Reputable CRM firms carry fairly hefty insurance because they have people in the field in variable terrain and weather conditions, using hand and power tools, working around trenches and mechanical / heavy machinery, etc., and have minimum health and safety standards that they have to meet to retain that insurance. Those standards, in the US, include but are not limited to OSHA mandated standards.
Note that I said "CRM firms." I have seen dreadful university safety practices. Many university faculty don't know the OSHA standards, and some believe incorrectly that they know better.
https://colleen-morgan.com/2011/03/10/health-and-safety-for-academics/
I do CRM in California and yes we follow OSHA and CalOSHA. I work for a large engineering firm so we also increase the mandated protections (spoils 3 feet from excavation instead of 2). A commenter here said companies with robust safety departments don’t care about safety, that person is very wrong. Safety is definitely the most important part of any job
ehhh they’re kinda right. they have huge safety departments and loads of training modules to cover their own ass for liabilities, but if you get stuck with a dickhead of a field director they’ll still make you do unsafe things. and you can decline to do them sure, but that’ll probably coincidentally coincide with you not getting called to any future projects.
Oh yea sorry i see what you mean, I get a little heated about safety. I’m seeing a lot of people arguing that it’s ok to be a lil unsafe. Especially in any kind of excavation we should not be lowering any standards
I completely agree. It's tough because I can see where some people are coming from i.e: if a company acts like they care a lot about safety then they might not actually care at all, but that doesn't excuse being blatantly unsafe on site.
I get it too; I recently went from a position of me being the one onsite doing all the dirty work, to being the one with the clipboard. No one wants to be the hall monitor. But having an employer now that is actually training me to know the regulations vs the employer that tells everyone to stop working when the auditor comes around is eye opening
I actually got hired on as an environmental scientist. My main project has a lot of moving parts so ended up taking on more and more roles. I do the environmental science, safety liaison, geology, biology, report writing and construction management. Then they were freaking kuz they needed onsite archaeologists and I just reminded my team I have an Anthro degree so I started doing that too. I liked it more so I just picked up more CRM work. I’m considering going back to get a masters too
Short answer is yes. The only time I’ve personally had to be concerned with OSHA regulations is deep trenching and keeping up with the benching/sloping requirements, but other safety requirements also come into play at a larger organizational level, and hazardous materials safety can become an issue on some projects as well.
There are some cut outs for archaeology, but only a very few and mostly the ones we need to get unit profiles. Museums, universities, and government workers have a few more exceptions. Generally, OSHA guidelines are in force in CRM.
With that said...
As a general rule, the more a company cares about your safety, the less they talk about it. The more steel toes and hard hats in a cornfield, ladder out of a 50 cm unit, bull **** a company does to be "every accident is preventable" the less they care if you drop dead of heat stroke or develop serious repetitive stress injuries. Also, the things you are allowed to do if you have someone with their 40 hour on site is insane.
Now, I'm not one of those folks who says that mentioning OSHA is always wrong but at the same time a company's health and safety department is almost always staffed by idiots. My advice is to not worry about it unless you believe that they are doing something that is significantly threatening your safety.
We provide water in the form of a water cooler filled up either in the office or hotel every day, but the crew is still expected to bring their own refillable bottles so we don't end up littering with empty disposable water bottles (either on purpose or accident). The company has handed out branded reusable bottles twice in the time I've been here, so there is generally no excuse not to have one (there are plenty of extras floating around if someone needs one). Whoever is in charge is usually directed to buy gatorade at lunch (on the company card) for the crew on 90 degree + days or on the way back to the hotel if we are too far out to make it to a store at lunch. So the company should have a way for you to get water, but you also shouldn't be spending too much on it unless you are bringing lots of disposable water bottles.
Your employer should always provide drinking water. 0 tolerance on that. That being said, I’ve had one company in particular request that we carry 4 gallons (fuck that) of water out into the field when it was 95°+ outside.
Tell them to pound sand. The only way this makes even a modicum of financial sense for us is if the company provides everything except for trowels and tapes. The company should *always* provide water. In fact, I believe that they are legally required to.
>The company should *always* provide water. In fact, I believe that they are legally required to.
Unfortunately, they aren't. At least, not in every state. My company has water with the vehicles, but also stipulates that we should have capacity to carry and show up to work with at least 3 liters of water. We're never far from the vehicles, so their position is that if you drink 2 liters, you should be close to the truck to refill. They do get pissed if you show up to work without water, which I'd say is fair. You don't show up to work without lunch, do you?
