Planning for Field Trips and Club Activities

As of 9/29/06

Planning

• Itinerary and description of activities
• Risk planning
• Emergency plan
• Contact information
• Leave copies of plans and information with a responsible party

When planning your activity, consider the following:

Prepare a clear and detailed statement of what you’re doing and where you’re going.

Is anyone asking you to sign a contract (i.e., for renting space or equipment)? All contracts go to Contracts and Purchase for signature.

Include the date and time you are leaving and the date and time when you plan to return.

How many people will be participating in the activity?

What level of physical activity is expected of the participants (low, medium, high)?

Include a checklist of appropriate gear for your activities.

Include safety and security in your planning.

Appoint a “responsible party” who is not going on the activity, and leave records of your plans and information about your participants with this individual.

Brainstorm what you need to do about risks, including but not limited to:           

     Potential weather difficulties                          Road and terrain hazards

     Wildlife encounters                                       Backup location

     Food-borne illnesses or reactions                    Transport for the injured

     Accommodations for the disabled                    Presence or absence of participants with medical skills

                                                                                     (i.e., CPR, First Aid)

     What if someone misses the transportation       What to do if someone needs to be sent back to Moscow

Develop an emergency plan based on your ideas, including but not limited to:

• Plans based on brainstorming session

• First aid kit

• Location of nearby hospitals, clinics or first aid stations

• Location of a nearby emergency gathering point

• A list of all participants and include their emergency contact information

• Emergency contact information for your UI advisor and responsible party

• Leave copies of your plans and emergency contact information with your responsible party

Plan-checking

Use other resources to review your planning:

• For Clubs, check with your Faculty Advisor

• Environmental Health and Safety, George Porter (885-6297)

• Risk Management, Erin Hodgin-Tomlin (885-7177), Carry Salonen (885-1177) or Nancy Spink (885-6177)

Requirements before a field trip

• Safety review
• Behavioral expectations
• Signed Waivers
• Incident report forms
• Vehicle usage at UI

Review safety, security and your emergency plan with all participants before you leave.

Remind all participants that they are expected to conform to the Student Code of Conduct, and behave responsibly regarding the legal and temperate use of alcohol, drugs and medication, and consensual sex.

For each person, Acknowledgement of Risk and Waiver of Liability forms (“Waivers”) must be on file with the College of Natural Resources before you leave. Please note that these forms remind all participants that the participant’s personal medical benefits must be used if the participant is injured. By signing the form, you agree to be responsible for your actions and you agree not to make a claim against the University. More “About Waivers” and a Waiver form are included in this guideline on starting on page 4.

All participants should bring their health cards with them.

It’s a good idea to take some blank incident report forms with you. When it’s hard to think in the aftermath of an incident, the forms can guide you through the information-gathering process. These can be found by following this link (click on “accident report”):  http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/riskmanagement/claims.htm.

Use of vehicles. The guiding principle in car insurance is that the insurance “follows the title of the car.” That means that the title of the car determines whose insurance company will be involved in the claim for coverage.

If you are using a University vehicle:  If you are using a University vehicle, the University will submit claims on your behalf through the State of Idaho. According to the University’s Vehicle Usage Policy (APM 05.09), the driver of this vehicle must:  complete University vehicle training, which is given by Environmental Health and Safety; have their driving record checked by CNR Administration; and must have a signed Vehicle Use Agreement on file with CNR Administration. http://www.uidaho.edu/safety/Driving/DrivingHome.htm

Choosing drivers. Choose your drivers wisely and carefully. Solicit the help of responsible and experienced drivers. Make sure you have backup drivers. Both the driver and the backup drivers need to follow the safety practices in the Vehicle Use Agreement.

Before you go, check and see if there is an Auto Accident Report Guide in the glove box of the vehicle. The form includes safe driving tips and the procedures to follow if you have an accident. The white form is used to report the accident to Risk Management. The grey form is for the police. The green form is given to others who state a wish to make a claim against the University.  Copies are available from: Risk Management (208) 885-7177.

If you are using a personal vehicle:  You must file a Registration of Personal Vehicle for Travel for the University form.  http://www.uihome.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=84321  Please note that your personal vehicle insurance must pay if your vehicle is involved in an accident.

If you are involved in any non-vehicle incident, use the Incident Report Form to help you report incidents upon your return. If the incident involves serious injury or property damage, call in the facts to your Faculty Advisor. If the advisor cannot be reached, call University Risk Management (208 / 885-7177) as soon as you can.

http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/riskmanagement/claims.htm

Before you return.

Use your checklists of equipment and people to make everything and everyone is accounted for.

Remind group of behavioral expectations.

Stick to your plans and drink responsibly.

Training

Do you need training or assistance with any of this risk guideline? Or do you have improvements to suggest? Please call UI Risk Management at (208) 885-6177.

About Waivers

We all see Waiver forms frequently in both personal and business transactions, and such forms are useful to us because they alert us to hazards in our activities and put us on notice that we need to make arrangements to provide for ourselves if losses occur. Businesses want to alert us to situations where their business liability ends and our personal liability begins.

The “Acknowledgement of Risk and Waiver of Liability” (Waiver) is used to:

• Inform you of potential risks involved in an activity
• Allow you to voluntarily choose to incur the risk
• Hold you responsible for your own actions
• Remind you that your personal insurance (health, personal liability, and medical benefits) is to be used if you are injured or if you are liable for a claim
• Secure an agreement from you not to pursue claims against the University, in exchange for your participation in the activity

Signing such forms allows us, before we start an activity, to consider our actions and to make any advance arrangements we need in order to provide insurance funds for any injuries we might sustain.

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