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  4. Reporting Procedure - Off-Campus Safety Activity

Reporting Procedure - Off-Campus Safety Activity

Final Approval Body: Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
Senior Administrative Position with Responsibility for Procedure: VP, Finance and Administration
Date Initially Approved: January, 2023
Date of Last Revision, if applicable: N/A

Purpose of Procedure

The Reporting Procedure has been created to support the ľĹĐăÖ±˛Ą Off-Campus Activity Safety Policy (OCASP). This Procedure outlines the reporting requirements and responsibilities for the following events:

  • when safety concerns or new hazards are identified before and/or during an Off-Campus Activity;
  • when incidents occur while participating in an Off-Campus Activity; and
  • after the completion of an Off-Campus Activity.

Accompanying Procedures and Guidelines

In addition to this Reporting Procedure, implementation of the Off-Campus Activity Policy is supported by the following procedures and guidelines. It is recommended that you review these documents to ensure you understand the steps required to comply with the Policy:
 

 
The procedures and guidelines can be found on the OCASP Website.
 
Related Policies, Procedures and Guidelines are listed at the end of this procedure.

Procedures

The following outlines the responsibilities related to reporting under the Off-Campus Safety Policy. Unless otherwise noted, reporting should be done as soon as possible after the concern arises or the incident occurs.

If you are seeking support for a situation or incidence, consult the Support when Travelling  Domestically or Internationally Guideline or the OCASP Website.


Responsibilities: Participant

  • Bring to the attention of the Activity Planner, the Person in Authority or the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, any concern that appropriate health and safety preparations have not been made, any hazards that are new or were previously unidentified, or any concerns that an Off-Campus Activity is not being conducted with due regard to health and safety.
  • Report any incident or injury to the Activity Planner.
  • Report any damage to vehicles or university-owned property promptly to the Activity Planner.

Responsibilities: Activity Planner

  • Change to the activity and/or the location of the activity
    • In consultation with the Person in Authority and/or the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, determine if the risk assessment for the off-campus activity should be revised and/or any safety planning records should be updated or created based on the identified changes. (See Risk Assessment Procedure and High Risk Off-Campus Activity Procedure).
  • Health and/or safety concerns and/or hazards identified
    • Resolve any identified health and safety concerns and/or address any identified hazards.
    • Determine if the risk assessment for the Off-Campus Activity should be revised and/or any safety planning records should be updated or created based on the identified safety concerns or hazards. (See Risk Assessment Procedure and High Risk Off-Campus Activity Procedure).
  • If an incident or injury is reported
    • Determine if the incident or injury is critical.
    • Report any Critical Incident or Injury immediately and directly to the home department/unit/faculty and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (613-533-2999) or through the Queen’s Emergency Report Centre (613-533-6111); collect calls will be accepted.
    • Critical Incidents or Critical Injuries that happen internationally should be reported through the Queen’s Emergency Report Centre (613-533-6111); collect calls will be accepted.
    • If a Queen’s employee is injured and the injury requires medical treatment (Health Care Injuries) or results in the employee having to take time off from the activity to recover (Lost Time Injuries), report the injury to the Queen’s Emergency Report Centre (613-533-6111) or by calling the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (613-533-2999); collect calls will be accepted.
    • Report the injury within 24 hours of the incident or the next business day and complete the Incident Report Form.  Any occurrence that did not result in injury or illness, but had the potential to do so, must also be reported.
    • Report Non-Critical Incidents or Injuries as part of post-activity reporting which is completed through the
    • Report accidents involving university-owned vehicles immediately to Insurance and Risk Management Office of Risk and Safety Services at 613-533-2005.  If the vehicle was rented (i.e., not university property), the accident should immediately be reported to the rental agency using the contact information provided by the company.
  • Damage to vehicles or property
    • Report any loss or damage to university-owned property immediately to the Insurance and Risk Management Office of Risk and Safety Services at 613-533-2005.
    • If the vehicle or property was rented (i.e., not university property), the damage should immediately be reported to the rental agency using the contact information provided by the company.
  • Post-Activity
    • Complete the Post-Activity Incident report in within two weeks of completing the Off-Campus Activity.
    • Provide participants with an opportunity to provide feedback and/or evaluate the Off-Campus Activity.
    • Consult with your Person in Authority to determine if your Department/Faculty has a formal process or if this requirement can be completed informally.
       

Responsibilities: Person in Authority

  • Provide support, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, to Activity Planners, Participants and relevant university departments or faculties to manage safety concerns, hazards, risks, risk management plans and/or incidents or injuries.
  • Assess, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, the impact to continuing the Off-Campus Activity, based on reported safety concerns, hazards, incident and/or injury.
    • If determined that the Off-Campus Activity can continue, direct the Activity Planner to discuss new or previously unidentified hazards, the associated risks and changes to the risk management plan with all Participants.  
    • Assess if continuing the activity requires changes to the risk assessment and/or any safety planning records.  (See Risk Assessment Procedure and High Risk Off-Campus Activity Procedure).
    • If the activity risk is determined to be Unmanageable, direct the Activity Planner to cancel the Off-Campus Activity, and communicate the final decision to the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
  • If an activity is cancelled due to Unmanageable Risk
    • Reasonable efforts should be made to accommodate a student’s need to find alternate ways to complete a program of Off-Campus study (e.g., exchange or study-abroad program, placement or practicum) or field research.
    • If any individual decides to engage in the Off-Campus Activity where the risk has been determined to be Unmanageable, they do so at their own risk and assume all liability.
    • If this situation arises, consult the Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
    • Direct the individual to sign and submit a waiver provided by Queen’s Insurance and Risk Management Office (insurance@queensu.ca).

