Covid vaccination drive keeps skilled PSO teams in the field

Project managers from the Protected Species Observer service have gone above and beyond to support the Health, Safety & Wellbeing of their people, community and industry.

The RPS Protected Species Observer team based in Boston and Houston, USA, supports a huge team of expert field biologists from all over the U.S as well as internationally. Their job is to monitor protected species during industry activities like offshore wind farm development and energy exploration surveys, to mitigate for potential impacts to protected species.

While the world struggled to deal with the Covid crisis, PSOs were travelling and deploying offshore to support the continuation of our clients’ operations. When a vaccine became readily available, the PSO office team decided they needed to go above and beyond to protect operatives’ Health, Safety & Wellbeing, arranging free Covid-19 vaccinations for any PSO that was interested.

PSO project managers are a busy team working under complex logistics requirements at the best of times, so this project required a considerable extra coordination effort. Nevertheless, the project managers and our Logistics Manager, LeAnn Clark, were committed. LeAnn adjusted travel schedules - often multiple times - to co-ordinate mobilisations and demobilisations with last-minute vaccine availability. One project manager, Katie Gideon, even opened her home, putting up PSOs who needed accommodation. (Numerous guests reported how much they enjoyed their stay and what a great host Katie’s dog Annie was!) PSO Alejandra Ramos Castillo summed up the team’s effort: “RPS project managers are always willing to help.”

In total, over 65 PSOs (and counting) have been vaccinated and we are not done yet! We are grateful for the assistance and support we received from The Blue Cherry Project.

For Stephanie Milne, Senior Environmental Manager/Team Leader – US Offshore Renewables, RPS’ active participation in this vaccination effort means a lot. She says, “This is a chance to contribute to the communities we work with, as well as the betterment of the PSO industry as a whole. PSO work can be very seasonal in some regions, so it’s particularly important to us to keep our skilled people from around the world in the industry so their experience can be leveraged where their expertise is needed. Most importantly, we value our people and think of them as family; this is chance to help ensure their wellbeing.”

You can find out more about RPS Protected Species Observer services here, while our Insights page will feature more PSO news in the near future.