Category Archives: Articles – Lone Worker Mandown Solutions

A Guide to Lone Work Solutions by Industry (A10005)

Lone workers in different industries face diverse risks, it is among the duties of the employer to protect them by ensuring their safety no matter what it is they are doing. Risks usually common while working alone could range from falls to burns or even crashes at a site. Hence risk assessment is very necessary, companies must access situations where they are working and know the possible risks their workers might undergo and then get solutions to them. Using technology in recent times has become a factor that has grown the population of lone workers. It is suddenly a believe there is a device they can rely on that could guarantee their safety and relay SOS messages in an automated manner if anything were to happen. We would be looking at some industries, the risks they face and the solutions that have a very high chance of changing things. The industries are:

1. Agricultural industries: lone workers at the agriculture sectors are either working with animals or operating machinery, workers in this field are prone to many risks as they work. In the UK agriculture has 18 times higher than other sectors fatal injury cases. The health challenges faced by these lone workers are however not to be ignored. There are many risks that are faced by workers on the farm, these risks are generated from doing jobs like working on the field with heavy vehicles and also moving materials by hand. According to a health safety report in the UK people dealing with animals are at high risk of getting injured. These risks could include. Some risks involved are:

• Falls from a height could result in injuries that are fatal, being trapped by collapsing equipment or logs resulted in a further 3 deaths in 2017 in the UK. A similar thing could happen anywhere in the world.
• Injuries are sustained a lot when working with animals, working with cattle was the biggest farm killer in 2017. It accounted for 33 fatalities.
• Moving tractors could hit workers and eventually injure or kill them. There is also a huge risk for those driving safety concerns around moving vehicles is important.

These problems must be checked and addressed while creating solutions to protect workers safety, conducting regular training can be very useful. Seasonal changes must be paid attention to, there should be updates to animal handling and equipment used. Machinery and equipment with vehicles must be well maintained and serviced, protective clothing must also be provided. All tasks must be well considered if they’ll require supervision or pairing up in a buddy system to get the job done. Also, ensure that monitor and check-in systems are working perfectly well. Most importantly use a lone worker safety solution that makes the process easy and effective. The best to rely on would be technology.

2. Mining industry: whoever owns or manages a mine is in charge of ensuring that the risks associated with any individual working alone is completely evaluated. Measures to ensure control of situation is also implemented, while working underground there is a legislative for workers working alone to be inspected and regularly visited at least every 2 hours. Depending on the hazardous nature of working in a place alone, then no work should be alone and when working with others must always remain in their line of sight. While working at a mine it is important you comply with the laws abiding the country or state mining rules. Some risks of working at a mine are:

• Coal dusts: these dust could be very harmful and knock out a worker in minutes
• Collapse of tunnel
• UV exposure
• Thermal stress
• Chemical hazards

While working at the mines, the supervisors should ensure that:

• There are all aware of the high risks hazards and that all communication is being adhered to
• All measures practices must be taken to control hazards and minimize the risk associated with work
• They must be familiar with the appropriate safety equipment and its location.

When a worker is down it is essential he gets attention as soon as possible. There are to be measures put in place to reduce time between an accident and medical attention. Some of these measures are:

1. Video surveillance cameras should be used
2. Lone workers must frequently make contact with other workers in the mine

• A two-way radio communication device should be used

1. A private duress alarm system can be used.

3. Construction industry: workers in the construction face a particularly unique problem of social and environmental risks, this includes robbery and also on site injuries. There is a sub sector of the construction work that requires lone working or having to work in small groups and it includes tasks such as: building new things, making alterations to already made buildings or even performing maintenance on an existing structure. Those in construction work are often involved in working far above the ground elevation and this could be quite dangerous. Working with heavy equipment and machinery also put them at substantial environmental risk. According to the bureau of labor statistics the US; falls, slips or trips caused 699 workers fatalities in 2013. Additionally, the same report stated that in that same year 717 work fatalities resulted from contact with a sharp object. Lone workers do their own projects with no one around to supervise them or even notify them if anything goes wrong. There are four events that lead to workers death at construction sites. They are named as the fatal four, they are:
   1. Electrocution (about 9%)
   2. Being struck by an object (over 10%)
   3. Falls (over 36%)
   4. Being caught between industry equipment (2.5%)

While these employees face a greater environmental risk than most other industry, they are not limited to this type of risk. Due to the lone nature of their job and odd hours of working they also face social risks. They need to pay close attention to their environment and everything happening around them too.

