Training for Employees on Lone Worker Safety and Panic Button Usage

Lone workers face a range of hazards. Whether they’re social workers, truck drivers, nurses, custodians or hotel staff, these employees operate alone and lack the safety support of colleagues.

In addition to conducting a risk assessment, businesses should also consider providing lone worker devices and offering associated training. To help your team feel confident using these solutions, ensure that clear communication and emergency protocols are defined.

Training on the Panic Button

When employees work alone, it is critical that they have access to the means to summon assistance if they are threatened, witness inappropriate behavior or experience a medical emergency while at work. Panic buttons can provide a safety net for healthcare and social workers, child welfare workers, care providers, hotel employees, or any other lone worker who may find themselves in danger by giving them a way to call for help without having to use their cell phone.

While there is no nationwide Occupational Safety and Health Standard that requires employers to give their employees a panic button, many companies do so because they realize the risk of workplace violence for these workers. In addition to carrying out a lone worker risk assessment, it is also helpful to meet with employees to discuss their safety concerns and ask them if they would feel safer with the option of having access to a device they could use to summon help if needed.

lone worker system If your company offers a device with a panic button, you will need to ensure that all employees are properly trained on its usage. This includes training on how to use the device, as well as being instructed on your business’s escalation procedure. You will also want to be sure that your device is connected to a reliable network and has good WiFI coverage, so that if you work in an area with limited or no signal, you can still summon help.

You will also want to train your employees on the benefits of using the device and the peace of mind they get from knowing that, if they are ever in an unsafe situation, they can simply press the button and know that help is on the way. It is also a good idea to have your employees pair up with one another and role-play how the device would be used in an emergency situation.

Upon triggering the panic button, the device will send an alert through SMS, email and/or phone calls to designated monitors (as chosen by your company). The monitors can then follow your escalation plan and dispatch law enforcement or assist with any other lone worker needs that are required. In addition, most devices also offer GPS location tracking, ensuring that the lone worker can easily be located and sent the help they need.





Training on the Safety App

In addition to a panic button, it’s essential for lone workers to have the ability to check in regularly and communicate with their monitoring centre during shifts. Ideally, this will be through a dedicated lone worker app or device that is easily integrated with the team’s existing mobile devices and can be downloaded to staff’s phones without additional equipment delivery costs.

Training on a lone worker app should focus on the purpose of the solution, how alerts work and why the company has introduced it – whether that is to meet local lone working regulations/legislation or as part of a duty of care initiative. The training should also explain how the app is used to ensure it is a user-friendly system and encourage staff to incorporate it into their daily routines.

The training should also highlight any specific features or alerts that will help lone working employees stay safe such as motion sensors and the ability to share live location data with safety monitoring teams. The training should also be transparent about the extent of monitoring, highlighting who will have access to this information and what privacy levels are issued to supervisors. This will ensure a positive understanding of the solution amongst your workforce and help mitigate any fears they may have about being tracked throughout their work shifts.

Having the option to share live locations will also ensure that in case of an emergency, employees can alert their monitoring center and receive assistance more quickly. This could be especially useful in a crisis situation like a mass social disturbance or riot that has the potential to affect multiple locations where your people are working.

The training should also focus on the other options available through the lone worker app or device, such as being able to customize emergency escalation chains, completing roll calls and submitting safety checklists and reports. These features are a great way to promote a safety culture within your business and show your lone working staff that you care about their wellbeing, particularly in environments where they might feel more vulnerable.

Training on Communication

As you might know, it’s a crucial part of an employer’s duty of care to ensure that staff feel safe at work. And with news stories regularly reporting that lack of training is a leading cause of serious workplace injuries and fatalities, it’s particularly important for staff who work alone or with minimal colleague presence to receive the appropriate lone working safety training.

Lone working solutions are specialist products designed to monitor the safety of staff and provide an easy way for them to signal for help in an emergency. However, the system itself does little good unless you also have effective communication with lone associates.

That’s why a major component of any lone worker safety program is regular check-in procedures. These can be through email, phone, radio or other methods that are accessible when employees are on the job. You’ll also need to provide a backup method in case an employee’s device fails or they don’t have sufficient coverage at their work location.

Additionally, it’s crucial to be transparent with workers about how and why their devices are being monitored. This will help them to understand what information is being relayed and what privacy levels are issued to supervisors. In addition, it will make it clear that they can raise an alarm at any time to get immediate assistance, regardless of whether the alert is legitimate or not.

Finally, it’s essential to include a discussion about what to do when a worker feels threatened or is in danger. This should include a review of the emergency response plan as well as a discussion on how to contact supervisors, colleagues or other personnel for help.

Lone working training programs should be tailored to the specific needs of your business. For example, we use a unique training methodology which progresses understanding and decision-making through a series of group and individual exercises and role-plays. This helps groups to learn the skills and confidence needed to communicate effectively, assess risks and de-escalate situations in real life. It’s this approach that’s so crucial for lone working staff, who may need to be more vigilant about their personal safety than other workers.

Training on the Emergency Response Plan

Lone worker safety is a crucial aspect of employee safety in any work environment. This type of training helps employees understand the dangers they can face and how to avoid them, thereby ensuring their own wellbeing as well as the safety of co-workers and customers. Unfortunately, news stories regularly highlight the lack of this type of training as a contributing factor to serious workplace accidents and even fatalities.

Every lone worker safety policy should be tailored to the specific needs of each organization, based on legal requirements, lone worker risks and more. However, there are a few common elements that should be included in all policies. These include:

A good lone worker safety policy should clearly outline protocol for reporting incidents or hazards, emergency response plans for various scenarios and guidelines for working alone in remote locations or hazardous environments. These should be made available to all employees, whether in the form of printed copies or a digital version and updated on a regular basis.

It’s also vital that lone workers know how to use their communication devices effectively and how to check in with supervisors or designated contacts during shifts. They should also be aware of the limitations and constraints of these devices and have alternative communication methods in case of device failure or loss of signal in remote locations.

Finally, lone workers should be informed about the monitoring and tracking of their location information by supervisors. They should be told who can access this information, and the level of privacy they’ve been granted, to make sure that location data is only used for their personal safety, not tracked throughout a shift.

Lone workers are vulnerable to a wide range of risks, from unexpected intruders to electrical hazards and more. Fortunately, a comprehensive system of risk assessment, policies, training and technology can reduce these hazards by empowering lone workers to prioritize communication, manage their physical well-being, adhere to check-in systems and carry the right PPE for their jobs.

Ultimately, it’s a combination of these tools that will keep employees safe and happy in their isolated roles. Lone worker solutions such as Bodytrak can help to ensure that staff feel supported and cared for, even in seemingly secure situations.