A resource perspective on Arctic field safety management

Many hazards face field operations of small teams of researchers and students working out of research stations in the Arctic. Teams in Greenland frequently visit and work in this environment characterised by its remoteness, extreme weather, challenging navigation and temperature events. Some of these stations have a core of competent staff that can support fieldwork, but most are primarily staffed with one or two people or have no regular presence. This paper explores how smaller research stations in Greenland can maintain and improve their risk analysis given limited resources, level of experience and rudimentary governance structures. A model for cognitive network risk analysis is used to evaluate the capability of staff at these stations to assess Arctic hazards. The cognitive network risk analysis model comprises four elements: Activities, Sensory, Individual and Coordination, all relating to a specific Context. Using researchs station the paper explores how a small but staffed station works to engage in a continuous virtuous circle of risk mitigation improvements despite limited resources. Findings show that it is difficult for station staff to monitor individual tasks as they are either absent or lack knowledge of risks associated with specific scientific methods or exercises. There are also fewer activities that transcend the organisation and require coordination with other research institutions or local organisations. The station deploys both passive and active sensors to monitor safety but lacks formalised pre-risk assessment and a logbook for fieldwork, enabling the virtuous circle of continuous improvements. Many teachers and researchers visit the station during the year, some have experience working in the Arctic, but a significant proportion has little or no specific updated emergency response training. Coordination is possible because of the limited complexity of field operations and the size of the research groups. A resource perspective on field safety management shows that the station can only support operational safety in a limited way, relying on the knowledge base of visiting researchers and teachers. The small formal governance structure and partial use of standards limit the scope of safe activities that the station can perform, but the boundary remains fluid. The resource-based perspective provides an approach to risk analysis of fieldwork focused on optimising limited resource as an alternative to a standards-based approach that can be difficult to manage.