Rear view of security guard with flashlight in building corridor
A lot of people search on Google about lone working. People ask who lone workers are, what are the risks, how do they stay safe and much, much more. We decided to address all these questions and more – to help people learn about lone working and how to stay safe.
There are many similar definitions of a lone worker. One of the clearest definitions is when work is done in a location where the employee cannot physically see or be seen by another person or talk to or be heard by another person. This scenario of isolation means a person could go for hours without interacting with other people.
Yes. Maybe you have the freedom to decide whether to work in the office or have days at home or you are in lock down or isolating, but if you are in your house where you cannot be seen or heard by another person, you are a lone worker.
Lone working is riskier because you do not have colleagues to turn to if something goes wrong. This puts lone workers at a higher risk of being involved in an incident and not being able to get help.
Lone workers often travel for work. Either completely on their own (driving), or to the homes/offices/warehouses of other people as health visitors, delivery people, technicians etc. Lone workers may also do manual work in occupations (farming, forestry, construction), that are more dangerous.
As lone workers are carrying out their tasks in isolation there is a greater chance they could become injured or encounter a hazardous situation. As these workers do not have work mates close at hand, there is no one there to administer first aid or summon emergency services.
The best way to keep lone workers safe and protected is to use a lone worker solution.
Some companies have bespoke, custom-made devices that workers must carry with them throughout the day, but these are often cumbersome, very expensive to buy and often tie people into long contracts.
Other companies use independent call-centres to monitor their lone workers. This can be an effective solution; however, call-centres have no way of knowing where a lone worker is as they do not have a means of monitoring worker locations.
The most convenient solutions use hardware, like smartphones, that lone workers already possess. The best solutions allow workers to check in with their companies on a regular basis to show they are all right. They also use automated notifications to remind workers if they forget to check in.
A great lone worker solution has the following features:
As an expert in lone worker content management, I possess an extensive knowledge base and experience in the area of lone working and safety monitoring. My expertise in this field encompasses a wide range of areas, including risk assessment, training, communication, and technology. I have a deep understanding of the unique risks associated with lone workers and have researched and written many projects and articles to educate people in how to mitigate these risks.
Throughout my time with Ok Alone, I have kept up to date with technological developments, legislative changes and regulations that have been introduced to help organizations ensure the safety of their lone workers.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2023 9:51 am
We are always looking for better ways to explain how Ok Alone works. We have…
Whether it's for missed check-ins or help alerts, everyone who works alone or in isolation…
Single point of of contact is important in quarrying and aggregates businesses. It’s there for…
Sometimes people think because they have gps tracking on their vehicles, they are monitoring the…
A Guardian/Insight survey asked what are the key challenges facing individual care worker, and the…
Every morning, we get up and go about our day assuming we'll come home safely…