Due to the nature of the job done by a lone worker, it is important that they have a very good worker solution that could help remove the risks these jobs come with. Some devices that can be utilized by the management are:

• Ensuring employees wear correct protective gears
• Health and safety training
• Clear display signs
• Correctly constructing and maintaining scaffolding
• Inspection of tools and equipment regularly
• Fall sensors
• Safe Check system: this means that a guard checks in at regular intervals by responding to automated prompt
• SOS tools: this could be used to send an alarm when a worker is being harassed while on site

4. Manufacturing industries: this industry performs the role of converting raw materials to valuable products, teams work in about 20 subsectors which includes paper, plastic, food, electronics and biotech & pharma. To get a job done you employees need to spend long hours of work with heavy duty equipment in performing production activities. Ensuring the health of workers in this industry is very important, these workers are the most important asset to any industry. According to the bureau of labor statistics in the United States, this particular industry reports more than 300 work causalities yearly. Also in 2013 and 2014 according to the health safety executives manufacturing industry accounted for about 10% of fatalities of the British workforce in the UK. Thousands of workers annually have accidents that make them permanently disabled, many of which are unable to work for life. The ability to send a quick emergency response can reduce the suffering of lone workers waiting for help and reduce the impact of long-term injury. Some work setting such as chemical plants presents more dangers than others. The threat of chemical spilling and the exposure adds to the urgency of an effective lone worker safety policy. Employees must ensure that anyone working alone with heavy equipment has proper protection.

To protect lone workers health, it is first important that the company first identify all the lone workers working under them before instituting policies to safeguard their health. This enables them know which safety standards need to be used, managers aren’t always aware of those working with them or those working with a close by the team. Identification of aspects that might increase vulnerability is important. Conducting a risk assessment is very imperative as it allows you to know what risk is being faced and helps you match it with the right approach. Lone workers safety policy is also very important to have since it takes risks identified into consideration. Lone workers should use the latest technology solutions for their jobs. Manufacturing industries should be fitted with a telecommunications device that would allow a quick response when there is an incident.  Lone workers in the manufacturing industries face more risks than the group workers, it is very important the industry has a good policy and also a working lone worker solution.

5. Electricity: working with electricity can be very dangerous, workers at an electricity distribution industry face the risk of being electrocuted if they touch power lines carelessly or contact a grid system. Carrying maintenance on a remote site power system can also be a dangerous job too. When working alone there is that large chance of being in danger this is due to the high risks of hazards posed by the electricity industry, receiving aid and help also becomes a very hard task since the workers are inaccessible. Many times receiving immediate support or medical help could literally be the difference between a life changing minor and fatal injury. Some risks faced are:
   1. Faults in line which could cause a flame
   2. Contacts with life wire that could cause shock and burns

• Fire or explosion where electricity could be the source of ignition in a potentially flammable or explosive atmosphere.

As an employer, it becomes your duty to ensure some of the following is done to ensure lives are safe. They are:

• All electrically powered equipment is suitable for use
• The correct cable connector or coupler must be used to join a length of cable to together, the taped joint must be avoided they often result in sparks
• The socket-outlet must not be overloaded by the use of adaptors

6. Oil and gas industry: The oil industry like the electricity industry requires keen attention also and the lone workers safety must be ensured, when inspecting pipelines and leakages there are dangers. Sprain and strain are among the most common types of injuries suffered by employees in the oil and gas sector. Some of the risks suffered while working in the oil and gas sector are:
   1. Hydrocarbon release(this can be very harmful and dangerous)
   2. Fire or a sudden explosion
   3. Dropping of large and heavy objects

These risks mentioned above could cause major injury or even death in some cases, if a worker is alone it makes it worse since they can suffer fatal injury if not quickly attended to. The lone workers are the ones faced with the most dangerous of duty, they face hazards like slips, trips, falls, cuts and even get exposed to very toxic and flammable gases. Most oil refineries, offshore rigs, and even factories are also considered as explosive hazardous areas. These areas are often filled with flammable gases, mists, dust, liquids or vapors that could cause huge explosions. By all these, it becomes quite imperative that the organization has to use some technological devices like the iHelp that would help with two-way communication that doubles as tracker and also has fall detectors. The company should ensure these are also done to guarantee the safety of the lone workers. They are:

• Risk assessment
• Fire safety
• Training

7. Sanitary industry: the sanitary industry relates to the health industry and refers to all care in homes and nursing homes too. Staff usually function as part of a team. They might be spread out sometimes according to their duties and roles to play, this time they become lone workers since everyone now has to perform their own role while alone. They do get general support from their colleagues however but this is usually on time shifts. In addition, occasionally staff might be required by the company to accompany a resident to an appointment or on a trip out. These trips usually include lots of lone working. In domiciliary care staffing, they are usually with issues since they are usually placed alone in the service user’s homes without immediate support from colleagues and supervisors. The risks involved in this include:

• Increased risks of accidents, injury or even ill health
• Increased vulnerability e.g where there is violence, sudden illness, fire or other emergencies

Now that the risks have been seen we move to look at what can be done by the organization to ensure the health of workers isn’t compromised. Duties of the employer are:

1. Understanding their legal responsibilities as the employer
2. Ensuring that risk assessment is carried out and strategies are implemented

• Ensuring that lone workers have the necessary resources and training

1. Have the procedure to deal with a lone workers accident
2. Ensure they provide them with mobile phones and GPS trackers to improve communication and work.

