On an Outward Bound course, we ask our students to trust us. Trust us to hire and train competent staff. Trust us to use and maintain the right equipment. Trust us to monitor the weather. Trust us to give them the latitude to learn from their mistakes, but not be harmed by those mistakes.
That trust is essential to great course outcomes. It allows students the confidence to make a leap of faith in the high ropes course, or leave the comfort of a slow-moving eddy in order to paddle the next rapid. We take that trust very seriously, which is why safety underpins everything we do.
COVID-19 As ngā tāngata o Aotearoa, we have been doing our bit to keep COVID-19 in check. We are especially conscious of the fact that we bring together students of all ages, from Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Rienga to Motupōhue/Bluff.
There are unique challenges that come with the close physical nature of our activities, and the close social bonds formed in an Outward Bound watch. However, over the last year, we have learned how to run safe courses at both Level 1 and 2. Our courses now include pre-arrival COVID messaging, mask use in certain settings, contact tracing while on course and greater separation from other watches when at Level 2.
We have also added a self-contained recovery room, where a student can isolate safely and comfortably should they need to. Like all Kiwis, we are playing the long game and will continue to adapt as required to play our part.
AdventureMark Audit Every 3 years Outward Bound undergoes an in-depth safety audit as part of our Adventure Activities Certification. This audit, undertaken by certified audit provider AdventureMark, looks closely at our governance, management, systems and staff to ensure that we are providing safe activities in line with the Adventure Activity Regulations 2016.
The Outward Bound activities that are covered by the regulations are:
The auditors noted our strong safety culture and ongoing investment in safety and staff training. They made a recommendation for additional kayak training, which is being addressed.
Coaching coordinator role To help further develop the skills of Outward Bound’s greatest asset, our staff, we have created a new role. Having a coaching coordinator increases the amount of targeted, one on one coaching our instructors receive. Rob de Leeuw, a former instructor and duty manager, brings a wealth of industry experience to the position. Rob reports to the Training Manager and coordinates coaching by other experienced staff, as well as undertaking coaching himself.
Taking safety beyond Anakiwa With new programmes being developed outside of Anakiwa, like Kora, a key focus has been expanding our Safety Management System (SMS) to include these. Outward Bound’s safety processes have been honed over many years, but have traditionally been focused on Anakiwa.
We now need to take our culture and processes on the road, in a way that allows us to innovate and work with new populations, new activities and new environments. We have developed a process for signing off new activities that ensures they meet our high safety standards, as well as relevant regulations and industry guidelines. This process includes review by our External Safety Advisory Committee (ESAC).
Leading indicators The following graphs measure leading indicators. Leading indicators are actions that will have a positive impact on safety in the days, months and years ahead. They include things like training, audits, and equipment upgrades.
Training Training is key to delivering safe and effective courses.
The following graphs illustrate the spread of topics or skill areas covered by staff training. Some of the topics are not safety related but are shown here to provide a balanced picture of all training undertaken.
This year 468 staff days were spent on collective training and 61 staff days were spent on personalised training, making a total of 529 staff days* spent training.
*Staff days are calculated by multiplying the number of attendees by the duration of the training. For example, 10 staff attending a two day course equals 20 staff days.
Safe Work Observations Every course, managers or experienced instructors take opportunities to get into the field and spend time with instructors and students. This can take the form of quietly shadowing a group from a distance, providing professional coaching for an instructor, or co-delivering an activity alongside an instructor.
These activities share experience, knowledge, and professional practice throughout the organisation. They also help to detect safety issues early before they result in an incident. We have been broadening this practice to other parts of our workplace, such as maintenance and administration. This year we undertook 81 Safe Work Observations, up on the previous year’s 44 and exceeding our goal of 60.
