Give your adventure program a mid-season check-up

By Kathy Haras, Ph.D.

Zip lines, giant swings, and high ropes activities are safety critical – an error or omission of a single step can lead to a catastrophic outcome. It is easy to think that a fatality could never happen at your camp – you follow standards, your staff are trained, you’ve never had an incident. Safety critical activities, however, are different; there is often no natural built-in warning that something is about to go wrong.   

Now that camp is underway, what can Directors do?

1) Go look that at what is happening in your adventure program. No adverse events does not mean there are no problems. Here are some suggestions for your observation session:

·         Is there adequate time? Are staff rushing to complete the pre-use check, set-up, harnessing, or getting all the campers through in the time allotted? Plan to stay for an entire session and arrive before the campers arrive and stay until after campers leave.

·         Take your operations manual with you. Observe whether staff members are following the Local Operating Procedures or whether they have drifted from these instruction. Are staff responsible for safety critical tasks like belaying and connecting campers to fall protection systems multi-tasking? Examples might include responding to radio calls, simultaneously supervising junior staff, managing camper behaviour, or preparing for other activities.

·         Are staff  responsible for safety critical tasks taking breaks, staying hydrated, eating well, and sleeping enough? Camp is an all-hands-on-deck undertaking where every staff member is working hard. But the safety critical nature of high ropes course activities mean that the consequences of an error are different. The question is whether ropes course instructors can do their job not whether they are working under the same conditions as other staff.

2)  Review your near-miss and incident reports. Reading these reports will give you a sense of what has happened in the recent past. Information may also be buried in program report, daily logs, or pre-use inspection reports. Keep in mind that a lack of reported events does not indicate a clean bill of health. Staff may be reluctant to report, not recognize events worthy of being recorded, or may even be recording information elsewhere until they have the opportunity to enter this information into the official system.

3) Ask your ropes course staff questions. After you have observed what is happening in your adventure program and reviewed the paperwork, have a deliberate sit-down with your adventure staff. Ask:

·         Are you short of equipment?

·         Are you pressed for time?

·         Are there enough trained people?

·         Is more training required for any task?

·         How is your self-care going at camp?

·         Why did I see the things I did during my observation session? Is that usual?

·         What would you like me to understand better about your job?

4) Identify and develop a plan to resolve any problems. It is a tall order to make changes in the midst of the busy camp season. Changes may well be required – reducing the number of campers in a climbing wall session, adding more staff to deal with camper behaviour, allocating more time to allow for a thorough pre-use check. Don’t wait to fix a problem until the fall or next summer.

5) Consider refresher training for your staff. Staff may benefit from time devoted to helping them translate the skills they acquired in training and applying those skills when working directly with campers. A training session can also clear up confusion about Local Operating Procedures. Adventureworks! trainers are available to come to your site and work with your staff weekdays or weekends.

6) Consider a Program Audit /Review. ACCT standards recommend that organizations engage in an external review of operations at least once every five years. This focused on-site visit and document review by an experienced professional can help you identify hidden problems and move your adventure program forward. Contact Adventureworks! to discuss our services.  

We are here to help you have a successful summer. Please contact us if you would like support with conducting the observation, interviewing staff, or developing solutions.