8. Finance industry: this industry has to do with money and financial issues, lone workers here are more prone to social attacks than any other type of challenge. There is always that notion people believe whoever deals with money has money or can always give them access to these funds. This puts but the workers in financial institutions in a pinch when alone, they get robbed and harassed on the request they should provide money. These risks have brought some physical and even emotional trauma to many workers as they feel their safety is no longer guaranteed once they are aligned with a financial industry. Some risks these workers face are:
   1. gunpoint robbery
   2. abduction from the place of work

• requesting forceful access to financial institutions to steal funds

Some of the solutions that could be provided by the employers are:

• providing communication devices they can use to communicate and report a robbery
• giving trackers to help locate this workers in cases of abduction from work station
• providing some training to workers that enable them to expect and are prepared for situations such as that

9. Insurance industry: the insurance industry deals mainly in ensuring indemnity against future occurrences. This means they need worker to keep the insurance business working. Lone working comes in play here when they need an individual to go speak to another company of a big company owner to ask they insure his company. This might sound like just a very simple and easy tasks to get done without breaking a sweat however, it isn’t as easy as perceived. Many times these lone workers have to travel far and near and many instances leading to unforeseen situations can occur. A lone worker might be attacked by some animal, they might be robbed, they can be sexually abused since they are human, they could get caught up in situations that are dangerous and the individuals might also get ill along the way or even lost. To this end, it is necessary that the employer puts many programs in place to ensure they help their worker and keep them safe. Some of these are:
   1. providing vehicle to convey their staffs or lone worker to their location, they can even get a private driver this prevents a lot form going wrong
   2. risk assessment of the duty

• providing communication devices to the worker to enable good communication at all times

1. using GPS trackers would help in knowing the location of workers at every point in time
2. providing lone working staffs equipment for self-defense is also very essential

10. Real estate industry: A big concern for people who work in the property sector (realtor, real estate agents, and property managers, letting agents) is their safety. It is the nature of this industry that agents often work alone- at clients’ property or with prospective buyers or renters, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the risk of injury by the actions and behaviors of other people. You just never know for sure what you’re going to find behind that door. Naturally working alone increases the risk of any job, for agents who are isolated from help and support of colleagues, delay in getting help from medical or emergency services can dramatically increase the severity and consequences of the injury. However these agents are not only in the risk of other people but also roads accidents, trips, falls illnesses and even medical emergency are all real hazards that need to be anticipated and prepared for. The world is changing and there is a tonne of hazard waiting out there. It is impossible to always know where you are going to or the type of people you’ll meet there also. there are some solutions to dealing with some of these risk, they are:
    1. Never assume safety and never assume a property is safe
    2. Don’t assume the client is safe and risk free, the job is risk itself

• The employer should get enough details on clients

1. There should be a number to call or an individual to reach in cases of emergencies
2. Lone workers must be trained on importance of always keeping a phone charged, on person and always on speed dial
3. The company should provide an effective line of communication for their workers, these lines should be able to communicate with office, supervisor, buddy system and the police

• Providing a panic button for workers can be very important as it would be able to activate alert discreetly.
• Some basic self-defense training should be given to these workers

All these industries all have their diverse risks, but it is common to all that technology especially with communication devices has solved most of these risks that these workers would face. It however becomes necessary the worker use their discretion and are always conscious of their environment. They must remember that their work bears a lot of risks and they can’t all be dealt with and attended to immediately. Workers safety in the end, falls in the hands of the worker and the employers

Critical Success Factor of Implementing Lone Worker Solutions (A10004)

Lone worker solutions are the methods used in dealing with the risks that lone workers can face while attending to their duties. It is well known that lone workers are prone to get injured and having life-threatening accidents, but it is also important that proper risk assessment is done to enable the employer to know what could happen. With this knowledge of the possibility of what could happen, it is possible to create solutions to these risks. This is what a lone workers solution basically entails. It is a practice of monitoring the safety of employees that are exposed to lots of risks, this is due to the working conditions of their location and the fact that they work alone being isolated from others. In the event of an emergency, there is no one to call out to neither is there anyone to reach for help.  There are now numerous methods of lone workers solution that is utilized by companies and organization worldwide. Some of these methods are:

1. Safety monitoring device: with the aid of dedicated monitoring devices used for monitoring local environmental conditions such as: dangerous gas, seismic activity or even acidity of an area. The smartphone-based technology is able to account for all of this hence promoting the safety of individuals that would be working at such a site. Devices are however not carried as they could hinder work; they are usually carried or clipped to the lone workers safety suit as part of their dressing, they can also be attached to ID badge or a piece of vital equipment.

