Numerous new challenges have presented themselves over the course of the covid-19 pandemic, with more to come as we learn to live with the repercussions of such a tumultuous year.
Organisations may find themselves in a new position when it comes to the status of their employees – to be covid-secure, some industries will have had to change work processes and patterns, including splitting up teams that usually work together. As a result, employees may have to lone-work for the first time and in turn, organisations have new responsibilities in order to protect their welfare and wellbeing. For example, there may be more precarious situations due to the pressures and unpredictability of lockdowns and tiers systems which can lead to increased levels of abuse from members of the public.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) classes anyone who “works by themselves without close or direct supervision” as a lone-worker. Changes to usual work practices mean that an employer needs to ensure that they are adhering to additional considerations and risks attached to lone working.
In March 2020, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) updated guidance for protecting lone-workers, focusing on:
- Protecting lone workers from the risk of work-related violence.
- More information on keeping in contact with lone workers.
- Advice on the impact of lone working on mental health and wellbeing.
It’s important that your organisation has policies in place to protect lone-workers, especially if your teams don’t usually work alone. There should be clear policy covering the responsibilities of employer and employee, risk assessments that manage potential hazards and regular reviews to ensure that lone-working is effective and safe.
Mitigation
A key way to mitigate against lone-working safety issues is to implement a product such as Steanne’s GeoSafeguard into your organisation’s risk assessment strategy.
It’s software that can keep track of lone-workers which offers an element of protection and helps them to feel more comfortable and secure carrying out remote work tasks. Active workers’ positions and current status are available to monitor, which enables employers to check-in on their employees.
Crucially, GeoSafeguard provides visual and audible alerts if any worker’s status is un-responsive which means that if there are any incidents that compromise their health, safety and wellbeing, it can be flagged up as soon as possible and resolved. An employee can also trigger a Panic Alarm if they feel unsafe and this will alert and organisation and focus on the employee’s last known location to ensure that help is arranged.
Other features that are included to help safeguard employees include:
- Worker Selectable Risk Levels
- Configurable Alert Countdown and Shift Assignment
- Comprehensive Auditing and Reporting
- Filter Workers by Departments and Sites
- Map Portal display and GPS Location Tracking
Setting up lone workers, shift patterns, risk levels and mobile devices is straightforward and easy to do – which means that if there are covid-19 tiers or lockdowns that mean your employees need to lone-work again, this can easily be setup on GeoSafeguard.
If your organisation is keeping track of a considerable number of lone-workers at once, it’s simple to toggle between different locations, separate sites or departments, to enable effective monitoring.
For more information regarding GeoSafeguard or any other Steanne Solutions products, contact our team today.