Risk Management Review - Meet Our Consultants

In mid-July, at the direction of the board, CEO Tom Vogl signed a contract with Outdoor Safety Institute (OSI) to conduct a risk management review of Mountaineers programs. This affirms our ongoing commitment to safety and ensures our programs and trips are conducted in the most professional manner possible. 

A Letter from OSI Staff Introducing Themselves

We are very pleased The Mountaineers has selected to work with the Outdoor Safety Institute (OSI) to conduct a risk management review. We look forward to meeting many of you through the review process and thank you in advance for your support.

Objectives

The primary objectives of this voluntary risk management review process are to:

• Provide proactive advice that may assist The Mountaineers in preventing incidents (accidents) from occurring.
• Review current materials and practices to provide a baseline for improvement.
• Recommend next steps and areas to focus attention related to risk management.

Approach

OSI will be reviewing paperwork and documentation, speaking with volunteers and staff, looking at equipment, observing activities, and more. We will be comparing the safety approaches The Mountaineers employs with those in other outdoor programs. Although we won’t be able to speak with everyone, there will be an online survey that will be available to all stakeholders where you can provide information and insights. We understand that each program is unique and we attempt to assess the likely results of unique practices within the context of The Mountaineers’ programs, instead of urging every program to follow identical safety practices. The end result of this process is a report on The Mountaineers’ strengths and potential areas for improvement in risk management practices.

Your Role

To provide The Mountaineers with the best possible advice, we need your honest input. Please share your experiences and observations with the reviewers as part of this constructive and collaborative process. The goal is not to assess individual staff members or volunteers, but rather to provide the program with advice on overall safety management.

Our Presence

When we are observing activities, we try to be as unobtrusive as possible. It is awkward if we just observe and don’t interact at all, so we will be social with staff, volunteers and participants, but work hard minimize our impact on programs. We ask that you do things as you normally would and let us know if our presence is disrupting your activity in any way.

About OSI

The mission of OSI is to promote outdoor activities by providing outdoor education and recreation providers with safety, liability and program management solutions and educating the public about outdoor safety. Headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, OSI assists organizations in controlling risk from field safety, program management, legal, medical, insurance, and human resource perspectives. Find out more: www.outdoorsafetyinstitute.com.

We look forward to working with The Mountaineers and supporting your valuable work. We learn a lot from every organization we work with and look forward to engaging with your community. If you have any questions or input regarding this process, please contact us. 

Alex Kosseff (alex@outdoorsafetyinstitute.com) and Andy Lieder (andy@outdoorsafetyinstitute.com).