How to Implement Lone Worker Safety Solutions in 5 Simple Steps

It’s inevitable that many jobs and careers involve working alone. Cashiers in gas stations, repair technicians, and social workers are just some of the groups who are by themselves for some, most, or even all of their working day.

There are undoubtedly benefits to lone working. For example, some workers who travel around as part of their job duties can enjoy the freedom of being outside an office.

But there are risks, too. Because lone workers are alone, they’re more vulnerable in case of emergencies. That’s why employers must put systems in place to protect lone workers and enhance their safety.

In this article, we break down the basics of lone worker safety solutions.

What risks do lone workers face?

Depending on their specific careers, lone workers can face a wide variety of potential risks. Some main categories of danger commonly faced by lone workers are:

• Medical emergencies, such as a heart attack

• Crime, including robbery and assault

• Work-related accidents, such as lone farm workers falling under machinery

• Road accidents while driving on the job.

These incidents would all be dangerous in any case, but they’re even more concerning when the worker is alone with no-one to get help or even notice that something is wrong.

This is exactly why lone worker safety solutions are so important.

So, what can employers do? Let’s discuss five crucial steps to take to protect lone workers.

1. Performing a risk assessment

The first step toward lone worker safety is knowing the risks. What types of danger might be faced by a worker in this career? What are the most common incidents or accidents that occur in this field of work? How likely are they to occur, and what factors are involved?

Once you’ve pinpointed the concerns you need to be aware of, you can start …

2. Developing lone work procedures

The next step is to develop clear procedures and rules about what your workers must and must not do.

Some of these procedures should relate to supervision and monitoring. Although a worker may be physically alone, they shouldn’t be at work without some level of monitoring and contact with management. This, of course, will differ based on the field of work. But it could include check-in mechanisms where the worker and a supervisor check in on a regular basis. This type of monitoring and supervision not only helps managers stay aware of their employees’ safety, but also lets them keep track of their organization’s operations and their workers’ performance.

There should also be clear protocols regarding how workers should perform their tasks to stay safe. For example, there might be rules set out about what tasks can and can’t be done alone and how to operate certain machinery.

You’ll also need protocols about what to do in an emergency – as we’ll discuss below.

3. Implementing systems to keep you in contact with your workers

Some of your monitoring and supervising protocols may require devices such as pagers, walkie-talkies, or phones that keep lone workers in touch with managers during day-to-day work.

But you’ll also need devices like panic buttons that work faster in emergency situations. If a crisis strikes, a worker may not have the time or ability to speak through a walkie-talkie or other device. Organizations also can’t rely on the use of cell phones, as they could easily be left on a counter or in a car when an unexpected emergency occurs.

Workers need body-worn monitoring systems such as SureSafe’s Lone Worker solution that lets them press a one-touch SOS button to call for help. That way, they’re more likely to be able to raise an alert if they’re injured, losing consciousness, or just need to call emergency services as fast as possible.

These types of devices also need a functionality that can call for help in an emergency when a worker has experienced a sudden accident or health crisis and is unconscious, unable to call for help. Automatic fall detection can make a huge difference here. With this function, a lone worker device uses its sensors to judge whether the wearer has experienced a fall. If the sensor feedback indicates that the device wearer has fallen to the ground, the device will raise an alert immediately, even if the wearer is unconscious.

4. Training staff

Another crucial step is training staff on all of your procedures and on the use of any devices. Both onboarding training and regular ongoing training may be needed in order to keep safety protocols and procedures fresh.

All this being said, you’ll want to ensure the lone worker devices you choose are user-friendly enough that no-one will need extensive training to use them. This is especially true when it comes to SOS buttons and lone worker safety devices and alerts. Being able to press and hold a single large button is a simple and highly effective way to call for help fast without confusion, even in a crisis or when the worker is feeling unwell.

5. Planning for emergencies

So, you now have procedures in place to let workers raise an alert if they face trouble. The last step is to have plans for responding effectively to the call for help.

You’ll want to decide who receives the call from your workers’ emergency devices. With SureSafe’s Lone Worker solution, you can choose the option that works best for you:

• Have calls for help sent to our industry-leading 24/7 monitoring center. This option could be a good fit if your workers are working through the night, when your own staff line isn’t monitored. It’s also just great for providing peace of mind – you’ll know the responsibility for responding to the call is being handled by professionals.

• Answer calls for help through your internal monitoring service or staff line, or just send calls to 3 pre-determined emergency contacts. This option can be good for reducing costs.

For lone workers who travel for their jobs, such as maintenance workers or social workers, it can be very helpful to have GPS tracking on their safety devices, too. This lets the person responding to the alert call know exactly where the worker is when they need help – even if they are unable to explain their location.

Affordable, easy to use, and reliable lone worker safety solutions

At SureSafe, we’re here to protect lone workers and help employers perform their duty of care toward their employees. We’re a leading provider of personal safety alerts like lone worker devices, and we’ve provided devices and peace of mind to tens of thousands of customers across the US and UK.

Our lone worker devices have all the functions we’ve discussed – including an SOS button, GPS tracking, and automatic fall detection. So, with your choice of self-monitoring or monitoring from a 24/7 response center, a SureSafe lone worker device is a huge step toward safety and peace of mind for your employees who work alone.

If you’d like to know more, our team is here to help and answer your questions. There are plenty of ways to get in touch – you can use our contact form, call us at 888 540 7193, or email [email protected]. Alternatively, use our live chat or request a call back.