Lone Working - Tracking Systems
Increasing numbers of people work alone, either some or all of the time. Working alone can create extra health and safety risks and if you employ lone workers, or if you're self-employed and you work alone, it is your responsibility to manage these risks.
Employers have a responsibility to protect the health and safety and welfare of all their employees and the health and safety of those who are affected by the work of those employees. This may include visitors to the company, contractors and subcontractors or self employed individuals who the employees engage with.
The risks associated with lone working cannot be assigned to the employee; it is the employer's duty to assess these risks and the impact it may have upon their lone workers and subsequently take necessary steps to avoid or manage the risks.
Defining Lone Working
Lone workers are defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as "those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision". Lone workers may be people working alone on fixed premises, such as in petrol stations or small shops; people working in separate areas to other employees, such as in separate offices or factories; or people working outside regular hours, such as security staff, maintenance personnel or cleaners.
Also, lone workers may include mobile workers who work away from their fixed base. These employees may provide on site construction services, including electrical, cleaning and maintenance or may be service workers such as social workers, district nurses, drivers, sales representatives or anyone visiting domestic or commercial premises.
Although it is legally acceptable for people to work alone, it is necessary to have practices and procedures in place to identify possible hazards and risks and implement measures to control and manage these.
As well as training and supervision, there are many other ways to protect lone workers against the possible risks and ensure that they are just as well protected as all other workers. Precautions can be put in place to support them in the event of an unforeseeable emergency e.g. a fire, equipment failure, accident or other dangerous circumstance.
The Risk Assessment
The potential risks that may face lone workers can differ to those faced by others. It is important to consider the wide range of factors that may endanger the lone workers' health and safety and these factors may change from occupation to occupation. For example, the possible dangers that nurses may face will be vastly different to the dangers faced by a lone shop worker.
When compiling a risk assessment, pay particular attention to the following questions:
- Can the risk be controlled by the lone worker?
- Has proper training been provided?
- Does the specific occupation present special risks for lone workers?
- Is there a risk of violence?
- Do certain groups of people face particular risks, such as young and old employees and women?
- What is the contingency plan, in the event of an emergency or accident?
- What supervision or monitoring procedures are in place to support lone workers?
What you can do
To supervise lone workers and ensure they stay safe, it is possible to put procedures in place to monitor them. Apart from visiting them on site, regular contact between lone worker and manager can be achieved in a number of ways.
Developing technology capabilities means that it is becoming increasingly easy to keep in touch through convenient portable devices, some of which can be covertly hidden on the employee, if required. Such devices include automatic warning systems which activate if a signal is not received from the lone worker at agreed times and panic buttons, which can be activated manually by the loner worker if they find themselves in an emergency situation and need assistance or automatically in the absence of activity.
It is also a responsible practice to have a method of checking that the lone worker has returned home, or back to their base, after completing their job. CMS SupaTrak can provide a range of solutions to support and protect lone workers, including the ability to track their location and the installation of panic switches. It is possible to track individuals working alone, using the PDATrak service. Provided that the lone worker keeps their PDA switched on and on their person at all times, they will be visible on the SupaTrak mapping system.
This may be a vital tool in the event of an emergency or if the individual working alone needs to be located or contacted. CMS SupaTrak can also provide a range of panic devices, which can be customised to suit the needs of the individual organisation. Bespoke parameters include activation criteria, communication method, and actual positioning of the device.
Some of our customers choose to have a panic button on their employees' PDAs, which, when tapped three times, automatically sends a text message to a designated number (their supervisor), advising of the emergency situation that they are experiencing.
Then, using the SupaTrak tracking service, the supervisors are able to determine the exact whereabouts of their employee and deploy necessary resources to assist the individual in need. Hampshire County Council has implemented this solution amongst 50 of their Community Support Officers and a number of their Trading Standards Officers.
Some organisations choose a voice channel as their method of communication. By activating their panic switch, a voice channel is opened, enabling the recipient of the call to hear what is happening at the lone worker's location. This may prove crucial if the lone worker needs to make contact covertly.
Although many of our panic alarms are activated using a PDA, some customers choose to locate the alarm inside the vehicle. This may be the case for drivers who visit unsafe areas, or who regularly encounter adverse situations. A panic switch can be discreetly activated and the necessary action deployed.
As well as panic switches being triggered manually, CMS SupaTrak can configure alarms to activate if an absence of activity is noted, or if an agreed time of communication is not met.
Help your people feel safer
Your employees' attendance may improve, along with their motivation and well-being
Follow industry best practices
Comply with Health & Safety legislation and demonstrate industry best practice
Improve customer service and staff productivity
Better moral amongst your staff can lead to better customer relations and productivity throughout the business
Help to prevent incidents from occurring
Implementing a lone working solution may reduce the severity of any incidents that do occur or even prevent them from happening in the first place. If an incident does occur, you will be able to provide evidence, if necessary, in criminal proceedings.
