5 steps to create an effective lone-working monitoring procedure

An effective lone working monitoring procedure covers emergencies and unique hazards that lone workers often encounter. It also outlines actions required to ensure safety at work. 

If you often record recurring or unusual lone worker hazards, your monitoring procedure may be missing some essential steps. 

Here are 5 steps to create an effective lone-working monitoring procedure: 

1. Identify the risks of lone working
2. Conduct lone-worker training
3. Create a lone worker emergency response procedure 
4. Set-up AI-powered lone working monitoring system 
5. Evaluate results overtime 

1. Identifying risks of lone working

Lone workers encounter hazards different from those in a typical workplace setting. To protect them, it is crucial to identify the risks associated with their job. Here is how to do that:

Talk to the workers about their experience.

Learn about the hazards and risks of lone working by talking to your employees about the hazards they are mostly at risk. Since you are already aware of incidents leading to injuries, the goal of this conversation is to identify near-misses and events that expose them to risk.

Creating a list of these risks and hazards is a crucial way to ensure that your lone-worker monitoring procedure is comprehensive. This list will also be helpful when you conduct risk assessments later on.

Include lone worker hazards in your risk assessments

When conducting risk assessments, use a template that lists common lone work risks. This will help you identify a range of hazards.

2. Conduct a lone worker safety training

Training is a crucial part of the lone-working monitoring procedure. It ensures that workers know what to do if a lone-worker emergency occurs.

Lone-worker training should be provided before work begins, especially for new hires. The content and direction of the training should reflect what you have learnt from the risk assessment or conversation with lone workers.

Summarily, the training should include:

• Procedures
  Where to go, whom to contact, and when to notify emergency services
• Response
  The response time by emergency services and how to make sure that friends and family are informed;
• Communication
  How to communicate with emergency services and how to remain calm;
• Crisis training
  What to expect if lone workers receive media attention. What to do if they are physically attacked or verbally abused
• Equipment And Resources
  Equipment and resources can be provided to lone workers to help them remain safe while alone at work. These include:
  • Safety equipment (PPE)
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Emergency flares
  • First aid equipment
  • Mobile phones
  • Directional signage

3. Create and update the lone worker emergency response procedure

Because lone working happens occasionally, it is easy to forget to update the lone working policy or emergency response procedure. Before the next shift, look back at your emergency response procedure and evaluate the following:

• Are you prepared for the hazards and emergencies you identified in your risk assessment?
• Does your monitoring procedure include all possible hazards?
• Does your monitoring procedure reflect the shift?
• Does your monitoring procedure meet the compliance requirements?

If you answered no to any of these questions, make changes to your monitoring procedure to ensure it is an effective emergency guideline for lone workers.

An effective lone worker emergency response procedure addresses hazards identified by lone workers and outlines actions required to ensure the safety of lone workers. It may also reference the incident response procedure and other relevant workplace documentation.

Depending on the hazards and hazards/risks identified, your emergency response procedure may be short and simple or detailed and complex.

Examples of hazards that can be addressed in an emergency response procedure:

• Confined space hazards
• Fire hazards
• General workplace hazards
• Hazards/risks

Note: The procedure for dealing with a missing worker is different from the procedure for an emergency. Search and rescue are activated in a missing worker situation, and the emergency response procedure is suspended. The lone worker emergency response procedure is the procedure that deals with a lone worker in immediate danger and may include specific measures to deal with the emergency.

“Lone worker procedures” is often used as a synonym for “Lone worker emergency response procedures”, but that is not always the case.

The term “Lone Worker Procedures” describes general safety procedures for lone workers, which may or may not include an emergency procedure.

4. Set-up AI-powered lone working monitoring system

An AI-powered lone worker monitoring system detects potential hazards as soon as they occur or even before.

Rather than waiting for days or weeks to analyze data, the system identifies these hazards and alerts you to them instantly. You can then choose the most appropriate course of action.

This real-time technology is revolutionizing the lone worker market. It can be used by many different users, not just solo working professionals. It’s a highly flexible solution that has the following advantages:

BGS AI-Powered Lone Worker Monitoring: 4 Advantages

1. Increased Visibility

Lone worker hazards happen every day, but it can take a long time before realizing you have a problem. You may have already experienced fatalities or injuries by the time this happens. It’s easy to become blind to the risks your workers face.

AI-powered lone worker monitoring systems provide you with vital insight into how your workers are performing. Instead of waiting for days to see risk assessment results, it will generate a digital incident report for you in minutes.

2. Increased Accountability

There is nothing worse than an injured or dead employee, but what is even worse is an injured or dead employee who nobody sees.

Lone worker monitoring systems will alert you and your team if an incident occurs or if an action has not occurred. In this way, you can be confident you and your team are fully aware of your workers’ risks. They will also be more accountable for their actions, and conversely, you will be responsible for your response and actions.

3. Increased Operational Efficiency

BGS AI-powered monitoring systems allow you to monitor your workers even when you’re not present.

The system is fortified with advanced events management technology that sends a push notification or SMS whenever an incident occurs.

This means you can check in on workers when you’re away from the office, and you can make sure they are performing their jobs. You don’t have to wait for reports to come back, and you can keep track of where your workers are and what they’re doing.

4. Increased Security

Lone workers are more vulnerable to risks than office workers because they are usually far from help and are typically tired, distracted, and unprepared.

BGS Cameras can monitor workers in real-time, and with AI-powered monitoring, you can make sure they are not alone and perform their jobs safely.

AI-powered lone worker monitoring systems also use data on lone worker behavior to help you understand why lone worker hazards occur and at what times of the day, and in what locations. Aside from the fact that this technology helps you save time and keep money in your pocket, the following are the additional advantages.

This will help you to:

• Streamline your monitoring services
• Create an action plan for rescheduling, reassigning, or retraining high-risk workers
• Reduce the risk of injury and fatalities among lone workers
• Understand why lone worker hazards occur
• Identify the threats that are unique to your facility or industry
• Determine the most effective interventions for reducing or eliminating lone worker hazards
• Improve safety and security in your facility or workplace
• Invest resources where they will have the most significant impact
• Identify dangerous locations in real-time.

5. Evaluate results overtime

An effective lone worker monitoring procedure involves identifying and removing isolated worker hazards through risk assessments, training, and working with an AI lone worker monitoring technology.

But it does not end there. You want to evaluate the result of your lone working monitoring procedure over time. Here is how:

Evaluate the effectiveness of your lone worker monitoring system by conducting test runs.

If you have the right tools, you can conduct replications of actual emergencies to test the level of safety of the lone worker monitoring system. During the test, pay attention to the following.

• The frequency and type of alerts.
• If the alert system triggered the right actions.
• The time it took your agency to respond to the alerts.
• The time it took to reach the lone worker.

When you have a lone worker alert system that is effective, reliable, and fast to respond to, you are on your way to having a safe lone worker on site.

The key takeaway

Lone workers face risks due to their occupation. Identifying and assessing these risks is the first step to creating an effective lone-working procedure.

Lone workers should also have training and access to special equipment before beginning their work. This ensures that they know how to act during an emergency.

To help businesses stay safe, we created the BGS workplace safety solution to provide real-time incident analysis and reports.