Pros

• With these devices, you can foretell an impending danger
• They can double as trackers to find the worker

Cons

• If taken off it would be unable to do its work

In many cases, this system lacks monitoring and proper training which is very important for its success. Its success rate isn’t so high since it is not completely possible to know if the workers are using or just see it as junks and drop it off before commencing work. To ensure that it’s used, proper training must be given to a worker to enable them to know how imperative it is that they use the monitoring devices especially before they commence work. The company should endeavor to buy a device that is lightweight and less complicated with “1, 2, 3 steps” for usage.

2. Buddy system: employees can be paired to ensure the safety of one of them is handled by the other in the case of an accident. This system involves placing to workers together to ensure they are “brother’s keeper” this way the safety of one becomes a responsibility of the other. It is a very efficient method as certain tasks where radio frequencies and EM waves wouldn’t allow for communication, the buddy system could ensure in case of emergency one applies first aid for the other.

Pros

• Reporting an incident is very prompt with such system
• One worker treats the other in any case of an accident

Cons

• An accident could involve both workers making the buddy system not so effective

The buddy system as perfect as it sounds isn’t, it lacks the consideration of the fact that an incident might occur and put both the workers in harms way making it impossible for either to communicate. The chances of this method being successful are about half, in many cases, things can go wrong affecting both workers. It will be good to ensure that the two workers are equipped with equipment that can send reports to the company if both of them are simultaneously down. Technology-based methods are now preferred over manual methods such as the buddy system

3. Phone-based check-in system: this a system whereby time is given whereby a worker has to call and report on the status of work. Having this regular calling interval helps the organization to know their work is okay and the job is going on smoothly. This type of call is usually made hourly or bi-hourly. There are two approaches used to these ends they are:
4. Call center driven: this means you can just call through the mobile carries using call tariffs
5. Cloud-based automated monitoring: this could employ software as a service model, this utilizes data through a particular software to connect both parties for online communication.

Pros

• Hourly/bi-weekly you can get status reports from the workers
• It becomes easy to know if something is wrong

Cons

• Calling via tariffs could be quite expensive especially when they have nothing to report
• After a call, an accident might occur and if by the next call it is discovered it might be too late to render help.

The phone-based check-in method requires a person in good health to take his time and call these methods could be quite unreliable as a worker might be critically down and immobile. To increase its success rates it could be used with sensors and trackers that send alarms in case of danger. This method should be used with other equipment and not solely relied upon

4. Safety monitoring smartphone application: with the popular on-demand smartphones and the ever-evolving smartphone technology, the development of an application that enables workers to request for help is now very possible. With the launch and taps of some buttons, a worker would get help coming as soon as possible at whatever location they are needed using the GPS technology these apps can utilize for tracking. These apps can sometimes have a panic button or allow quick check-ins without needing calls. Some smartphone apps allow for the hands-free trigger as well, this could involve pulling a tether from the headphone jack. This is way lone workers can quickly signal for help without unlocking their phones.

Pros

• Easy to use and report through
• With apps, you can monitor your workers real-time

Cons

• Setting up requires a technical expert to create
• Custom apps are usually expensive to set up and build
• Requires internet access, it might be difficult to report where there is no internet.

These methods requires a good internet connection to communicate steadily since it is a system built around technology and is automated it is amongst the most successful methods being used. Internet connectivity might affect its success rate as it needs the internet to send reports and trigger SOS alarms. The smartphone method is very important and has recorded many upvotes from the user experience.

Implementing a lone worker solution must be considered for the safety of the workers especially, but beyond choosing a method it might be best to incorporate while also checking the success rates of such solutions.

Implementing Man Down System / Lone Worker Safety (A10002)

A lone worker is someone who performs an activity that is carried out in isolation from other workers without close or direct supervision. Such staff may be exposed to risk because there is no-one to assist them. The seriousness of the issue can be understood by these facts. According to International data corporation (IDC) 1.3 billion people work in a remote area around the globe and 53 million are lone workers in the USA, Canada, and Europe only. This raises the concern of safety for these workers, the common issues are slip or fall, trips, vehicle collision, electrical fires, and chemical exposure. As per the report of the International labor organization, 6300 people die due to work-related incidents or diseases and 317 million occupational incident occurs annually.

