Rate My Professor Karen Bonney

Karen Bonney is the Vault Data Analyst in the Operations team within the Health, Safety and Wellbeing division at the University of Otago in Dunedin. Her primary responsibilities involve maintaining and updating the Vault risk management database, ensuring accurate recording of incidents, hazards, and compliance measures across the university. She regularly reviews detailed risk assessments for diverse categories, including laboratory and clinical hazards, construction and maintenance such as asbestos, emergencies and natural disasters including fire hazards, plant and equipment, fieldwork and off-campus activities, hazardous substances, and occupational health risks like animal bites or stings. Examples of her contributions include reviewing radiation risks on 22/02/2023, updating critical risk emergency incident descriptions and controls on 20/05/2021, adding controls for construction risks on 11/06/2021, incorporating NZ standards and legislation for plant and equipment on 31/01/2023, updating controls for fieldwork on 27/02/2023, and numerous other reviews and updates as documented in university risk registers through 2023 and 2024.

Prior to her current role, Karen Bonney served as a Laboratory Technician at the Portobello Marine Laboratory, part of the University of Otago Department of Marine Science. She managed communal laboratory operations, including chemical ordering, chemical inventory, compliance with HSNO regulations, waste disposal, and safety inductions. She provided technical support to researchers, assisting with HPLC analysis in several studies, including 'An algal photoprotection index and vertical profile of de-epoxidation' (2010), 'Diadinoxanthin cycle of the bottom ice algal community during spring in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica' (2009), and 'Effects of temperature on growth of juvenile blackfoot abalone Haliotis iris' (2006). During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, she adapted seamlessly to remote work by transporting her entire office setup—laptop, multiple monitors, and docking station—to her home, while continuing essential tasks such as compiling email addresses for the university's approved contractors.