Working alone safely

A worker is working alone when they are on their own and help would not be readily available if they were injured, became ill or faced an emergency. That includes a maintenance technician in a mechanical room after hours, a property inspector visiting a vacant building, or a retail clerk on a night shift. Employers must assess these situations and put in place a way to check on the worker and get help to them quickly.

What the rules say

Alberta's OHS Code and British Columbia's OHS Regulation both have specific working alone requirements. They require employers to assess hazards, take steps to eliminate or reduce the risk, and have an effective means of communication and a system for checking on the worker. Ontario does not have a single working alone regulation in the same form, but the general duty to protect workers, the workplace violence provisions and sector-specific rules still apply. Check the current version of the rules for your province.

Who works alone

It is broader than people expect. Common examples in building and facilities work:

• Building operators and maintenance staff on evening, night or weekend shifts.
• Inspectors and technicians visiting remote sites, rooftops or vacant properties.
• Security staff on patrol.
• Cleaners working in buildings after hours.
• Staff driving between sites in rural areas.
• Workers in a large facility who are technically near others but out of sight and earshot.

Assessing the risk

A working alone hazard assessment considers both the task and the situation:

• The work: does it involve heights, electricity, machinery, chemicals, confined spaces or heavy lifting?
• The location: is it remote, poorly lit, with weak mobile coverage, or far from emergency services?
• The people: does the work involve handling cash, dealing with the public, or entering places where violence is a risk?
• The worker: experience, training, and any health conditions they choose to share that could affect safety.
• The conditions: weather, travel, time of day and duration.

Some work should not be done alone at all. High-hazard tasks such as confined space entry, energized electrical work and work requiring a fall rescue plan generally need other people present by their nature.

Controls

Reduce the need

Schedule higher-risk tasks for times when others are present. Pair workers for remote site visits. Move cash handling out of night shifts.

Communication

The worker needs a reliable way to call for help: a mobile phone where coverage is good, a two-way radio, or a satellite device in remote areas. Test coverage at the actual location, not the office.

Check-in system

A designated person checks on the worker at set intervals, with the interval matched to the risk. Higher-risk work needs more frequent contact. The system needs a clear procedure for what happens when a check-in is missed: who tries to reach the worker, how long they wait, and who goes to the site or calls emergency services.

Technology

Lone worker apps and devices can automate check-ins, track location, and include man-down or no-motion alarms and a panic button. They work well when paired with a monitored response, and poorly when alerts go to an unattended inbox.

Training and procedures

Workers need to know the procedure, how to use the devices, what to do in an emergency, and when to stop work and leave.

A simple working alone procedure

1. Worker tells the designated contact where they are going, what they are doing and when they expect to finish.
2. Worker checks in at the agreed interval and at the end of the work.
3. If a check-in is missed, the contact tries to reach the worker by every available means.
4. If there is no response within the set time, the contact sends someone to the site or calls emergency services, giving the exact location.
5. Every missed check-in is recorded and reviewed, even when it turns out to be a dead battery.

Matching the check-in to the risk

A typical case

A building operator covers a large office complex alone overnight. The hazard assessment flags slips on stairs to the mechanical penthouse, contact with rotating equipment, and the chance of meeting an intruder in the parkade. Mobile coverage is poor in the basement plant room. The employer arranges a radio linked to the security desk, sets check-ins through the shift and on entering and leaving the plant room, and gives the operator a lone worker device with a fall and no-motion alarm that alerts the security desk. Tasks that need lockout of large equipment are moved to day shift. The security desk has a written escalation procedure, the building plans and the operator's route. A drill a few weeks later finds that the device's alert in the basement does not reach the desk, so a radio repeater is added and the procedure is updated.

Questions to ask before buying a lone worker system

• Who receives the alerts, and are they always staffed?
• Does it work at our actual locations, including basements and remote sites?
• How does it handle a dead battery or lost signal?
• Does it give an accurate location inside large buildings?
• Can workers use it with gloves on, in the cold or in noise?

Violence and working alone

Workers alone with the public face a higher risk of violence. Controls include limited cash on hand, good lighting and sightlines, controlled access, panic alarms and training on de-escalation. Provincial workplace violence requirements apply in Alberta, BC and Ontario.

How ehZee can help

ehZee helps employers assess working alone situations, write procedures and check-in systems, and fit them into the safety program. See safety program development and review, and emergency response plans.

Common questions