Fieldwork
Guidance and Resources for Safe Fieldwork
Duke provides guidance for fieldwork to ensure the health and safety of personnel conducting work in outdoor, remote, or uncontrolled environments. These environments may include class outings to Duke Forest, research cruises to study marine biodiversity, clinical work in a field hospital, or other locations where Duke-authorized activities are conducted by faculty, staff, students, or authorized volunteers at locations away from Duke’s main campus or other Duke buildings. Requirements include:
- Conducting hazard assessments for each fieldwork site and activity,
- Training employees on field-specific hazards, emergency procedures, and safe work practices,
- Ensuring appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and communication tools are available and used,
- Establishing protocols for check-in/check-out and emergency response
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Planning Your Fieldwork
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Fieldwork Hazards
- Know before you go! The Fieldwork Safety Plan template includes a self-conducted risk assessment of activities that take place in the field. For each task, determine the impact of an occurrence against the likelihood it may happen.
- Hazards to consider include, but are not limited to, weather, animals, plants, and political climate.
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Training and Preparation
- To stay safe, do not conduct any fieldwork without proper training. You must be authorized by your department prior to performing fieldwork associated with Duke University.
- Check the required trainings through the Learning Management System (LMS), OESO’s Online Training Site, and Research Training Requirements
- Not all trainings are available through the LMS. Ensure that your supervisor has reviewed and documented any additional required certifications (i.e. SCUBA, hunting license, drone operator, etc).
- Contact one of Duke’s Travel Clinics to check about needed vaccinations and other travel healthcare needs.
- All participants are strongly encouraged to take a cultural competency and language course to better understand the environment in which they intend to work.
- Complete the Equipment Checklist in the Fieldwork Safety Plan to document all personal, research, and healthcare equipment brought into the field.
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Travel and Logistics
- Utilize the resources from our Global Travel Office to plan international trips. Registering your international trip with the University is required, ensures compliance with the travel policy, and allows Duke to assist personnel if there is an emergency.
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Internal Resources
Duke Global Travel Office & International Travel Policies
EOHW Travel Clinic - Provides assistance for health-related travel concerns for employees (including vaccinations and pre/post-travel health reviews).
Student Health Travel Clinic - Provides assistance for health-related travel concerns for students (including vaccinations and pre/post-travel health reviews).
For working with animals in the field, review all relevant IACUC procedures
Duke Corporate Risk Management
Duke Risk Management & Insurance - Travel Risk Management
Office of Information Technology - Travelers must be aware that bringing/using any Duke-owned devices (or personal devices that access Duke resources) requires compliance
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External Resources
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CPR/First Aid Training
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Emergency Procedures
- Document any injury/accident using the tools on the Human Resources site.
- Predetermine how to get out of an area in case of an emergency. This includes notifying all individuals who need to know where you are going (i.e. IBC, departmental leadership, collaborators, travel group, etc) and updating the Emergency Contact list.
- Update the Local and University Contacts, Method/App and Frequency of Communication, Nearest Emergency Department, and Meet-Up Location in the Fieldwork Safety Plan.