Looking at these facts if we see in organizations, they are mostly using manual methods rather than going for the modern solution. Firstly, in this article, we will talk about currently used methods, secondly the risk assessment tool that organization should use to understand the level of risk related to particular job than to ensure the safety of lone workers by adopting latest technology so in last we will suggest modern technology that helps organization to eliminate these issues.

Currently, how does the company Ensure lone worker safety:

• Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPEs): Organizations currently are providing personal protective equipment (PPEs) to lone workers which help them in the work. For example, if a lone worker is doing electricity related work, the organization will provide them safety glasses, face shields, hard hats, safety shoes, insulating gloves, and other safety tools.
• Regular visit and frequent communication: If a lone worker is working in a remote area, the organization visit them regularly to see how he is working. Similarly, daily communication is also done through radio and phones.
• Emergency alarms: Its placed in the premises of the organization, a lone worker can activate this when he is feeling any danger.
• Non-verbal Cues: Another most common way is to place signs on the dangerous areas. For example, when the floor is wet, there is a sign placed there. However, overuse of signs also leads to accidents where lone work doesn’t understand the meaning of the signs. That’s why the organization must give them proper knowledge about signs.
• Automatic warning system: It’s an automatic system that sends warnings when fire or explosion happens. It’s one of the common tools that almost every organization uses.

PET Analysis: It’s a risk assessment tool that helps to understand the risk related to the job of lone workers. PET Analysis has three components, People, Environment and task.

• People: the organization must see the history of violence, aggression or criminal activities of a lone worker. do they have any health issues? They must also see their experience of working alone.
• Environment: In that organization must look for what is the risk associated with the environment. Does phone work where lone workers are going, are they working on height and other issues related to the environment.
• Task: what is the risk related to the task of lone workers such as dealing with cash, enforcing a rule, working with chemicals or another complex task.

After doing this analysis company goes for a modern solution like one described below. iHelp is the full package solution that can help the organization to cope up with the issues that lone workers are facing.

Technology to Ensure Lone worker Safety:

If we see a lone worker do not want anyone to supervise them, they want to enjoy their freedom by working alone and at the same time, they demand safety and security. Looking at this situation technology is the only solution that is better than currently used manual methods as well. The one-point solution is provided by the ihelp-man down system which is the world’s smallest 3G GPS tracker device. It a small device so lone workers will not feel irritated while carrying the device. It also has the GPS tracker which sends continuously location to the organization. It has an amazing super accurate falling detection system when a person falls it automatically sends the message with location to the organization to take immediate measures which can save lone worker’s life. Apart from that is has a button on the device when a person feels any danger, he can press the button and it sends the location to the management. Its two-way communication enables you to talk with lone workers whenever you want to and have continuous information.

Way to Encourage Adoption of Man Down System (A10003)

The lone workers like autonomy, they want to work alone, and they do not want someone to supervise them but at the same time, they also want safety and security measures to protect their lives. Employees are resistance to change, introducing solutions or system To Ensure their safety might not be so welcoming. Therefore, it’s a challenge for an organization to increase the usage of the lone worker’s solution. For that first, they have to remove any barriers related to lone worker’s solution and then they should take measures to increase the usage of the lone worker’s solution.

Common Barriers:

• it’s not necessary to carry devices: Many lone workers feel it’s not necessary to carry devices, it will only waste their time and attention. They also assume what happened to others will not happen with them. That’s why it’s important for managers to give them full knowledge and how it can reduce the potential risk associated with the lone workers.
• Lone Workers do not know how to use: Lone worker’s solution has many features and that’s why it is hard for lone workers to understand how it operates. Therefore, organizations must provide the proper guidelines about these lone workers’ solution devices.
• Fear of activating the alarm by mistake: Many lone workers fear that their small mistake can activate the alarm especially in the ‘’ man down system’ ’therefore they must be able to adjust the device setting and off the alert when its activities by mistake.
• Irritations in the work: Employees resist to use devices because they think it will irritate them while doing their jobs, that’s why the organization should use the latest technology like the ihelp-man down system which is the world’s smallest GPS tracking device described in the last section of the article. Apart from that organizations can tell the about cost-benefit relationship of having the devices, which means if they do not use the devices it may cost their lives.
• Mistrust of device: Lone worker’s solutions have a GPS system in the device that’s why many workers fear to be tracker other than the job. Therefore, it creates mistrust for the device.
• Fear of change: It’s human nature, we all resist change but however once the benefits are communicated through awareness, we are likely to follow the change. Similarly, organizations must properly communicate and try to reduce the fear in the usage of solutions related to lone workers.

Give them a part in decision making:

If you are looking for where to invest in the lone worker’s solution, then it’s a great opportunity to take the input of the lone workers. Involving them in the decision-making process will increase their commitment to use the devices. However, if you already have solutions related to the lone workers you can ask them what the potential barriers lone workers are facing, how can these solutions be improved, and other input related to the enhancement of the system.

