Workers Services

Lone workers face increased risks in their every day activities when compared with their office-based colleagues. Their isolation from workmates indicates that communications and GPS tracking technology can give real benefits in ensuring that need to the will need arise, they can raise an alarm and be confident that their location can be accurately obtained.

The number of people who work alone, either some or all of the time is now growing. Many folks who travel for work or who work at night, are lone workers. Some of these occupations have a higher degree of risk than others.

Especially at risk are likely to be:

Mobile workers who are working away from their fixed base. For example these could include: workers involved in plant installation, construction, cleaning and maintenance work, electrical or lift repairs, painting and decorating as well as forestry and agricultural workers.

Secondly, service workers, e.g. postal staff, rent collectors, house helps, social workers, medical staff, pest control workers, drivers, sales representatives, estate agents and similar occupations visiting both commercial and domestic premises.

It is not achievable to continuously supervise lone workers, but communicating with them and checking their working conditions and practices plays an essential part in reducing health and safety risks.

Employers have responsibility for the health, safety and welfare at work of all of their employees. They are also responsible for the health and safety of those affected by work activities, for example any self-employed men and women they engage and visitors such as contractors. These responsibilities can’t be transferred to any other individual, including those individuals who work alone. The employer has a duty to assess the risks to their lone workers and then to take steps to avoid or control the risks identified.

Consequently, procedures ought to be put in place by employers to monitor lone workers in order to help maintain them healthy and safe. These procedures could include: – Supervisors frequently visiting and observing folks working alone; – Regular contact between the lone worker and their supervisor, e.g. either radios or mobile phones etc; – The use of automatic warning devices which operate if specific signals are not received periodically from the lone worker, e.g. staff security systems; – Adoption of other types of device intended to raise an alarm in an emergency, these can be employed manually or activated automatically by a period of inactivity; – Checks to guarantee a lone worker has returned to their base or home once their job is completed.

So as well as putting in place sound management processes to make certain that there is typical contact between an employee and their employer, it is clear that technology has a wonderful deal to offer in support of these actions. A tiny personal GPS tracking device can give both parties the reassurance that the lone worker’s location is being continuously monitored, and that the employer will be able to tell when the worker has returned safely at the end of the day. Equally critical is the facility that most GPS tracking devices will have to send a communication back to base in the event of an incident. Most devices will support making an emergency alarm call at the touch of a button. In addition, devices can respond in the event of a “man-down” – for example characterised by a period of inactivity.

Much more and a lot more responsible employers are now recognizing the advantages that GPS tracking and communications devices can bring to their lone workers, and coupled with the falling running costs, they are convinced that there is a sound enterprise case behind the adoption of GPS tracking devices for Lone worker protection.