Due to the nature of their work in remote areas, these inspectors face unique occupational hazards. Limited cellular connectivity can lead to communication challenges and hinder accurate location tracking during emergencies. Isolation only compounds the risks, making safety a critical concern for these workers.

Government bodies are taking steps to protect home healthcare workers. However, are the measures enough to protect these people from the serious safety challenges that they are facing every day? And are these measures being implemented fast enough with violence against healthcare workers increasing in both frequency and severity.

A simple check-in from a worker can significantly enhance safety. This single step allows lone workers to confirm their well-being with their employer, alleviating personal safety concerns while working in isolation. Beyond the action itself, safety check-in messages serve as crucial communication channels for occupational safety monitoring and management.

There are three key reasons why a check-in message should include more than just the lone worker's GPS coordinates, which, while essential, are only one part of the larger picture:

Lone worker safety still needs to be a top priority for North American lawmakers. Despite more and more people working alone and in isolation or remotely, consistent, widespread lone worker safety legislation does not exist to protect these vulnerable people. In North America, lone workers are expected to grow from 320,000 to 605,000 users by the end of 2025.

Conducted in April 2023, SafetyLine Lone Worker conducted a work safety survey, and the results are now available. More than 1,500 SafetyLine users completed the survey, including lone workers themselves, safety monitors, and administrators across a range of industries, including healthcare, water and electrical utilities, government services, hotels, and hospitality.

In the USA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have specific regulations for lone workers. However, OSHA requires employers to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for their employees, including those who work alone or in isolation (OSHA, 2022). Additionally, several US states have their own regulations that require employers to take specific steps to protect their lone workers.

To find and document important safety details and information, you need to conduct a lone worker needs analysis, which will highlight and improve four primary areas including safety procedures, areas for improvement, opportunities that should be explored further, and holes in your lone worker safety program.

A lone worker solution is a system, service, and/or safety device that protect lone workers (people working alone and remotely). It will signal an emergency when the lone worker needs help and it monitors their well-being with safety check-ins. Let’s look at the 11 strategies to evaluate your lone worker solution.

Not only do employers and companies have a moral obligation to protect their workers and employees, but they also have a legal one. OSHA regulations regarding lone worker safety are predominantly guided by two core standards.

Depending on your industry and local legislation, your workplace violence program may look different from ours, but regardless, there key areas that must be included in a truly effective workplace violence program.

A well-planned and researched OHS policy statement is one of the first steps in elevating the safety of staff members, clearly outlining everything your organization wants to achieve in OHS including goals and objectives, as well as strategies and tactics that will involve the team.

Over the past year, the number of people working alone or remotely has increased significantly, particularly in healthcare, where workers are increasingly by themselves because of social distancing guidelines or health authorities trying to provide care in the homes.

Who are lone workers?  In simple terms, lone workers are people who work without any direct supervision or management monitoring their work activities.

To all harassment and violence, hotels have begun to provide panic buttons to their staff, empowering them to immediately request help if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. The situation is so urgent that several major hotel chains like Hilton and Hyatt have promised to equip their staff with panic buttons and worker safety technology

The hospitality industry captures a broad range of professions within the service sector, including food and drink services, lodging, transportation, event planning, and other jobs within the tourism industry. It contributed over $570 billion to the US economy in 2017, making it the second-largest contributor to the country’s GDP falling only behind the Government. According to Statista, the hospitality industry employed over 16.5 million Americans in 2018, representing a 2% increase from 2017.

It is no secret that lone workers are faced with infinitely more risks than many other workers within a company, given the isolated nature of their work. Any organization that employs lone workers must provide those workers with the necessary knowledge and tools to work safely. A lone worker policy is an effective way to ensure that your lone workers are well-educated on your company’s work-alone rules and have extensive knowledge of all workplace hazards that could be encountered on the job. It’s a useful tool that ensures both employers and employees know the risks

Manitoba is one of the seven provinces in Canada that regulate working alone. Given that having at least two employees on a job site was not always practical or useful in protecting workers, these regulations were established to ensure the safety of those workers who were required to perform their jobs alone.

In the picture above, can you spot out the lone worker? No? That’s because the lone worker comes from every background and demographic, looking like you and I.  This is the first article of a three-part series: Setting Up a Lone Worker Safety Program.  The profile of a lone worker has…

Many companies who do not provide unique support for their lone workers have a difficult time adhering to working alone legislation. A common assumption is that their safety programs are already acceptable. Furthermore, other businesses might already have distinct programs for employees who work alone but find that their current procedures and policies negatively impact productivity. In this article, we will discuss methods for protecting your lone workers in compliance with legislation in Alberta, Canada.

Labour Day in Canada is recognized every first Monday of September since the 1880s. In the second half of the 19 century, Canada was changing rapidly with the increase of immigration, cities growing in numbers, and the industrial revolution drastically altering Canada’s economy and workforce.

There has been a lot of time and energy spent on updating the legislation around Lone Workers of the world, particularly over the past 15 years. Australia, Canada, and the UK all have revised and updated language about lone workers at the legislative level.