Protecting lone workers

The HSE has recently updated their guidance for employers on managing the health and safety of lone workers, which is available by clicking here. Lone workers are those that work by themselves without close or direct supervision, such as:

• Delivery drivers, health workers or engineers
• Security staff or cleaners
• Home workers
• Warehouse, petrol station and kiosk staff

There will always be greater risks associated with lone working and many can be exposed to additional hazards, such as road safety, stress, mental health and instances of violent or challenging behaviour. If your employees are working at someone else’s workplace there may be additional hazards that you need to be aware of and so you must ask them of the risks and respective control measures in place to protect your staff.

Wherever possible, employers should look to reduce the amount of lone working carried out by employers to as little as physically possible. Sometimes, however, this is not always possible and so additional control measures need to be put in place. One of the most effective collection of measures is to focus on the training, supervision and communication with lone workers.

Training is particularly important as lone workers will typically be in situations where it is hard for them to receive help, so they need to understand the risks they are exposed to and how to control them. This will be particularly beneficial in being able to cope with unexpected situations, such as violence or challenging behaviour. When planning work you should set limits on what can be done whilst working alone and ensure staff are competent, trained in using technical solutions, and are able to recognise when they should stop and ask for help or advice.

Supervision should be determined through your risk assessment process and, typically, the higher the level of risk the more supervision lone workers will need. Supervision can also be linked to training, as the worker’s ability to identify and handle health and safety issues will also determine the amount of supervision they may require. It is always best to give additional supervision to new staff, those being trained, those dealing with new situations, and particularly those that are dealing with specific risks such as confined spaces or diving operations.

Communication and monitoring processes for lone workers is an essential control measure and employees must understand any systems and procedures that you have in place and engage with them fully. Examples include:

• Planned supervision and observation visits
• Knowing where lone workers are through schedules, tracking and regular communication by phone, radio and email
• Manual and automatic alarm devices
• Reliable methods to ensure workers have returned safely after completing their task

However, it’s not enough to just have these systems in place, its vital that they are regularly tested to ensure their effectiveness and identify faults or opportunities to improve existing systems.

Source: David Wright