Training: Lone worker’s safety solutions come with the bulk of features that’s why it’s important for an organization to help lone workers to understand how these things work. By doing this we can reduce many potential barriers that we explained above.

Carrot and stick Approach: by using this approach organizations should reward those who are using lone workers’ safety devices properly. On the other hand, it should impose penalties on those who are not using it as per instruction. Doing this organization creates incentives for those who are doing well and at the same time discourage those who are going against the organization’s policies.

Master your lone worker solution with ihelp-Man down system:

You can master your lone worker solution by using one device which provides you full solution related to the lone worker’s risks. Yes, its ihelp-man down system which is the world’s smallest 3G GPS tracking device. It’s easy to carry so lone workers will not feel irritate while carrying it during the job and at the same time it has a user-friendly operation that is easy to understand by lone workers. It has one button on the device, a lone worker can press in while he is any danger which will send alert to the organization with the location. Its amazing super accurate fall sensors will send message to the organization when lone work fall from somewhere so it can save the life of lone worker through timely first aid. Apart from that, it has a two-way voice communication system which will play a key role for the organization to be in touch with lone workers.

In conclusion, to increase the usage of lone workers solution organizations must break the barriers first and then take input of lone workers, train them, use carrot and stick approach to ensure the use of safety devices. Organizations should use devices like ihelp to master the lone worker’s solutions by using one device which includes all solutions.

How to Successfully Implement Man Down System (A10004)

Today safety of lone workers is a rising issue and for that organization have tradition methods (manual) as well as modern methods(automatic). If we talk about the traditional methods, they are the time-consuming, labor-intensive and inefficient strategy. For example, a worker has to recheck everything manually before working on the job. Traditional methods include an alarm system, using a radio communicational system, giving the protection tool and other similar measures they were focusing on a single job. On the other hand, the cost of these measures is high. However, if we see the other side of the coin, modern solutions to lone workers are becoming pretty much common and organizations are adopting it more day by day. According to statistics, the lone worker solutions market is going to hit 260 million in Europe and north camera alone by 2022. These modern solutions provide many features like GPS tracking, provide communication channels, man down system and other important features that reduce the risk associated with loan workers. The advantages of these solutions are easy to use, cost-effective compare to old methods and provide a one-point solution.

But now the question arises what should be the critical success factor you should look for while choosing the lone worker solutions. In this article we are going to show you what are the important success factor you should look for while choosing lone workers solutions:

Pre-Purchase Critical Success Factors:

• Automatic Alert System: If we see in old methods alert doesn’t provide full information which not reflect the seriousness of the situation, therefore we should choose a lone worker solution that not only sends the alert through message but also send location in a message and make a call to relevant supervisor. It should also include the man down the system if your workers are working in high places.
• Wearable and accessible: The major part that plays in the success of a lone worker solution is when an employee does not feel irritated while doing its work. So, if the device is comfortable to wear so there are more chances that a lone worker will use it. Accessibility is also an important feature. When an employee is in a dangerous situation, they have very little time to react therefore it should be accessible in the fraction of a second.
• Customization: Each industry has its own potential risk associated with the lone workers. Therefore, look for those solutions which you can modify according to your business. Like you need a solution that can send an alert alarm to a particular person, or you can set a particular location if a person leaves from there a message will be delivered to you. So, look for a solution that can be customized as per your need and can provide optimum security to your lone workers.
• Management control: Organization should look for a solution which provides them full control over the features of the solution. For example, lone worker solution devices should have the smartphone app which provides like the location of the lone worker, similarly, an organization can see where their lone workers were working in the past. By providing full control they can ensure the safety of lone workers.
• Integrated System: Try to buy those solutions which can be integrated with your current system or which will help you to integrate with solutions you are going to buy in the future. By combining all the devices, you can create a full-proof system that will surely help your organization to reduce the incidents related to lone workers.

Post Purchase Critical Success Factors:

• Develop policy: Develop a clear policy regarding the lone workers and communicate with the lone workers. It must include clear instructions about each job that the lone worker is doing and emphasize on the use of safety solutions.
• Training: lone workers’ safety solutions come up with so many features that’s why it’s important for an organization to train the employees on how they can use these features effectively. Similarly, during training organization should try to break any barrier which employee is having with the use of these solutions.
• Carrot and stick approach: the organization should provide incentives to those who are strictly following the safety policy and are using the lone worker’s solutions properly. On the other hand, there should be punishment for those who are going against the policy.
• Look back: the organization should look back from time to time and see the performance after the implementation of lone workers’ solution. If solutions have brought amazing results than try to maintain it. However, if the result is not encouraging you should start from the first point mention in the article and try to figure out what is the problem.

