Notes

SHEQSY's Lone Worker Safety Solution
Lone worker is any employee who works alone without direct supervision for a prolonged period of time. SHEQSY’s lone worker safety solution gives remote employees intuitive ways to raise duress alarms, check-in periodically and more – all automatically feeding into one dynamic, secure dashboard for easy monitoring and management.

Ensure a safety plan is in place for each lone worker with clearly established procedures around how often they will check-in and where. This will help managers locate them quickly if an emergency happens.
Lack of Supervision

Lone workers are a group of people who have to work alone, without direct or close supervision for the whole duration of their shift. They can be security guards, estate agents, cleaners or factory workers who do not have a supervisor physically present. It is entirely legal for staff members to work alone, as long as the risk has been properly assessed and a system is in place to deal with emergency incidents.

When working alone, it is easy for lone workers to become distracted by other tasks or lose focus and ignore safety guidelines. This could lead to unexpected accidents or even injury. It is important to remind lone workers of these guidelines and ensure they follow them, especially in unfamiliar or hazardous environments.

It is also important that the level of supervision required for lone workers is determined by management, and not left to individual employees to decide. It is also crucial that supervisors are trained to be able to assess whether an employee needs to be accompanied for safety reasons. If an employee is new to the job, undergoing training or dealing with situations that pose special risks they should be accompanied for the first few times. Supervisors can be influenced by their own values in their gatekeeper role, leading to parity between enacted and espoused support of company policies (Zohar & Luria, 2010). They may not always take into account factors such as the nature of the environment, the time of day and interactions with the public, for example.
Safety Concerns

Lone workers can face a variety of safety concerns. Depending on their location, responsibilities and working conditions, these can include being in a high crime area, encountering aggressive customers or dealing with dangerous chemicals. Additionally, mobile workers can experience fatigue or be subjected to traffic accidents while on the road.

To help mitigate these risks, companies should conduct a lone worker risk assessment to ensure employees are adequately prepared for their tasks. This should include clearly identifying the specific job duties and risks associated with each individual position, determining how long it's reasonable for an employee to be alone during their shift and what methods of communication and check-in procedures are appropriate in that particular circumstance.

Once this is complete, companies can set up systems that will help employees stay safe, such as establishing emergency procedures, creating schedules for periodic check-ins and developing guidelines for remote work environments. Using physiological data, it can also be helpful to identify when an employee is most vulnerable, such as after a certain number of hours on the road or at night. Putting safety precautions in place like emergency procedures, smarter scheduling and panic alarm technology can all be effective measures.
Communication Issues

Lone workers often have a limited ability to communicate with supervisors. This lack of communication can lead to stress and isolation which can ultimately cause employees to quit their jobs. It is important for employers to monitor lone workers and check in with them regularly. In addition, it is critical for companies to equip their lone workers with the tools they need to communicate. This may include a smartphone app with emergency call buttons, broadcast notifications and two-way messaging like Vector LiveSafe.

Lone worker policies should detail how often a lone employee must check in with their supervisor and what steps are to be taken if an employee does not check in. These procedures should also include an emergency plan in case of a workplace or personal crisis.


For example, if an employee experiences a health emergency while working alone, it is crucial that they are able to contact safety personnel immediately. This can be accomplished through an app on their phone such as Edgefinity IoT or with a built-in panic button in their ID badges from a company that offers remote monitoring services.

The best way to keep a lone worker safe is by creating a comprehensive lone worker policy. It is also important to train lone workers on the policies and equipment they need to stay safe in their specific work environment.
Behavioral Concerns

Lone workers are at greater risk for physical or verbal abuse and harassment. This is because a lone worker often does not have immediate colleagues around to intervene on their behalf. Consequently, health and social care staff who work alone on community visits or in patients' homes are at particular risk of such incidents.

Moreover, a number of other professions such as real estate agents who conduct property viewings on their own or construction workers who carry out their work without colleagues also face this issue. The same can be said for security guards who patrol buildings or remote locations without direct supervision.

To address this, employers should have a clear lone working policy that outlines the specific steps and precautions that employees must take while working alone. This should include instructions for maintaining communication and regular check-ins as well as emergency response procedures. Furthermore, a number of safety hazards should be identified and highlighted in a lone working policy, including those relating to the handling of hazardous substances (i.e. explosive, flammable, corrosive or pressurised).

lone worker alarm device It is essential that a lone working policy is regularly reviewed to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the business and that employees are fully aware of the risks involved in their role. Similarly, any preventive measures should be updated to reflect any changes in the workplace environment or job roles.

Homepage: https://loneworkerdevices.com/