Monthly Archives: May 2014

BSA Incident Reporting

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I’m excited about the incident reporting that the BSA requires now, but there may be a few kinks to work out.

How are they going to handle the volume with paper reporting? Using the back of a virtual envelope, we have 40,000 troops and five reports/year from each one. That is 200,000 reports. They’ll be lucky to get a few thousand this year, but on-line reporting is a must.

Any “first aid” is a Marginal incident, which must be reported within five days. That means a report for every blister. With about 900,000 Scouts and Venturers, 100% reporting could mean a million reports per year.

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BSA Fieldbook Fumbles the Ten Essentials

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The essence of the Ten Essentials is easy—carry these ten things to help you not die on the mountain. It is a part of risk management and planning. The new BSA Fieldbook gets this upside down, making it all about gear. Also, the Fieldbook sticks with the 1930’s list, instead of moving to the 2003 “systems” Ten Essentials. For more details, see the current edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.

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New Checklists and Reporting Requirements in Guide to Safe Scouting

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The quarterly update of the Guide to Safe Scouting includes two new checklists in the appendix.

The Campout Safety Checklist (PDF) is two pages long with 35 items, and a big improvement in BSA risk management. Some of the checklist items:

  • Have weather conditions been checked and communicated?
  • Has an adult been assigned to help Scouts with taking meds?
  • Is a mechanism in place for contacting a camp ranger or camp office (e.g., walkie-talkie, mobile phone, etc.)?
  • Has the location of the nearest hospital/ER been identified and announced to all adults?
  • Is the unit first-aid kit in a conspicuous location and readily available?
  • Have any incidents been recorded and reported, if necessary, to BSA professionals?
  • Have the adult and youth leaders captured any lessons learned from the campout?

There is a similar Event Safety Checklist (PDF) for non-camping activities.

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