In conclusion, we suggest the mantra for the success of a lone worker’s solution depends upon two things. Firstly, in the pre-purchase step try to find solutions that are the best fit for your organization. Secondly, in post-purchase, you must develop effective policy, train the workers and use the carrot and stick approach to get fruitful results. So, these were the critical success factors to implement the lone worker’s solutions.

Man Down System by Industry (A10005)

A lone worker is someone who works alone without any close or direct supervision. Therefore, without any direct assistant many times they face any injury which can take a life of lone worker if immediate help is not provided. The safety of the lone workers is very important in the sectors like Agriculture, Mining, Construction, Manufacturing, Electric, oil and gas, Sanitary Service, Finance and Insurance, and Real Estate Services. Each sector has its own risks associated with the lone workers. That’s why it’s really important to understand the different risk associated with each sector and what are the solutions that each sector use to cope up with these issues.

Every industry is responsible under the law to provide safety and security to the lone workers. Here in this article, we will talk about the most common risk that these industry lone workers face and what can management do to mitigate these potential risks.

Agriculture:

If we see in agriculture there are large farms and many employees, however, most of the time people work alone in remote areas. Due to involvement with heavy machinery, large animals and working with the hands increase the risk of injury. In UK agriculture fatal injury rate is 18 times higher than others. Therefore, it creates an alarming situation in the agriculture sector throughout the globe to take measures which will help to reduce the accidents related to lone workers employed in agriculture.

Management can reduce the risk by conducting regular training in which they can tell them how to use heavy machinery, Handel large animals and to use gloves while using working with hands. Similarly, for risk assessment, they can use PET analysis which includes what is risk associated with people, environment, and task through this they can assess the key risk of each activity done by the lone worker. Apart from that in this technological era management can introduce new vehicles and equipment which can reduce the potential risk associated with the traditional methods and equipment. Lastly, management can define safe driving roots by lone workers which may help them in remote areas.

Mining: 

The mining industry is one of the riskiest industries in the world. Where the death ratio of employees and staff is high. Chinese government statistics indicate that 5000 Chinese miners die in accidents annually. Mining incidents continue worldwide, including accidents causing dozens of fatalities at a time such as the 2007 Ulyanovsk mine disaster in Russia.  The above brief statistics show that safety has long been a concern in the mining industry. The individual suffers a lot in sub-surface (underground mining) than surface mining.  individual works face many hazards while working such as coal dust inhalation which causes them difficulty while breathing, lung diseases, scarring of lung tissues, which can cause ongoing respiratory issues. and causes many health problems, other hazards they face such as noise of machines, exposures which affect their hearing abilities, overexposure to excessive noise can result in tinnitus (ringing in the ears), sleep disturbance, concentration problems even sometimes permanent hearing loss and chemical gases, surface temperature, limited oxygen flow. Another major hazard is whole-body vibration (wbv) is a slow forming physical hazard that mostly occurs in mining workers that work with heavy machinery. The risk of overexposure of ultraviolet radiation in sunlight is essential. overexposure to UV can cause skin cancer.

The management should introduce a dust control plan and supervisor, or top management should ensure that the dust control system working properly or not. we should train them on how to manage overexposure of coal dust. What precautions taken at the time of overexposure of coal dust. Repository protection should be used when dust control protection is being installed, maintained or repaired. Medical screening and surveillance are also essential. To protect their workers against noise, the steps management must take that first they evaluate work condition noise exposure through risk assessment. They can use vibration dampeners and absorptive panels to control vibration occurs in the working environment. Regular maintenance and assessment of heavy machines are also important to reduce noise hazards. employees should use noise protection tools which help them to reduce noise hazards. For whole-body vibration hazard management should reduce the working schedule of employees, management should design flexible working schedules for employees, proper instruction and training are very critical for this job, regular health checkups and close monitoring of back pain can reduce this dangerous hazard.

Management should conduct a risk assessment on an outdoor work schedule to assist in developing appropriate sun protection measures.

The most effective way of reducing the UV exposure is to use a combination of protection method, we cannot rely on simple method, we should use a combination of protection method such as including re-organizing work to avoid the UV peak of the day, provide natural or artificial shade-providing appropriate protective clothing, and applying sunscreen.

Manufacturing Sector:

The manufacturing sector engages in the transformation of raw materials into goods. The manufacturing sector includes pharmaceuticals, food, vehicle, textile, and other related businesses. Like other sectors here in the manufacturing sector there are various fields where they need lone workers i.e. maintenance and repair. When an employee is out of sight there the risk associated with lone workers increases. Heavy machinery is the major cause related to injuries in the manufacturing sector, on the other hand, lone workers are unable to communicate to get help in a dangerous situation.

