Risk Assessment for Lone Worker Safety

A lone worker is defined as an employee who performs their job outside of a team. A clear risk assessment should be done before you allow any staff to operate alone.

It should clarify how long they will be working alone and what procedures must be followed if they do not check in. This is the only way to guarantee that they are ok and an emergency situation can be dealt with immediately.

Risk Assessment

When it comes to lone worker situations, risk assessment is more complex than in the workplace at large. This is because a policy for lone workers must be based on the specifics of a working environment or role and must be tailored to those circumstances.

Start by assessing the risks and hazards of each task, including the potential severity of an incident. Place the highest risks at the top and create an action plan to mitigate those hazards in the short term. This may include personal protective equipment (PPE), implementing new procedures for emergency response, or setting up regular check-in processes.

Lone worker policies should also include details on how to respond to unusual or threatening situations, which may be different than those encountered by other employees in the company. In addition, a list of relevant laws that lone workers must comply with should be included. This should be updated regularly as laws and regulations change.





Consider talking with or surveying lone workers to find out how they feel about the current measures in place to protect them. They should have the ability to make suggestions for improving the systems and procedures in place. This can help to ensure that they feel comfortable and safe, which will in turn lead to them adhering to the procedures. SHEQSY makes it easy to track all of the steps above in one place, from hazard assessments through to the systems and training that are in place for your team to follow.

Communication

The safety of any employee, particularly those who work alone, depends on their ability to communicate with colleagues. If a worker is working alone in an area where there are hazardous materials, live wires or other potential dangers, they need to know that someone is monitoring their location and can contact them immediately.

In addition, the workers should also understand that there are methods of communication they should not use while they’re on their own, such as using power tools, whistling or tapping on tank walls. These methods can alert potential attackers to their presence and could result in them becoming victims of assault.

Those who work alone should also be aware of the emergency plan, which should include details about how to respond to an alarm and how to activate it. Depending on the situation, the worker may need to call the police, an ambulance or other services. In some cases, the lone worker will be able to call for help themselves by using an app that allows them to send a panic button, GPS locations and other information.

Once the lone worker procedures have been developed, they should be implemented. Ideally, the policy should be introduced during health and safety training. During this time, employees can discuss the reasons behind the policies and understand that they are not optional. It is important to have a positive discussion and highlight the benefits that the lone worker procedures will provide.

Safety Devices

Lone workers need to have a device that they can use in an emergency situation. Ideally, it’s a simple and easy-to-use solution that isn’t too cumbersome or difficult to carry. Some devices are specifically designed for this, but they can also be installed in portable existing devices like smartphones or tablets. This can help save money and ensure user familiarity.

A lone worker device typically has a panic button or other personal safety feature that employees can activate to summon help. It can send an alert with the employee’s location to a set list of contacts and even activate an automatic check-in. This will allow managers to keep track of their lone workers and will be important in case of an accident or other emergency situation.

A good lone worker device should also have features like fall detection and GPS. The latter can be particularly helpful as slips, trips and falls are one of the leading causes of work-related injuries in North America. It’s also worth looking for a solution that has a manual patented emergency SOS latch to generate an instant visible and audible alarm in an emergency. It’s also important to look for a device that is compatible with other communication options, like text messaging and push-talk when paired with live monitoring. For example, Blackline Safety’s G7 lone worker device can provide multiple communication avenues for varying circumstances and is compatible with a wide range of accessories.

Training

Lone worker safety is a critical part of any business. Whether your employees are working in high crime areas, dealing with potentially dangerous chemicals or simply driving to remote locations for their job - it’s essential that they have training on how to handle any situation that may arise.

lone worker alarm When it comes to lone worker situations, the most common dangers are violence and aggression, medical emergency and falls. To address these threats, training should be focused on ensuring employees understand the safety legislation they need to follow, probable workplace threats and how to implement proactive strategies to help safeguard their health and wellbeing.

Whether they are at the office or out in the field, managers must monitor their lone workers and make sure they can communicate with them regularly. This is typically done through a combination of phone, radio and email contact, and can be supplemented by frequent visits to long-term or permanent work sites.

When it comes to implementing an effective lone worker solution, the best approach is to provide your team with a simple and user-friendly device that can be used in any environment. A mobile app like Connecteam allows employees to quickly report incidents, including images, location stamps, voice recordings and signatures - all straight from their smartphone. The data can then be instantly sent to the company's internal teams for further investigation.