Risk Management
By their very nature outdoor education and recreation activities involve an element of risk as do many of life’s daily activities such as driving your car or crossing the road. ALI has spent considerable time and money on insuring that our activities and related services are safe for our customers. We have used industry standards of various peak bodies (Australian Canoeing, PACI, NPWS, ORIC and others) as a minimum, in looking at what is acceptable risk for a program activity and how that risk can best be managed / controlled.
Risk Management is defined by ORIC as ‘The use of Management procedures and practices at any level of an organization and/or program to minimize the exposure to risk of the participants, staff, program provider, operator and their families in terms of physical, emotional, social, educational or financial loss or damage.’ (The Risk Management Document, T. Dickson & M Tugwell, 2nd Edition, 2000)
The management of risks (both perceived and real risk) is very important to ALI and it is a whole organisation approach from administration in the office, our transport providers through to program design and delivery. One of the most important task of any outdoor education provider is to educate the participant on any risk involve in an activity and how it will be managed / controlled.
Some of the controls that ALI uses to mange and minimize risk associated with running outdoor education programs.
- Employing highly qualified and trained staff. On each adventure activity there are specialised staff appointed to conduct the program.
- Documented operating practices.
- Emergency procedures and response plans.
- Program risk analysis.
- Established links to the broader outdoor industry, both national and international.
- High student to staff ratios.
- Program support staff to coordinate emergency situations and provide relevant information such as weather conditions.
Equipment:
- Comprehensive first aid kits
- 24 hour communication network
- Regular equipment maintenance and replacement programs
All members of staff have an active role to play in risk management.
When developing programs for each customer, the risk level is assessed in terms of meeting the programs desired educational outcomes.
Comprehensive Public Liability Insurance and Workers Compensation.
To view our risk assessment of our activities please go to our client log in and type your username and password to access risk management information and activity risk assessments.