Lone workers

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. 

It is the lone worker who makes the first advance in a subject, the details may be worked out by a team"... 

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... 

Figure 5.4 A lone worker - special arrangements required.

Radios and pagers can be a great asset to lone workers in particular, but special training is necessary as good radio discipline with a special language and codes are required... 

Chemicals and - Maintenance of - Lone worker - Onsite hazards... 

Encourage interaction between workers and provide a means of communication for lone workers. 

Lone workers - those persons who work on their own either in a remote location within a workplace or those whose work is peripatetic moving from site to site. 

To illustrate how an effective safe system of work might be developed, it is useful to consider the requirements for a lone worker who by the very term works by... 

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. 

These will include assessment of the work to consider the likelihood of injury and the possible consequences to the lone worker. Where hazardous substances, live electrical work, work at height or near water may be involved, lone working should normally be avoided. 

Lone worker alarms or other means of communication will be provided. 

Levels of training and experience for lone workers will include full understanding of the work, hazards, emergency procedures and the limits of the work which have been authorised and the limits on the use of their own initiative. 

Lone workers will not be allowed to enter confined spaces Lone workers holding or handling cash... 

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. 

The lone worker should always carry a radio tuned to the control room frequency. This allows him or her to call for help if he or she is able, and it allows the control room to make frequent checks on the worker s condition. (On the North Slope of Alaska, the control room calls outside workers frequently and on a schedule, such as once every 10 minutes. All the worker has to do is respond—thus proving that he or she is not injured.)... 

The lone worker should describe what he or she is planning to do to the control room operators before going outside. 

First aid and access to medical assistance Lone worker Respiratory hazards Sanitation and isease prevention Violence in the workplace... 

Description of hazard. Working alone can be more hazardous than performing the same job when other people are present. A lone worker is defined as an employee who performs an activity that is intended to be carried out in isolation from other workers, without close or direct supervision. Such staff may be exposed to risk because there is no one to assist them should they be injured. If a lone worker is injured or an emergency occurs, the worker won t have access to help if no one is within shouting distance. If the worker is rendered unconscious, it may be hours before help arrives, and by then it may be too late. 

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