Safer Workdays for Water Technicians: The Role of Lone Worker Technology
Table of Contents
The role of lone worker technology
The growing need for lone worker protection
Challenges faces by water technicians in urban facilities
How lone worker technology enhances safety
Benefits for water authorities and municipalities
Lone worker technology is a game-changer for water technicians
Lone worker FAQs
Cities rely on vast networks of water infrastructure to support homes, businesses, and everyday life. Behind the scenes, skilled water technicians work tirelessly to ensure that clean, safe water flows where it’s needed—and that wastewater is treated responsibly.
These professionals operate in a variety of roles across urban facilities, including:
Wastewater Technicians
Environmental and Lab Technicians
Maintenance Technicians
Water Quality and Stormwater Technicians
Water Distribution Technicians
Whether maintaining treatment plants, inspecting pump stations, or repairing underground mains and hydrants, many of these technicians often work alone—sometimes in remote locations, sometimes in public-facing roles. This isolation introduces unique safety risks that demand more than just standard protocols.
The role of lone worker technology
To protect these essential workers, organizations are increasingly turning to lone worker safety solutions—including mobile apps, wearable devices, and automated alert systems. These technologies ensure that technicians remain connected to their teams and can quickly signal for help in case of an emergency.
Whether employed by municipalities, private utilities, environmental agencies, or industrial facilities, water technicians face similar risks when working alone. Lone worker technology helps mitigate those risks by:
Enhancing real-time visibility of technician locations and status
Enabling rapid emergency response through automated alerts
Reducing risk exposure for workers in hazardous or isolated environments
Boosting confidence and morale among field staff
The growing need for lone worker protection
Additionally, there is an increasing occupational need for lone worker protection in this sector with growth in more risk of violence and theft, traffic accidents, as well as the responsibility to maintain compliance and satisfy any local lone worker safety regulations; crime victimization rates are significantly lower in rural areas than urban settings. National Safety Council estimates roughly 15 percent of U.S. employees work alone, with nearly 70 percent of organizations reporting an incident involving lone workers during the past three years. Most importantly, when they are working alone, these lone workers are more at risk because help may not be readily available if they need it and if they experience an accident, they might not be able to even call for help because they’re physically unable to do so.
Challenges faced by water technicians in urban facilities
Water technicians working in urban environments face a unique set of safety challenges. Their roles often require them to work alone, travel between multiple sites, and operate in remote or isolated areas such as treatment plants, pump stations, and underground infrastructure. These conditions make it difficult to ensure immediate assistance in emergencies—especially when communication is limited by building materials or infrastructure constraints.
Ensuring their safety requires more than just standard procedures. It demands a strategic combination of lone worker monitoring technology and comprehensive safety planning to keep them connected and protected. Here are some of the key risks these technicians face:
Working alone in high-risk areas
Facilities and plants often have isolated, separate areas where technicians work without immediate assistance.
Hazards in confined spaces
Many urban water systems involve working in hazardous confined spaces such as underground infrastructure, treatment plants, and pump stations with limited escape routes.
Exposure to hazardous materials
Workers can come into contact with highly toxic chemicals and gases, resulting in both short-term and long-term health problems.
Time-sensitive emergencies
When lone workers experience accidents or medical incidents that require immediate response, they may not be able to call for help due to their solitary circumstances.
Additionally, there are specific urban occupational risks that water technicians face in the cities that their counterparts may not face in rural areas, including:
High-rise building maintenance
Frequent public interaction/harassment/violence
Traffic and transportation hazards or disruptions
Underground facility operations
Increased exposure to pollutions and hazardous materials
How lone worker technology enhances safety
So how do employers manage so many major safety hazards simultaneously? How do you keep multiple, mobile technicians safe and connected while meeting local compliance requirements? As mentioned earlier, people in this industry can be kept safe with a secure plan and lone worker technology that provides several key features which address the major safety challenges they face.
Automated check-ins and alerts ensure that workers regularly and consistently confirm their safety, sending immediate alerts when they fail to check in.
Man-down detection and fall alerts use motion sensors to detect sudden falls of lack of movement, triggering emergency notifications.
GPS location tracking provides real-time location updates of the worker, ensuring quick and efficient response to urban facilities in the case of an emergency.
Two-way communication and panic alerts allow immediate, instant communication between workers and supervisors and managers, including the ability to trigger an SOS alert when in danger.
Integration with citywide safety systems will allow the lone worker solution to be integrated with current plans and programs, like municipal emergency response systems, for faster intervention.
Benefits for lone workers
By addressing so many occupational safety hazards and issues through lone worker technology and planning, there are a range of potential benefits that the lone water technicians, as well as the water authorities and municipalities will experience.
Improved compliance with safety regulations: Using lone worker technology regularly helps cities and municipalities meet occupational health and safety requirements.
Reduced liability and risk: Proactive safety measures, like using lone worker technology or a safety check-in system, lower the chances of workplace accidents and associated costs.
Enhanced worker confidence and productivity: When using monitoring lone worker technology, employees feel safer, allowing them to focus on their tasks without worrying about their safety.
Proactive risk and hazard management: Documenting and assessing hazards beforehand will allow the organization to more effectively manage occupational dangers and risk before a person is hurt.
Improved emergency response: By providing a channel for the worker to immediately request help, as well as a monitoring device that provides the worker’s location, response to emergencies is significantly improved and hastened.
Improved work quality: When workers can focus on their job and not worry about their safety, the quality of their work enhances and becomes better.
Improved work culture: Employees who are protected and feel safe, also feel happier and will remain with an organization for longer, resulting in a strong work culture.
Lone worker technology is a game-changer for water technicians
With so many benefits of implementing lone worker technologies into water technician teams, the impact of this automation is huge. There will be more reliance on technology when monitoring the well-being of large teams of workers, as well as a reliance on these devices to stay connected while working alone in remote buildings and structures.
In order to truly create a safer work environment for these people, municipalities and water authorities must look adopting these advanced solutions to protect vulnerable workers as well as take a more proactive approach towards occupational safety and compliance.
Improve the safety for water technicians now because our cities need it. Contact us if you want to book a consultation, a demo, or if you simply want to know more information about lone worker safety.
Lone worker FAQs
What are some lone worker solutions specifically for water technicians?
Lone utility workers face several very serious safety hazards that are unique to the profession’s work environments. In addition to standard – and usually required – OHS measures (harnesses, lanyards, and PPE like protective gloves), technology-based lone worker solutions can provide added safety and security, including fall and impact detection, automated check-ins, panic alarms.
What workplace hazards might water technicians be exposed to in this industry?
Staff could face a number of serious safety hazards and risks while on the job. These include falls from tall heights, aggressive members of the public, as well as low heights (slipping on water), electrocution and burns, drowning, and struck-by accidents (vehicles, equipment).
How does the app help ensure compliance with industry safety regulations?
The SafetyLine app can help ensure compliance with common industry safety regulations by monitoring lone workers’ safety, providing automated incident reporting, safety activities/events documentation, and regular risk assessments.
How does SafetyLine improve emergency response times for lone water workers in urban areas?
The SafetyLine app will improve emergency response times in urban areas and buildings by sending instant SOS and panic alerts, providing accurate, real-time location tracking, and automatic emergency requests using the features listed above.