Lone-worker safety

To enable both company and contractor to comply with their specific responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, a Lone Workers policy, supported by a method of assessment of potential hazards relating to the work to be carried out, should be prepared. Such a system would prove beneficial when, for any reason, the regular lone worker cannot be found. 

Huang YH, Zohar D, Robcatson MM, Garabet A, Lee J, Murphy LA (2013) Development and validation of safety climate scales for lone workers using truck drivers as exemplar. Transp Res F Traffic Psychol Behav 17 5-19... 

Successful safety implementations are often challenging when dealing with lone workers, but sometimes a simple solution and frequent reinforcement are all that is necessary to achieve dramatic results. Such was the case with an organization that collects and processes natural gas. The behavioral safety process we designed for this organization improved overall safety, interaction between employees and management, and employee participation that additionally brought the employees a sense of empowerment. 

Many jobs are accomplished by a lone worker. There is no supervisor or coworker aroxmd to hold the employee accoxmtable for performing the job safely. The challenge for safety professionals and corporate leaders is to bxiild the kind of work cxilture that enables or facilitates responsibility or self-accoxmtability for safety. 

Common controls. The following are safety recommendations for a variety of situations for lone workers. 

While lone work may not automatically decrease a worker s safety performance, there is no doubt that working alone increases a worker s vulnerability to a variety of safety issues. This vulnerability applies not only to those who regularly work outdoors, but to any employees whose work frequently takes them out into the community. All these workers may encounter threats to their safety. 

---