How Serious is the Hazard of Working Alone?

Jun 10, 2021

Blog 

How Serious is the Hazard of Working Alone? ...

“Working Alone” is an identified hazard, presenting a variety of risks to lone workers and their employers.

 

The hazards of some jobs can be obvious, such as the risk of a machinery accident or when working with dangerous chemicals. However, the isolation of working alone is an enormous risk regardless of the work environment. A timely emergency response in the event of an incident is key to protecting employees and employers from costly injuries and lost productivity.

Workplace health and safety laws establish that ideally, any hazards should be identified and eliminated. As working alone is a necessity in many jobs and has become increasingly common with many employees now working remotely from home, it is important to understand that working alone is a hazard that often cannot be eliminated.

A truck driver alone on their route and navigating winter roads, an office administrator working from home, and a municipal worker cleaning a public park washroom are all performing their duties under inherently hazardous conditions. The truck driver may need immediate assistance if there is a road accident, the office administrator may experience a health emergency during their working hours, and the municipal worker often encounters unpredictable people who may be disgruntled by the inconvenience of a washroom closed for cleaning.

 

Controlling workplace hazards to minimize their risk is required when hazard elimination is not an option.

 

CheckMate Working Alone provides a set of engineered and administrative controls to help employers reduce the hazards of working alone for their employees. Automated safety checks backed by CheckMate’s 24/7 live emergency response are a simple and affordable way to protect lone workers in any industry. With flexible scheduling, audit reports, and our intuitive Safe Alone App, our complete lone worker safety solution is an easy and smart addition to your pre-existing workplace health and safety policies.

Taking proactive steps to protect your employees from the hazards of working alone will save you time and money, while demonstrating to your workers that your organization takes safety seriously.

Contact us to learn more about our Safe Alone App and Working Alone safety check system.