Your Weekly Safari Message
Each week you will receive a safety topic which will help to to recognize and discuss workplace hazards. The goal is that you will be equipped with the tools necessary to complete your daily work and return home safely every day.
You can reference this page each week. It will be updated as topics are sent out.
FEB-02-22
SAFARI FEB-02-23
FEB-16-23
We are going to discuss the STOP model (as it relates to yourself & your class on the hill) and the many decisions to be made.
Every day you make lots of decisions. These can/will affect yourself and your students.
From; equipment/clothing to check, trail to go to, topics to cover, lifts to ride, speed to ski/ride at, and a large variety of ordinary and out of the ordinary occurrences, etc.
Remember safety of self is prime #1 importance. Safety of class is #2 importance.
Before making any decisions, STOP and ask yourself what are my options?
Which option results in the desired outcome AND prioritizes safety of self and safety of class.
Carefully THINK about the various approaches to obtain a goal/result.
Consider all the OPTIONS that get you to that goal/result.
Then you have the POWER to make the best decision.
Making poor choices can lead to undesired outcomes; injuries, lost students, bad lessons, parent complaints, etc.
In some unusual cases (depending on what may have happened), discuss what you did with a Supervisor and/or parents (when appropriate, if the decision affected their child or child's lesson).
On any given day "unusual things" can happen.
Example;
The other day a child's boot came off their foot and both boot and ski disappeared down the hill, out of sight . Would you know what to do?
Choice #1- Have student ski down on one ski.
Choice #2 - Carry the student down.
Choice #3 - Have the student walk down (you carry other ski) with class following slowly with them.
Choice #4 - Send your kids to the Big Dipper and tell them to wait there until you get down.
Choice #5 - Take off one your boots and loan a boot with ski to the student and you ski down on one ski.
Choice #6 - Call the parents and see if they can meet you at the spot of the incident.
Choice #7 - Ski backwards down with the student skiing down on one ski.
Choice #8 - Flag down another employee and ask for them to stay with your student (the one with one ski) while you ski the group down and report it to your supervisor.
Choice #9 - Have all the rest of your class search in the woods for the missing ski and boot.
Choice #10 - You really are not sure what to do. So you use your cell phone (or walkie-talkie) to call a Supervisor for guidance.
Choice #11 - You use your cell phone to call Ski Patrol. You inform them of the situation and ask for transportation to the Big Dipper. Then you also call the Big Dipper to report the incident. Once patrol arrives, you continue your lesson. The Supervisor will await the arrival of your student and arrange for rental equipment, so they can shortly return to your class. The Supervisor will also call the parents. Then contact you, when student is ready to resume the lesson. At the end of the lesson you tell all the kids’ parents what happened and how you quickly resolved the issue and thus lost very little teaching time. You talked to the parents of the child who lost the ski and boot and let them know you reported it to Guest Services and they would try to find the items.
Which choices are the best? (I hope you know 10 & 11.)