# How to plan safe fieldwork in remote locations

Source: https://www.roamlytravel.com/guides/fieldwork-remote-locations-safety  
Publisher: Roamly Travel  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-30  
Audience: Universities

## Short answer

Safe remote fieldwork starts with the question of how help reaches you and how you call for it. Plan communications that work at the site, set a home contact and check-in routine, match supervision and competence to the risks, assess medical and evacuation options, confirm insurance covers the location and activity, and write contingencies for weather and delay. Remoteness raises the standard of planning needed, so start early and ask your safety office.

## Key takeaways

- USHA lists the ability to communicate or summon assistance as a core fieldwork hazard, and says remote locations may need a personal location beacon or satellite phone.
- Nominate a home contact who holds the itinerary and risk assessment and can be reached for advice, with a rota if cover is needed beyond office hours.
- Medical planning depends on duration, remoteness, participant fitness, access to hospitals and local standards of care, not just the destination country.
- Insurance may exclude hazardous activities or territories, so confirm that search and rescue and emergency repatriation apply to your site.
- Dynamic risk assessment on the ground does not replace contingency planning, and it is acceptable to stop an activity for safety reasons.

## What makes a fieldwork location remote for planning purposes?

There is no single definition, so think in terms of how long help takes to arrive and how hard it is to ask for. USHA's guidance on medical emergencies says to consider the duration of the work, the remoteness of the destination, the fitness of participants, access to hospital facilities and the standard of health care in the country. Its example hazard checklist includes locations with low infrastructure and support, ill health at a distance from medical facilities, and inability to communicate or summon assistance.

Treat a site as remote if a casualty could not reach a hospital or an emergency service could not reach you within a time your risk assessment can justify. The [university travel risk assessment guide](https://www.roamlytravel.com/guides/university-travel-risk-assessment) explains how to record this.

## How should you plan communications?

Mobile coverage cannot be assumed. USHA says there should be a means of summoning help in an emergency, and that for remote locations it may be necessary to carry a personal location beacon or satellite phone. HSE's guidance on lone working adds that systems should be embedded and understood, that regular contact at pre-agreed intervals is one option, and that technical solutions and emergency procedures should be tested regularly.

*Planning a communications set-up*

| Question | What to decide |
| --- | --- |
| How will the party call for help? | Satellite phone, personal location beacon, radio or local landline, tested at the site and in the same conditions. |
| Who answers at home? | A named home contact, ideally from the same department, plus a backup. USHA also suggests an institutional emergency number where available. |
| When do we check in? | Agreed times, for example at the start and end of each field day, with what to do if a check-in is missed. |
| What does the home contact hold? | Itinerary, risk assessment, participant emergency details, insurer helpline and local contacts. |
| Is there a local contact? | A person who can give immediate help, with the home contact's details shared with them. |

Write the overdue procedure down: how long to wait, who tries to make contact, when the local authorities or insurer's assistance company are called, and who decides. Link it to your [group travel emergency plan](https://www.roamlytravel.com/guides/group-travel-emergency-plan).

## Who should be in the party, and how closely should they be supervised?

USHA distinguishes direct supervision from indirect supervision, where the leader manages the fieldwork but could not intervene in person immediately, as in individual research projects, lone working and group social activities. It says the level should reflect the nature of the work, the conditions, the experience of staff and the group, and individual needs, and that inexperienced first-year students need more supervision than postgraduates. It also advises that fieldwork leaders should be competent for the specific environment.

HSE guidance on lone working says some high-risk activities need at least one other person present, and that risk assessment should set the level of supervision. For where lone working is unavoidable, see our guide on lone working for researchers abroad. Make sure the party includes enough trained first aiders that one can stay with a casualty while another goes for help.

## How do you plan for medical emergencies and evacuation?

- **Health assessment:** USHA suggests assessing whether participants are fit for the work, including pre-existing conditions, and encouraging disclosure so adjustments can be made. Use [TravelHealthPro](https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/) for destination health advice.
- **Local facilities:** identify the nearest hospital, ambulance access and any local first aid provision, and write them on the contact card.
- **First aid and kit:** match first aid cover and equipment to the time a casualty may wait.
- **Evacuation:** plan how a casualty gets out, who goes with them and how the rest of the party is supported and accounted for.
- **Money:** USHA recommends reviewing access to emergency funds, because the supervisor may need to pay for urgent costs.

Brief participants so they know the plan, and keep a record that they have received it.

## What should insurance and contingency planning cover?

Ask the insurance office whether the policy includes search and rescue and emergency repatriation for your site, whether the activity or territory is excluded, and whether the trip length is within limits. GOV.UK says to check that cover includes emergency transport and getting home, and warns that travel against FCDO advice may invalidate cover. See our guide to [fieldwork insurance](https://www.roamlytravel.com/guides/university-fieldwork-insurance).

USHA's contingency case study shows the value of planning ahead: on a six-day fieldwork course in Scotland, heavy snow made roads impassable, but the written risk assessment had anticipated it, so staff adapted the programme and briefed students rather than pressing on. Write turnaround points for weather, daylight and delays, and tell participants that anyone may call a stop.

> **Leave the plan with someone**
> Before departure, give the home contact your itinerary, risk assessment and participant details, and agree what happens if you do not check in. USHA recommends leaving copies of health and safety documentation, risk assessments and full itineraries with the nominated home contact.

## How Roamly can help

Roamly plans the routing, ground transport and accommodation that get a party to the edge of a remote site, and can provide itineraries and supplier contacts for your home contact and risk assessment through our [logistics](https://www.roamlytravel.com/services/logistics) and [consulting](https://www.roamlytravel.com/services/consulting) services. Safety decisions and competence checks remain with your university. Use the free [emergency contacts tool](https://www.roamlytravel.com/emergency-contacts) as a starting point, or [contact us](https://www.roamlytravel.com/contact).

## Frequently asked questions

### Do we need a satellite phone or personal location beacon?

It depends on the site. USHA says that for remote locations it may be necessary to carry one, and the risk assessment should decide based on coverage, the time help would take and the activities.

### Can one researcher work alone in a remote place?

Sometimes, but it needs a specific risk assessment, appropriate competence and a reliable way to call for help. HSE says lone working is often safe but the law requires risks to be considered first, and some high-risk activities need another person present.

### How often should the party check in?

There is no standard interval. Agree one that matches the risk and make sure the home contact knows what to do if a call is missed. HSE suggests pre-agreed intervals of regular contact.

### Who should be the home contact?

USHA suggests someone from the same school or department who is known to the team and contactable for advice, backed by an institutional emergency number where available.

### Does FCDO advice cover remote regions?

FCDO advice can apply to a whole country or only parts of it, and its warnings section lists the areas. Check it for the specific region and travel route, not just the country.

## Sources

- [USHA: Higher Education Sector Guidance on Health and Safety in Fieldwork and Travel (2018)](https://sapoe.org.uk/news/higher-education-sector-guidance-on-health-and-safety-in-fieldwork-and-travel/)
- [GOV.UK: Foreign travel insurance](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-insurance)
- [GOV.UK: About FCDO travel advice](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/about-foreign-commonwealth-development-office-travel-advice)
- [HSE: Protecting lone workers (INDG73)](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg73.pdf)
- [TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC)](https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/)