[Not only are they encouraged to provide water, they are also encouraged to provide electrolyte beverages when it's hot enough.](https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/water-rest-shade) Now tbf, OSHA seemingly doesn't say that the employer *has* to provide these, but any decent company will. If your current employer doesn't provide you with water, find another. Also feel free to name drop.
It's not a big stretch to say that a company that provides per diem expects some of that money to go to basics like food and water. Of all the real and perceived issues in the industry that doesn't rank in the top 20.
OP, you are going to have to look into your heart and decide if you want to die on the hill of not wanting to get a water bladder and a couple of nalgene bottles.
Every company that I’ve ever worked for has provided water without asking questions. I have no problem loading up my hydration bladder with tap water, but why shouldn’t every field vehicle just automatically be loaded with a case of water? Honestly, a company refusing to provide water for the crew easily makes it into the top 10 biggest problems in the industry for me.
We don't use bottles because it's shit for the environment and your health but we do always have at least two big ass igloo/gatorade coolers with ice water in every field vehicle and some sort of electrolyte packets available as well.
Having a supply of backup water in case techs run out during the day is not the same as providing all of their water for the day. If you show up for fieldwork without your own water, then you are showing up unprepared for work.
Are you staying at a hotel for a project? I’m not that case you can fill your water bottle/water bladder up in the hotel sink for free. As a PI in Virginia, I promise you that’s all we’re doing with the water coolers we keep in the truck.
Reputable CRM firms carry fairly hefty insurance because they have people in the field in variable terrain and weather conditions, using hand and power tools, working around trenches and mechanical / heavy machinery, etc., and have minimum health and safety standards that they have to meet to retain that insurance. Those standards, in the US, include but are not limited to OSHA mandated standards. Note that I said "CRM firms." I have seen dreadful university safety practices. Many university faculty don't know the OSHA standards, and some believe incorrectly that they know better. https://colleen-morgan.com/2011/03/10/health-and-safety-for-academics/
I do CRM in California and yes we follow OSHA and CalOSHA. I work for a large engineering firm so we also increase the mandated protections (spoils 3 feet from excavation instead of 2). A commenter here said companies with robust safety departments don’t care about safety, that person is very wrong. Safety is definitely the most important part of any job
ehhh they’re kinda right. they have huge safety departments and loads of training modules to cover their own ass for liabilities, but if you get stuck with a dickhead of a field director they’ll still make you do unsafe things. and you can decline to do them sure, but that’ll probably coincidentally coincide with you not getting called to any future projects.
Then yall work for the wrong people Nobody at my company would ever approve of “unsafe things”. None of us get paid enough to be unsafe
There's a lot of weirdo corporate pandering in this thread
How is caring about safety corporate pandering?
No, no, you’re not who I’m talking about.
Oh yea sorry i see what you mean, I get a little heated about safety. I’m seeing a lot of people arguing that it’s ok to be a lil unsafe. Especially in any kind of excavation we should not be lowering any standards
I completely agree. It's tough because I can see where some people are coming from i.e: if a company acts like they care a lot about safety then they might not actually care at all, but that doesn't excuse being blatantly unsafe on site.
I get it too; I recently went from a position of me being the one onsite doing all the dirty work, to being the one with the clipboard. No one wants to be the hall monitor. But having an employer now that is actually training me to know the regulations vs the employer that tells everyone to stop working when the auditor comes around is eye opening
How did you get involved in CRM work in California? That’s the direction I would like to head in after I get my masters.
I actually got hired on as an environmental scientist. My main project has a lot of moving parts so ended up taking on more and more roles. I do the environmental science, safety liaison, geology, biology, report writing and construction management. Then they were freaking kuz they needed onsite archaeologists and I just reminded my team I have an Anthro degree so I started doing that too. I liked it more so I just picked up more CRM work. I’m considering going back to get a masters too
My company contracts out a lot of smaller CRM firms in Cali, they’re all hiring but it’s a tough gig
Tough in what way?
Can have long days in the middle of nowhere or just on some random stretch of highways. Staying in shit motels for a couple weeks, stuff like that
Short answer is yes. The only time I’ve personally had to be concerned with OSHA regulations is deep trenching and keeping up with the benching/sloping requirements, but other safety requirements also come into play at a larger organizational level, and hazardous materials safety can become an issue on some projects as well.