Responsibilities: Department of Environmental Health and Safety

  • Provide support to Activity Planners, Participants and relevant University departments or faculties to manage safety concerns, hazards or incidents or injuries.
  • Contact relevant university departments or faculties after receiving a report of an injury or incident.
  • Report incidents to relevant external agencies (e.g., WSIB, Insurer)
  • Undertake any required investigation.
  • Review Post- Activity Reports to identify any required follow-up actions and/or opportunities for improvement.

Definition: Off-Campus Activity

Off-Campus Activity: Any field research or an academic/extra-curricular/administrative activity that takes place beyond the boundaries of the Activity Planner’s or Participant’s primary Queen’s location.  Queen’s locations include all Queen’s Campuses in Kingston, Ontario and other locations owned or leased by Queen’s University (e.g.SNOLAB, Smith School of Business in Toronto),  and locations that are approved under a Remote Work Agreement.

Definitions: Roles

Activity Planner: The individual with direct responsibility for planning or leading an Off-Campus Activity. Examples of Activity Planners are course instructors, team coaches, a Principal Investigator (PI) who has direct responsibility for a field research project or activity, or a graduate student who plans and executes a field, thesis or post-doctoral research project or activity and/or a project carried out under a research or service agreement. The Activity Planner may also be a Participant (see definition below) and must fulfill the responsibilities of both roles.

Authorized Volunteer: An individual who is not a University Member but who participates voluntarily in an Off-Campus Activity with the approval of the Activity Planner and the Person in Authority.

Participant: Any University Member and/or Authorized Volunteer who takes part in an Off-Campus Activity.

Person in Authority: The individual responsible for approving the Off-Campus Activity under this Policy. In most cases, this will be the Department/Unit Head or Program Director to whom the Activity Planner reports.  Where a Department/Unit Head, Program Director, Dean or Vice-Principal is the Activity Planner, the Person in Authority would be their supervisor (Dean, Vice-Principal or Principal).  There are three exceptions:

  • For Off-Campus field-study trips by students at the Bader International Study Centre, the Executive Director of the Centre is the Person in Authority.
  • For undergraduate academic exchanges, activities undertaken by ľĹĐăÖ±˛Ą Project on International Development (QPID), Queen’s Heath Outreach (QHO) and Mitacs Research Awards that involve international travel, the Director of Environmental Health and Safety or their designate is the Person in Authority.
  • For student-organized, extra-curricular activity sanctioned or funded by the university, the university official who provides the sanction or authorizes the financial contribution assumes the responsibility of the Person in Authority.

University Members: All undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, staff and faculty.

Definitions: Incident-Related

Critical Incident: An incident that could be classed as an emergency, including but not limited to serious illness or injury, fatal accidents, sudden deaths, suicide, hate crimes, assaults (including sexual assault) or other violent occurrences, political or civil unrest, and natural or environmental disasters, or any other event on the basis of which an individual's or group’s participation in an Off-Campus Activity could terminate or be terminated.

Critical Injury: For employees of the university, a critical injury has been specifically defined in Ontario Regulation 420/21 under the .

Health Care: When an individual seeks heath care services beyond First Aid. This means the professional skill or service of a health care practitioner, and/or service or test at a health facility, and/or prescriptions.
 
Lost Time: When an employee is absent from work or unable to work, after the day of a work-related accident. This is typically the next day or next scheduled shift after the accident but can also be a later date. This does not include the day of the incident/accident.

Non-Critical Incident: An event occurring or a circumstance arising during an Off-Campus Activity that damages or has the potential to damage the health, safety or property of one or more of the Activity Participants, but that is judged not sufficiently serious that it jeopardizes continued participation in the Off-Campus Activity or requires immediate reporting to the Person in Authority or the departmental contact.

Definitions: Risk

Unmanageable Risk: An activity is deemed to have an Unmanageable Risk level when sustainable mitigation strategies that would bring the risk level to a manageable threshold cannot be achieved. Examples of activities where it may not be possible to put in place sustainable mitigation strategies include:

  • Travel to active war zones
  • Travel to an area where there is an acute public health event (e.g., Ebola outbreak)
  • Solitary field research or travel in remote or hazardous areas (considering access to emergency or medical services and/or phone/911 coverage)
  • Travel to an area where a recent natural disaster has caused infrastructure damage and the provision of basic services continues to be disrupted. This includes locations where the risk of re-occurrence of the event that caused the disaster remains high (i.e. aftershocks, additional avalanches, etc.)
  • Travel to a location where a travel and/or health advisory to avoid all travel has been issued by external agencies such as Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Health Canada, World Health Organization (WHO), International SOS, etc.  
  • An activity where the amount of training required or the extent or cost of the safety precautions necessary to overcome the risks associated with a group’s size or the experience of its members is prohibitive

Instructions for assessing the effectiveness of the mitigations and the resulting risk level is outlined in the Risk Assessment Procedure.

Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines:

Accommodation of Disabilities in the Workplace Policy

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Policy

Health and Safety Management System Policy

Policy Statement on Health and Safety

Procedures Superseded by this Procedure: N/A

Responsible Officer: VP, Finance and Administration
Contact: Director, Environmental Health and Safety
Date for Next Review: January 2028