Te Tikanga Haumaru | Health & Safety
Our External Safety Advisory Committee (ESAC) provides a diligent and reliable oversight over our safety systems.
Several staff members are part of ESAC – our Chief Executive, Anakiwa School Director, Health & Safety Manager, Strategy & Innovation Director, and an instructor Safety Representative. Board member Amy Murphy (with a background in law) capably serves as a contributing member and conduit between the three entities ESAC, the Outward Bound Board, and the Risk & Compliance sub-committee of the Board.
The real “external” value of ESAC comes from our experts who volunteer their time, knowledge and wisdom – Mark Smith, Phil Bishop, and Mark Lewis, with Dr. Nick Binns ‘on call' to both ESAC and the school for medical advice and oversight.
Mark, Phil and Mark provide expertise across a range of disciplines – sea, rock, bush, kayak and ropes. However, their value extends far greater than expertise in any particular pursuit. Their willingness to absorb large quantities of information, and to hold us as an organisation to account, is an important contribution to Outward Bound running a complex multi-disciplinary operation safely.
They review our monthly safety meeting minutes, keep tabs on incident data and trends, advise on incident or near-miss investigation reports, guide us on legal compliance, and assess our activity review programme. Their guidance extends beyond technical or pursuit-specific recommendations into HR practice, law, and organisational systems.
The job of ESAC is far from easy. In the last few years, there have been a raft of changes to safety-related legislation, and all our stakeholders expect high standards of us. It is the right of students to return home healthy, whole, and happy; and the right of staff to a workplace that keeps them safe physically and emotionally. Ultimately this is what drives the work of ESAC.
Outward Bound extends a huge thanks, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou, to our external advisors.
ESAC Composition
Mark Smith - Lead Auditor AdventureMark, Chair of the Register of Outdoor Safety Auditors, Ropes & Bush specialistMark Lewis - Bush, Rock, Kayak, HR specialistPhil Bishop - Sea Operations SpecialistDr Nick Binns - Screening & Emergency Medicine SpecialistMalindi MacLean - Tumuaki | Chief Executive Amy Murphy - Board memberHamish Reid - Kaitohu a te Kura | School DirectorManu Schijf - Pou Haumaru/Hauora | Health & Safety ManagerLuke de Jong - Kaiako | Instructor and staff Safety Representative
Simon GraneyChair ESACKaitohu Rautaki/Auaha | Strategy & Innovation Director
At Outward Bound, we've always held a distinctive perspective on safety and learning. While many industries opt for risk elimination, we firmly believe that risk, when managed carefully, is an essential part of the learning journey. It's an approach that sets us apart from other types of training and has been a cornerstone of our educational philosophy.
Guardians of Safety: Kaiako | Instructors and Modernization
Over the past year, our focus has been on the guardians of safety – our dedicated Kaiako | Instructors and the systems they employ. A pivotal aspect of our journey has been the modernization of our safety systems. We identified this as an area to improve in our last annual report and have been working on it since.
We've now transitioned some of our systems from traditional, paper-based processes to modern, cloud-based systems accessible from anywhere. It's a significant step in enhancing our safety practices and facilitating a smoother exchange of organisational information. This digital transformation is ongoing, reflecting our commitment to creating better systems for those using them.
Supporting Our Dedicated Staff
We've also made substantial changes in how we support our Kaiako | Instructors, Duty Managers, Course Leaders, and Delivery Managers.
These roles have become more sustainable for those in them, enabling more people to make well-informed decisions. We would love to be making giant leaps in this area but the reality is that this will be an ongoing area of improvement for years to come.
The Journey Ahead
We acknowledge that we are really only in the beginning. The journey to digitise our systems and offer enhanced support for our dedicated delivery staff is an ongoing one, one that we’re choosing not to shy away from, and one that we know will make a marked difference going forward.
Training
This year, we allocated a total of 373 staff training days, with 71 dedicated to personalised training and 302 to collective training efforts.
The training categories covered a wide array of skill areas, ranging from Rock/Ropes, Bush, Kaupapa, and more to non-safety topics like Sustainability, Facilitation, and Diversity and Inclusion.
While some of these topics may not be directly related to safety, they are essential components of our training programme, which plays a major role in our safety system.
The distribution of training days across these diverse categories is depicted in the following graphs, offering a holistic view of the training landscape and our commitment to providing a well-rounded training experience for our staff.
Safety Work Observations and Coaching
Our dedicated team actively engages in safety work observations and coaching. This includes site checks, instructor support, and participation in activities.
In the past year, we conducted a total of 94 observations and coaching sessions across various schemes, reinforcing our commitment to enhancing safety practices and knowledge sharing throughout our organisation. Safety remains a top priority as we strive to create a secure and enriching learning environment.
Manu SchijfPou Haumaru/HauoraHealth & Safety Manager