In the Filed

The first priority for any fieldwork is personal safety. Safety is above science goals. Fieldwork can be conducted safely if there is a culture of safety adopted by each individual. To achieve a safe culture, field team members need to abide by common principles.

My teams get to a set of common principles by talking about safety before, during and after fieldwork.

Before going into the field

Before a trip we discuss 1) group safety equipment that will be provided, 2) personal gear that each team member needs to bring along for themselves and 3) a detailed safety plan that is tuned specifically for each expedition and field site. There is not a one size fits all safety plan for any field site but there are common themes no matter where we work.

Elements of a Safety plan

• Fieldwork in the time of COVID
• Personal Safety
• Vehicle Safety
• Responding to Illness or Injury
• Search and Rescue (how to be found)
• Emergency Numbers

Example safety Plans from past expeditions

In the field

Teams discuss the safety plan on day 1 in detail. Questions are discussed and clarified. This process takes an hour or two but is worth it. For the rest of the trip, the team discusses safety in a morning briefing and at an evening de-brief. Each meeting has a separate purpose. The morning briefing is to remind team members to bring the proper personal protective equipment (PPE), water, food, and gear into the field for the day. The evening de-brief is an opportunity to discuss safety issues, near misses, and any changes that the team needs to adopt given the conditions in the field. For instance, if the field days are hotter than expected, the team would discuss strategies for bringing more water out into the field, and ways field management can be supportive.

After fieldwork

On the last day, while still in the field but after the work is done, the team meets talk holistically about aspects of the expedition that worked well and aspects that need improvement. This discussion is quite broad and is an opportunity to reflect on how the safety plan effected the expedition, either positively or negatively, and for safety plan changes to be suggested for future expeditions.

Results

My teams really appreciate a detailed safety plan. People that are new to fieldwork, folks that belong to traditionally underrepresented groups, and grizzled veterans alike. The team members lean on the safety plan and gain confidence knowing that the whole team operates under a common set of safety guidelines.