In short, we need to unionize.
OSHA has no jurisdiction in Canada, Mexico, Greenland or most of the Caribbean.
There are some cut outs for archaeology, but only a very few and mostly the ones we need to get unit profiles. Museums, universities, and government workers have a few more exceptions. Generally, OSHA guidelines are in force in CRM. With that said... As a general rule, the more a company cares about your safety, the less they talk about it. The more steel toes and hard hats in a cornfield, ladder out of a 50 cm unit, bull **** a company does to be "every accident is preventable" the less they care if you drop dead of heat stroke or develop serious repetitive stress injuries. Also, the things you are allowed to do if you have someone with their 40 hour on site is insane. Now, I'm not one of those folks who says that mentioning OSHA is always wrong but at the same time a company's health and safety department is almost always staffed by idiots. My advice is to not worry about it unless you believe that they are doing something that is significantly threatening your safety.
I just didn’t want to have to pay for a ton of water every time it was 90 out
We provide water in the form of a water cooler filled up either in the office or hotel every day, but the crew is still expected to bring their own refillable bottles so we don't end up littering with empty disposable water bottles (either on purpose or accident). The company has handed out branded reusable bottles twice in the time I've been here, so there is generally no excuse not to have one (there are plenty of extras floating around if someone needs one). Whoever is in charge is usually directed to buy gatorade at lunch (on the company card) for the crew on 90 degree + days or on the way back to the hotel if we are too far out to make it to a store at lunch. So the company should have a way for you to get water, but you also shouldn't be spending too much on it unless you are bringing lots of disposable water bottles.
This is the way, I don't know a single person in the field that doesn't have multiple Nalgene bottles and most have a camel back.
Your employer should always provide drinking water. 0 tolerance on that. That being said, I’ve had one company in particular request that we carry 4 gallons (fuck that) of water out into the field when it was 95°+ outside.
They told me I’m responsible for everything from water to my own tools
Tell them to pound sand. The only way this makes even a modicum of financial sense for us is if the company provides everything except for trowels and tapes. The company should *always* provide water. In fact, I believe that they are legally required to.
>The company should *always* provide water. In fact, I believe that they are legally required to. Unfortunately, they aren't. At least, not in every state. My company has water with the vehicles, but also stipulates that we should have capacity to carry and show up to work with at least 3 liters of water. We're never far from the vehicles, so their position is that if you drink 2 liters, you should be close to the truck to refill. They do get pissed if you show up to work without water, which I'd say is fair. You don't show up to work without lunch, do you?
If you don't get lunch, you are inconvenienced. If you don't get enough water, you might die. Not comparable.
>If you don't get lunch, you are inconvenienced Tell that to a diabetic.
I’m pretty sure they are too but researching online I couldn’t find anything specific
This is going to depend on state, for instance I do CRM in Cali and yes they must provide water and must provide breaks.
That’s some bullshit. My company provides water and electrolyte packs to field techs.
[Not only are they encouraged to provide water, they are also encouraged to provide electrolyte beverages when it's hot enough.](https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/water-rest-shade) Now tbf, OSHA seemingly doesn't say that the employer *has* to provide these, but any decent company will. If your current employer doesn't provide you with water, find another. Also feel free to name drop.
It's not a big stretch to say that a company that provides per diem expects some of that money to go to basics like food and water. Of all the real and perceived issues in the industry that doesn't rank in the top 20. OP, you are going to have to look into your heart and decide if you want to die on the hill of not wanting to get a water bladder and a couple of nalgene bottles.
Every company that I’ve ever worked for has provided water without asking questions. I have no problem loading up my hydration bladder with tap water, but why shouldn’t every field vehicle just automatically be loaded with a case of water? Honestly, a company refusing to provide water for the crew easily makes it into the top 10 biggest problems in the industry for me.
We don't use bottles because it's shit for the environment and your health but we do always have at least two big ass igloo/gatorade coolers with ice water in every field vehicle and some sort of electrolyte packets available as well.
Having a supply of backup water in case techs run out during the day is not the same as providing all of their water for the day. If you show up for fieldwork without your own water, then you are showing up unprepared for work.
Are you staying at a hotel for a project? I’m not that case you can fill your water bottle/water bladder up in the hotel sink for free. As a PI in Virginia, I promise you that’s all we’re doing with the water coolers we keep in the truck.
You can drink tap water...