Lone worker safety monitoring is important. Without it, workers on the job—alone—face dangers without help in sight.
Employees are often isolated from other people in many jobs. Security guards, maintenance people and overnight convenience store clerks can go for hours without contact.
Modern technology allows monitoring of these solo workers, and Dan Clark discusses the topic in this podcast.
Dan also advises that experienced and well trained workers are the most likely to stay safe when working alone.
TRANSCRIPT:
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Dan Clark: We all know workplaces can be dangerous, even when coworkers are nearby. But, when emergencies happen, people who work alone can be in greater danger. Today we focus on the lone worker.
Hi there, I’m Dan Clark of The Safety Brief. This is where we talk about health and safety hazards in today’s demanding industrial and construction worksites.
Who are these lone workers? Anyone who isn’t visible or within hearing distance of other workers.
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• Attendants at retail locations
• Janitorial staff
• Security guards
• Maintenance workers
• Salespeople
• Delivery drivers
• Farmworkers
• Ranch hands
The list goes on.
Assess the hazards. Does the job at hand pose unique risks, such as electrical hazards? Dangerous atmosphere? Heavy lifting? Maybe there’s a chance that they’ll be mugged or robbed. Can the worker be easily reached in an emergency? If any of these risks are too high, it might be better to have two people instead of just one.
(1:04)
Assign solo work tasks to the people that can do the job:
• Experienced workers.
• Workers who have received proper training.
• Healthy people who aren’t at high risk of emergencies because of medical conditions.
For those who must work alone, have a plan for check-in and emergency response. There are many options:
• Supervisors can physically check on workers.
• Phone or text messages can also suffice.
• Monitoring devices can also be used.
(1:33)
Certain GPS devices which have motion detectors will send a signal to the boss when a lone worker doesn’t move for more than 30 seconds. Ooh, that will cure the lazy breaks too. Workers can override the alarm if they’re okay. Devices like this can be very useful especially for alerting people to an accident if the impacted worker isn’t able to call for help or is unconscious.
(1:57)
That’s it for this episode on Lone Worker Safety Monitoring. Come back for more ways to stay safety compliant in today’s ever-changing landscape of safety requirements. I’m Dan Clark of The Safety Brief, a service of Creative Safety Supply. creativesafetysupply.com
(2:16)
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