Can the Buddy System be Replaced by a Lone Worker Solution?
Table of Contents
Understanding the role and importance of the buddy system
The pitfalls of a buddy system for lone workers
Exploring the advancements in lone worker safety solutions
Can the buddy system and lone worker solutions work together?
Examining the future of worker safety measures
The future of the buddy system and lone worker safety
From a very early age, we’re taught that the buddy system keeps us safe. Whether it was making sure you’re holding your “buddy’s” hand on school field trips or more recently, being paired with a senior-level coworker at your job, this simple system is used to improve one’s safety and security in all kinds of common situations. Is it really effective and does it benefit the safety of vulnerable employees and lone workers?
As you will read below, we will answer that question as well as if the buddy system can be an adequate replacement for lone worker solutions, particularly work safety technologies and devices that have come a long way since, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it was first used in 1920. We will also compare the advantages and challenges of a buddy system to current lone worker solutions, addressing some misconceptions of how effective the system truly is for lone worker safety.
Understanding the role and importance of the buddy system
Let's look at the role of the buddy system within the occupational safety context. This safety strategy is typically used in circumstances where an employee is paired with another employee to increase both people’s safety while at work. It is a safety measure that is intended to make the safety of a coworker the responsibility of an employee and vice versa, making sure they never work alone. Due to its simplicity, it is a common strategy to protect the safety of field workers who benefit by having a person to:
Provide help in an emergency or accident
Check on/monitor their safety and well-being
Allow their fellow team member to take a needed break
Provide overall support that improve the performed work’s safety such as helping with dangerous tasks or providing life-saving health and safety advice and expertise
By putting the safety of their coworkers in employees’ hands, it can foster a supportive work environment where OHS is a top priority within these teams and the rest of the organization; a system that is fairly easy to implement and onboard.
The pitfalls of a buddy system for lone workers
However, just because the buddy system has been used so much and for so long, it does not mean that it is an effective work safety measure and solution for lone workers. In the 1940s when it was introduced, occupational health and safety was in its infancy and the number of available work safety strategies was fairly limited. Now, how we protect workers in all sectors is an industry in itself, employing a number of strategies like the buddy system, safety check-ins, as well as innovative safety technologies such as wearables and smartphone app for safety. With these much better solutions available, the downsides of the buddy system as much more obvious including:
A lack of structure, in some cases, due to its simplicity which can cause a disorganized, more risky approach to workplace safety.
A false sense of security because their safety is someone else’s responsibility using a buddy system, resulting in lax following of safety protocols/practices and possibly an accident.
A challenge in communication which can be very dangerous when a lone worker is being assaulted or unconscious and cannot contact their coworker.
A more expensive safety strategy because it requires more human resources for a jobsite/task/project when they can be working elsewhere in a capacity where they are more needed.
A riskier safety strategy because if an accident takes place, at least two employees may be in danger instead of one, significantly complicating the emergency response.
Exploring the advancements in lone worker safety solutions
Despite these issues with the buddy system, employers have a growing number of options for effective lone worker technology and work safety solutions. With such options available, the buddy system should not be the primary safety measure when protecting your lone workers.
All of the lone worker solutions currently available come in different shapes and sizes, however they all have one feature in common – that they enable the lone worker to quickly request help in an emergency or if they are in distress.
Fall detection devices
Will request immediate help if it detects a fall or dangerous impact. Lone worker apps like SafetyLine will use the motion features on your current smartphone for fall detection, accomplishing the same objective without requirement for another device.
Satellite and GPS devices
Can be very beneficial to lone worker safety, especially for people working in remote locations where cellular connection is not reliable. GPS and satellite devices have become smaller and more advanced over the years, allowing employers to stay connected with their lone workers in the most isolated locations.
Automated safety check-ins
Are a proven system that requires lone workers to “check in” with the employer at predetermined times and at the end of their shift to confirm their well-being. When performed manually, these check-ins are at risk of human error and missed connections. Because it is automated, this risk is mitigated and the employees’ time can be better spent on other responsibilities, improving work productivity and efficiency.
Can the buddy system and lone worker solutions work together?
So how do these lone worker solutions fit in with more traditional OHS approaches like the buddy system? The answer is simply they can fit quite easily with existing work safety practices and safety policies and protocols, often complementing each other for the benefit of the lone worker. With the buddy system, a lone worker safety app like SafetyLine could make sure the workers have a reliable channel of safety communication to request emergency help for themselves or the other worker.
A combination of both approaches will create a comprehensive safety network that can be relied upon when the buddy system is being used or when that is not possible, and your employees need to work alone. A lone worker solution offers a number of major OHS benefits including consistent communication and automated check-in reminders, among others.
Whether it’s the buddy system or another set of safety practices your company has used for years, compare the traditional strategy to the lone worker solution and technology, finding opportunities where they can complement each other or benefit your lone workers and the organization.
Examining the future of worker safety measures
But is it worth the time and effort to reconcile your traditional safety systems with new technologies and solutions? Absolutely. Because of the different strategies and approaches, the complex picture of work safety can be more fully addressed, mitigating the different occupational hazards a lone worker may face during their shift.
This leads to the future trend of lone worker and worker safety measures, which we believe will continue in the more comprehensive approach of dealing with a range of safety hazards and risks. By looking at ways of using new safety solutions with older ones, the company’s occupational safety program will be able to innovate and adapt to the evolving safety demands of the modern worksite and work environment.
The future of the buddy system and lone worker safety
So while the buddy system has its benefits, specifically its simplicity, overall, it is a costly, unreliable method to protect your vulnerable or lone workers. However, when used with another, more advanced OHS solution like SafetyLine, it can benefit your lone worker safety, providing a more exhaustive solution to the complexities of occupational safety.
The buddy system is a great way to build interpersonal relationships and bonds. But for lone work safety, you need many more tools in place to reliably protect these people.