1 Fieldwork planning

1.1 Legal background

The University, as a employer, is legally obliged to exercise a "duty of care" to its employees and students and this duty is recognised in both criminal and civil law. The responsibilities of the employer are stated in broad terms in Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSW Act,1974).

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSW,1992), this duty of care is defined more explicitly as a duty of line management.

It is the responsibility of the governing body of the University (the Council), through it’s officers, to ensure that statutory requirements are met and appropriate standards are applied.

1.2 Provision of information

Under the MHSW Regulations there is a legal requirement for staff and students undertaking fieldwork to be fully informed of the nature of the work and the associated hazards. Some people may be unable to carry out certain types of fieldwork because of physical or psychological problems. The early identification of such problems will allow liaison with the University Occupational Health Services / Disability Resource Centre to ensure a suitable resolution of the problem. Health matters are dealt with in more detail in Section 4, below.

1.3 Provision of training

In addition to the duty to ensure that fieldworkers are adequately informed, there is a separate requirement that they should be adequately trained. The distinction between information and training is significant and should not be underestimated. For example fieldwork involving activities such as mountain walking is potentially dangerous for the untrained, no matter how well informed they may be.

1.4 Duties of employees

The HSW Act also lays duties on employees to take reasonable care for their own safety and those affected by their acts or omissions and to co-operate with their institutions with regard to health and safety arrangements. There is no direct legal obligation on students, but it is implied by the HSW Act (either as an employee or a visitor) that they must behave with appropriate co-operation in respect to health and safety issues.

1.5 Insurance

All fieldworkers must be adequately insured. The University provides both Employer and Public Liability Insurance. Certain eventualities such as climbing accidents may not be covered by standard policies and should be considered when assessing necessary insurance cover. Staff and students visiting commercial concerns should be covered by the site owner’s insurance but this must be confirmed.

University information on insurance for fieldwork is given in the Financial Handbook, section D4. Reference must be made to this document by the fieldwork organiser and appropriate action taken to ensure full and proper insurance cover is provided for the specific activity. The University’s Insurance Office in Financial Services may be consulted to advise (See the Useful contacts section).

1.6 Duties of College Dean or Head of Service: Risk assessment

In the University, within a College (or Service), the responsibility falls upon the College Dean or Head of Service, under Regulation 3 of the MHSW Regulations, "to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of:

(a) the risks to the health and safety of employees; and

(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking (eg students, visitors or members of the public)".

In this context, a "suitable and sufficient" assessment should:

identify foreseeable significant hazards and their associated risks
be appropriate to the level of risk
reflect current knowledge of the activity
be compatible with the activity
enable the assessor to decide on action to be taken and priorities to be established
remain valid for the period of work

The College Dean should therefore ensure that a risk assessment has been made and that a safe system of work has been established for all staff and students. Frequently the College Dean will delegate this responsibility to the person who is organising the fieldwork. If this is the case, then the College Dean must be satisfied that the organiser is competent to lead and has sufficient awareness of the legal obligations to those under supervision. It may be appropriate that the organiser has formal qualifications to meet specific needs e.g. sub-aqua, mountain climbing, mine working etc.

In any case, the College Dean must ensure that the organisation of the fieldwork meets the College’s safety criteria and that any accidents or dangerous occurrences (particularly those defined under the RIDDOR Regulations) that occur are reported in compliance with University requirements (The University’s Accident / Incident Report Form).

The object of any risk assessment procedure is to identify all the hazards associated with the work and then to assess the risks that these hazards present under particular circumstances before the work commences. Following the assessment it should be possible to identify areas of work that present particular problems and act to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

The assessment of risk calls for a thorough and systematic consideration of all aspects of the work which will require specific information relating to the fieldwork.

This document is for guidance and cannot give all possible aspects of risk to be considered. However, checklists are presented in the Appendices which provide a framework for a more practical and systematic approach. Further help and information is available from the organisations listed in the Useful contacts page, particularly useful information being given on the Royal Geographical Society website.

The risk assessment procedures for fieldwork should be geared to the perceived level of risk and run in parallel with the planning procedure. For instance, it may be sensible to make simple generic assessments for routine, well supervised visits to low risk areas. But more extensive planning and assessment would be required for a small group planning an extended stay in a wilderness area. Past experience of the worker in his/her proposed activity will have a major bearing on the perceived level of risk in the activity and the complexity of the risk assessment should reflect this. By recording the assessment, evidence is made available to the enforcing authorities (if required) that a serious and systematic attempt has been made to establish safe systems of work.

The College Dean can do much to control risk by ensuring that:

a suitable number of supervisors is always present
supervisors are competent under the circumstances likely to be encountered and have adequate first aid training
all fieldworkers are adequately prepared (eg clothing, footwear, training)
suitable lines of communication are available
accidents (and dangerous occurrences) are reported and investigated.

Contingency planning for reasonably foreseeable emergencies must be made, bearing in mind the likely hazards of the environment and the type of work undertaken. For example, the following items should be considered:

provision of adequate emergency equipment (eg first aid kits, stretchers, fire fighting equipment, bivouac tents)
correct treatment of any casualties and equipment e.g. decontamination
means of summoning aid – emergency service details
evacuation procedures
liaison with police and emergency services
possible need to communicate in a foreign language.

The College Dean and the fieldwork leader are thus responsible for the planning of the fieldwork at broad and detailed levels.

1.7 Environmental considerations

Many types of fieldwork will take place in open country involving, for example, the study of flora, fauna, soils or geological conditions in that area. Under these circumstances, it is the duty of the fieldwork organiser to ensure that access to the site is legal.

If the work takes place off public land then the permission of the landowner must be obtained, although this will not free the fieldwork leader from responsibilities under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). Leaders should make themselves familiar with the Act if their work is likely to have any impact, directly or indirectly, upon the flora and fauna.

If the work takes place on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) then the site owner should, in theory, seek permission from the appropriate authority such as the Countryside Commission. In practice, it may be more expedient for the College to liaise with such authorities directly and to inform the landowner that this has been done. The authorities will also be able to advise the fieldwork leader if the work is likely to contravene the Wildlife and Countryside Act and to discuss the granting of a licence if necessary. Local offices of these authorities will also be able to advise on the hazards associated with the area.

For fieldwork overseas, supervisors are advised to establish a clear and written agreement on permitted work areas and practices. This would often be with a host institution, but the country’s embassy in Britain will advise, if necessary.

1.8 Authorisation and registration

Once the risk assessment procedure has been completed then the Head of School should authorise the commencement of the work. All fieldwork should be supported by a base which has knowledge of :

the work involved
members of the party and their details
their itinerary and return times
details of how they may be contacted.

For overseas work, in particular, it is prudent for the base to retain passport, visa, insurance details and names and addresses of next of kin. It is recommended that staff and students carry their University (Identity) Card whenever on fieldwork. This helps to identify the fieldworkers as having a legitimate reason to be where they are and the tasks that they are doing.