Staff & Culture
First Aid
Staff must have first aid skills suited to the operation's emergency scenarios. In many adventure activity situations they could be managing an injured person for an extended period of time before external emergency help arrives, for these scenarios they should have an in-depth first aid qualification such as pre-hospital emergency care.
First aid kits must also be suited to the operation's emergency scenarios. Here are some suggestions for a first aid kit suited to most Outdoors Activities.
Ensure you have procedures to:
- check that first aid kit contents are complete before taking into the field
- check that sterile products are not contaminated and perishable medication is within its expiry date
- dispose of and replace contaminated or expired products.
- store medications appropriately.
Managing serious allergic reactions in the outdoor environment can be particularly problematic. Here is an Outdoor Industry Guide for Using Adrenaline.
Drug & alcohol
Managing drug and alcohol related risks in adventure activity operations is critical to ensure the safety of all people involved - clients and staff.
The Adventure Activities Regulations require operators to include a drugs and alcohol policy in their safety management plan. The policy must include:
- An assessment of level of risk posed by activities run by the operator
- An assessment of the level of risk posed by the nature of the operator’s workplace.
- How the operator will manage these risks?
- What processes the operator will adopt if a staff member is found to be under the influence of tested positive
Follow WorkSafe NZ’s guidance document to ensure your drug and alcohol management system meets good practice and legal requirements.
Knowing how to identify and deal with staff who are unable to safely fulfill the responsibility of their role due to impairment can be difficult. Your SMS should include reasonable cause indicators and a process to follow if anyone on your team feels that a staff member is unsafe.
Other templates
You can check our templates and guides for more guidelines or requirements related to safety management for adventure activity operators in New Zealand.