Lone workers face unique safety challenges across various industries, including healthcare, agriculture, utilities, and social services to name a few. Working alone exposes individuals to specific occupational hazards that require careful attention and proactive measures. To ensure the well-being of lone workers, it is essential to understand the common challenges they encounter and implement effective strategies to enhance their safety.

Wherever we work, there are going to be occupational hazards that test our safety and security. It doesn’t matter if you’re working in a wastewater treatment plant or if you’re a home healthcare worker in a patient’s home – there will be safety hazards, big and small. But when you work alone, the risk of those safety hazards is elevated because there isn’t a coworker nearby to get or provide emergency aid if you get injured. “Lone working” can be defined as performing a task by yourself, without help readily available if you are in trouble.

Best practices for ensuring lone worker safety

In addition to staying on top of local safety legislation and regulations, there are a number of steps employers can take to make sure their lone workers are safe.

Communication and monitoring systems: The first best practice to ensure lone worker safety is to have effective communication and monitoring systems in place. It is essential that employers establish a system for workers to be able to communicate with others in case of an emergency……

Working alone in the water and wastewater treatment industry comes with unique hazards, and employers are responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of their lone workers. However, solving the complicated issue of lone worker safety is sometimes easier said than done. This article will highlight the dangers lone workers face in this industry and how an automated lone worker solution can help.

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.

When you hear the term “lone worker” who do you picture in your head? Because they exist across all industries, lone workers have many different faces and work environments. No matter what industry, you are considered a lone worker when you perform your job in conditions where there are no people nearby and/or help is not easily accessible in an emergency.

Safety conferences are unique opportunities to connect with other industry professionals, learn about the latest occupational health and safety (OHS) technologies, as well as stay up-to-date with safety legislation and regulations.

In 2022, SafetyLine published 35 original blogs and content that ranged from cardiac arrest and call centers to creating emergency action plans and conducting lone worker needs analysis – we covered a lot. Out of all the content, six blog articles resonated most with readers in 2022.

Every safety manager and employer would love to have a way to predict workplace accidents before they hurt an employee. Unfortunately, that does not exist yet, however, the good news is there are risk mitigation strategies that can be implemented now, preventing many of these accidents from taking place and as a result, protecting your workers from injuries and harm.

In a nutshell, these devices will protect an individual worker (or workers - in coordination with other devices) from certain safety hazards in the workplace and other environments and situations. Personal safety devices help employers protect their employees when mobile, employing various technologies to address a range of safety challenges in the workplace at the time. Personal safety devices include a broad group of technology that can include: 

While society prizes those among us who put others first, it takes more than just empathy to be a successful social worker. Social workers combine active listening, knowledge of the rules, and positivity to succeed. But unlike other public service professions, along with health workers, paramedics, and firefighters, social workers can find themselves in harm’s way. They can, however, reduce their risk if they are prepared.

Working in the heat can cause a range of health conditions, putting your people at risk, especially during the summer months. Requiring workers to perform their jobs in hot conditions also requires the employer to do everything possible to protect employees, helping them work in high temperatures safely.

As we continue to live in an increasingly technological world, it can be tricky navigating the mass of information and the number of options for worker safety, such as phone-based apps, safety tags, wearables, etc. As you read further, you will learn about three common types of lone worker safety tools, hopefully making it easier for you to determine which system is best for your team and occupations' health and safety needs.

During summer, it’s especially important to pay close attention to your health, wellbeing, and safety as a lone worker. In this article we will look into the ways you can prioritize your health during the summertime heat and how to keep you safe and sound all season long.

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.

Here is all of the occupational safety and health-related news that you may have missed in May. Hope you’re having a safe spring!

SafetyLine users can now see a more effective visual locator of where lone workers are performing their jobs. This addresses a common and understandable misunderstanding of workers’ locations on the SafetyLine map. Monitors sometimes assume the location pin was accurate because the accuracy of the data wasn’t presented visually. Occasionally, there has been confusion around the fact that the map pin shows the lone worker at an incorrect location. This occurs because of issues caused by imperfections in general GPS location accuracy.

When a worker is experiencing an emergency, they need someone who they can reliably contact to get immediate help. One strategy being employed to address this issue is by creating internal call centers to monitor vulnerable and lone workers. What are a high-functioning and collaborative team, the call center is funded by the company budget or employed by company staff.

Here is all of the occupational safety and health-related news that you missed in April: safety officers, psychological safety, fire safety, safety technologies, connected safety programs, as well as new OSHA rules for healthcare.

As you read further, you will learn about the pros and cons of a manual lone worker safety system. We will also look at the benefits and costs of an automated lone worker safety system for your employees working alone.