliminated, particularly in remote sites, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to formulate risk reduction and mitigation plans.

Field Safety Pre-planning

Commencing pre-planning activities 6 to 8 weeks before the departure date is recommended. Detailed risk assessment must be performed for each field activity and the relevant documents completed. It is the supervisor’s legal responsibility to identify and mitigate the risk related to the activity, site or equipment, and ensure that all participants have completed the appropriate trainings in advance, as deemed necessary by the supervisor. It is also important to take into consideration the time required for obtaining permits or visas. Some sites in Canada also require special permits for access and, or research. Consult the CU Field Safety Guidelines to facilitate planning and risk assessment. The CU Field Safety Program requires the participants to complete the following documents.

1- Field Activity Safety Plan

2- Field Activity Participant Information Form (one form per participant)

3- Waivers and/or Informed Consent Form (one form per participant)

The Field Activity may also require approvals from the in-house compliance committees or permits for land access or handling of endangered species. These may include Animal Care Committee approved protocol, Biohazard Committee approved permit, Indigenous land access permit or Northern Territory permits etc. It is of crucial importance that the supervisor collects all the relevant information and acquires the permits before submitting the CU Field Activity Safety Plan for approval.

CU Field Activity Safety Plan

The Department of Environmental Health and Safety has developed the CU Field Activity Safety Plan to assist researchers in collecting and documenting the necessary information and approvals pertaining to their field activities. This plan serves as both a guidance document for researchers and a reference document for the administrative departments at Carleton University in the event of an emergency. Should researchers already possess a similar document, developed in collaboration with another institution or an industrial partner, this document may be appended to the CU Field Activity Safety Plan, provided that sections A, B, C, S, and T are completed, and subsequently submitted for approval to the Department Chair.

Some important considerations for filling in the CU Field Activity Safety Plan are

Determine the Principal Investigator/ Activity Coordinator.
Determine the field activity participants.
Collect all details related to the field activity including contact persons at Carleton University and on site, the GPS coordinates and accommodation.
Review the hazards related to field activity by referring to the CU Field Safety Guidelines .
For international travel verify any public health issues, political concerns and cultural limitations in the field site location. Visit Travel advice and advisories – Travel.gc.ca for more details.
For international field activity, all participants must have registered in the International SOS and the Carleton Travel Registry through Carleton Central.
Check the emergency medical insurance coverage for the location.
Gather the completed Waiver Forms or the Informed Consent Forms (for individuals under 18).
Make sure to start the process well in advance of the departure date.

Field Activity Safety Plan Review and Approval

The completed CU Field Activity Safety Plan should be sent to the Department Chair at least two weeks prior to departure, for review and approval. The approved form should be sent to the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at ehs@carleton.ca

Hazard and Risk Analysis

Field activities can present a variety of hazards, which may be associated with the site, the tasks, travel, equipment, weather, human factors etc. To effectively identify these potential hazards for the planned field activity, please refer to the Appendix A of CU Field Safety Guidelines. Appendix B of the guidelines should be consulted for the risk assessment and the determination of residual risk, which will aid in the completion of Section J of the Field Activity Safety Plan.