Five Steps to Creating a Lone Worker Policy

Identify the staff who will be covered by your new lone worker policy. Then clarify which hazards and risks they face in their roles and how frequently they work alone.

Determine the procedures that should be followed including when and how often a worker should check in with their supervisor and the reporting system they must use when encountering a hazard.

Identifying Lone Workers

Lone workers are those who operate alone, whether working from home, at a remote job site or during travel to or from work. Examples of lone workers are security guards, couriers, mobile maintenance technicians, taxi drivers, garbage collectors and other transit employees, home health aides, social service professionals, custodians and other field-based managers or supervisors.

The best way to identify lone workers is to conduct an employee-focused safety audit and risk assessment. man down alarm Talk to your employees and do a walkthrough with them, reviewing their duties and work sites to understand the hazards they may face. Review any incidents that occur, deconstructing them with worker input to find ways your company can prevent them next time -- prevention is key when it comes to workplace safety.





Once you know who your lone workers are, create a procedure for them to follow in emergencies. Determine how frequently they will check in with a manager or coworker and under what circumstances. Develop a contact list and a code word to use when they need help.

The right lone worker solution enables your remote workers to automatically check-in, confirm their safety and wellbeing, report on a situation as they work and instantly communicate in an emergency. Custom digital checklists and forms can be used to collect location notes, photos, voice recordings and signatures and automatically emailed to the office for immediate action.

Risk Assessment

Once you’ve identified the people who meet your lone worker policy criteria, it’s time to assess the risks they face. This should be done separately from your general health and safety assessment, as lone workers face different and greater hazards than their colleagues. The assessment should follow the five steps set out in this article, but with a special focus on working alone.





Identify the hazards that lone workers face in their work activities, including physical hazards like falls or fires and psychological hazards such as violence and isolation. Also, consider the nature of the equipment they use (e.g. it could be more dangerous if they are operating a particular piece of machinery without the help of others).

Then, evaluate the likelihood of these hazards occurring and the severity of their consequences for your lone workers. Finally, decide how to control these risks. Make sure that the risk reduction measures are measurable, realistic and practical. Involve your lone workers as much as possible in the process, allowing them to help you create procedures that are doable and relevant. Then, ask them for feedback to ensure they understand the issues and agree with your recommendations. This will also make them more likely to support your lone worker policy and take it seriously. It’s worth pointing out that conducting a risk assessment isn’t just good practice, but it is a legal requirement for businesses with five or more employees under the Management of Health and Safety Regulations.

Training

Lone worker policies must be clearly mapped out and documented to help keep employees safe. They need to be separate from your general health and safety policy for clarity, since lone workers have different needs and risk levels. The policy should also identify the main points of contact within your organization, as well as any existing controls that need to be in place.

It’s important that any lone working policy be clear and straightforward so that it can be understood by staff who are not experts in the area. This can be achieved through training sessions that include clear explanations of how the policy will benefit them. In addition, a workshop or a health and safety day where the document can be openly discussed will help to get engagement from staff.

Finally, a clear reporting procedure should be included so that employees know how to report incidents and problems with their safety arrangements. Inclusion of this aspect will ensure that any lessons learned from incidents can be incorporated into your lone work policy.

While drafting a lone working policy can seem like an onerous task, it is essential for the safety of your employees and your business. It will pay dividends in terms of employee retention and a healthy work culture. So get the ball rolling on your lone working policy, and make sure that it is regularly updated in accordance with new conditions or equipment.

Communication

Lone worker policies need to be clear and easy to understand. To do so, they must define all the risks associated with working alone, such as weather hazards, chemical exposure and biohazards. Additionally, the policy must specify how the person will check-in and what their contact information will be. Lastly, it is important to make sure that all employees understand the scope of the lone worker policy and to whom it applies.

Identifying a lone worker can be difficult and it is important to take the time to discuss the potential risks and how they will be monitored. It is also essential to involve workers in the process as they are the ones who experience these risks first-hand and can provide valuable insight. It is also a good idea to use technology, such as Connecteam, to communicate with staff to ensure that they are safe.

Developing a lone worker policy is an ongoing process. New risks and conditions will constantly arise, and the policy must be updated regularly. A process must be put in place for ensuring that this happens and that all employees have access to the latest version of the policy. In addition, lines of communication should always be open for feedback and for monitoring how well the policy is being followed. This will help to identify any potential gaps in the safety protocols for lone work.