Lone workers are far more vulnerable than their counterparts, who work in the relative safety of the workplace with their coworkers. Lone workers face more dangerous working conditions due to a number of reasons.
One of the main reasons is that they will often be operating out in the field, in unknown environments where it can be hard to assess and protect against different hazards. The other main reason is that, as the name suggests, they’ll be working alone, with no one to help out if something does go wrong. Let’s take a closer look at the risks of lone working.
What is lone working?
To understand the risks of lone working we first need to understand what lone working is. Lone working refers to any situation in which a worker is working alone or without supervision. As a result of it being such a broad definition, the range of dangers that lone workers face is equally broad.
While someone who works from home developing code is technically a lone worker, they face very different hazards to an environmental health and safety technician out in the field. Understanding both the general and the specific hazards of each individual lone worker is essential to keeping them safe.
Potential risks
There are a wide variety of hazards that lone workers might face:
Trips, slips and falls
A lot of lone workers will find themselves in unknown environments such as construction sites where a simple trip or fall could have serious implications. With no one around, employees need to find a way of staying in contact with these lone workers, especially in the case that they’re seriously hurt. Communication devices like the Atlas MX1e with integrated fall monitors can help massively with this.
Violence
As a lot of lone workers will find themselves in remote and unknown areas, they can, unfortunately, come face-to-face with violent individuals who mean them harm. In these cases, it’s important that lone workers have a way of instantly alerting their employer of this risk, so that help can be sent in immediately.
Other environmental hazards
A wide range of other environmental hazards can pose a real risk to lone workers. Anything from dangerous pollutants to extreme weather has the potential to cause serious injury, and it’s imperative that employees have an effective way of calling for help in these situations.
In Summary – How to protect against these risks
The main element of danger common to most lone working scenarios is a lack of communication. Remove that communication breakdown and you can make lone working situations a lot safer.
Thankfully, as communication technologies continue to develop, there are an increasing number of options to break that communicative gap, provided by industry leaders like ANT Telecom. These devices and apps help provide innovative ways for lone workers to alert their employers of accidents, especially in the case that they’re unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