Management can identify all the lone workers in the manufacturing sector and then do risk assessment related to each lone worker job. After doing risk assessment they can develop a policy regarding the safety of lone workers. Apart from that employees can carry alarm with them when they are going for a task which is in remote areas. Similarly, they can be more careful while using the equipment. Organizations can also provide them Personal protection equipment which will surely reduce the risk related to lone workers.

Oil and gas industry

If we see globally oil and gas prices are lower than ever before therefore organization budgets are limited, however, we cannot compromise on the safety of lone workers. Majority oil and gas extraction sites are in remote areas where it’s hard to maintain the connection with the lone workers.so there is out of sight and out of touch problem in the oil and gas sector which gives birth to so many risks. The most common risk associated with the lone workers in the oil and gas industry is slips and falls, falling objects, cuts and burns and continuous exposure to gases. The risk can turn into a dangerous situation in which immediate response is needed.

The solution for the oil and gas industry is to use new modern tools like the ihelp-man down system which is the world’s smallest 3G GPS tracking system. A lone worker can press the button when he is feeling any danger or automatic message will be sent with location when he is falling due to any situation. Other measures can be to use protection tools like masks, hand gloves and other tools to make sure physical safety.

Electricity sector:

This sector has the most risk when it comes to lone workers, it’s because these people have direct exposure to the electricity and the typical job of lone workers in this field is more than one hour so in this duration any mishap can happen which can lead towards worst consequences. There is also a risk of death if something happened and immediate measures are not taken. Other hazards they can face that sometimes they get electric shocks while working on the towers, in high places due to this they can fall on the ground and get serious injuries.

Therefore, the organization has those lone workers who are highly trained. Whereas they should have the contingency plan what lone worker should do if he comes across a dangerous situation. They should also work in the pair. They can use proper safety belts while performing the job on high sites or they can use the man-down system which will helps management to get fast alert when a lone worker falls down on the surface from top sites.

Construction:

The construction industry is among the industries which are growing fast due to an increase in population and urbanization in the whole world. construction industry includes the construction of buildings, roads, houses, hospitals, workplaces, shopping malls, etc. But hazards lone worker faces when he is working on the height, the noise coming from tools, the heavy machine is higher than other construction works. The critical and major hazards lone worker face on sites are, falls and slips, being caught between objects, falling from top of the object, unstable working surface, slips or falls from ladder of stairways, electric shock, head injury, falling from heavy machines such cranes, while loading and unloading heavy machine from one object to another, improper training & supervision. sometimes lone workers are working in remote areas so due to not effective communication they unable to interact with their team.

For reducing these hazards management should integrate safety as a part of planning, firstly they should provide proper coaching and training to foreman and supervisors then they will guide their lone workers who work individually on remote areas without any assistance from the top tier of management. They must introduce a fall protection system & head protection to reduced serious deaths and injuries during the job.  For lone worker management must provide them safety training and show them the demo of how-to proper use tools and machines. Foreman or supervisor should do site assessment before starting work. Proper safety inspection and inspect tools & equipment regularly.

Lone workers who are working in remote areas should provide proper display signs, so they don’t feel any hurdles while working. For effective communication, management can use a wireless phone or any electronic device. They can also use robots for different jobs to reduce lone work injuries and deaths ratio.

Finance and Insurance Sector:

Unlike other sectors in the finance and insurance sector, the lone worker ratio is high than in other industries. In the banking and insurance sector mostly, lone workers are sales representatives & business development officers. Those who are working outside of the bank try to reach customers for different purposes. Like the person who goes for the collection of loan or insurance amount, because they carry so much money there are chances few evil minds people can harm lone workers which may cost financial losses and also is a potential threat to lone workers. Lone workers in the finance and insurance sector can suffer from heatstroke, dehydration problems in hot weather.

So, the management can go for GPS tracking devices which will help management to trace the lone workers. For making their lone worker life easy company can provide them vehicles designed in such a way that protects them from the sun in hot weather. Re-organizing work to avoid health-related hazards, provide natural and artificial shades and applying sunscreen.

Real estate industry:

The nature of the real estate industry is in which agents work alone; in which agents go with buyers or sellers of properties, you don’t know what you find behind the door and there are chances they can harm him physically. Apart from that the agents most of the time carry huge money which can create a problem when someone gets a clue about the amount. In the real estate industry, the lone worker mostly hasn’t proper information about market location, rates, demand and value of bungalows, flats and commercial areas. Lone worker job in the real estate industry is mostly to visit fields so a lone worker can suffer from many health hazards in hot weather.

Therefore, like other sectors measures like GPS tracking, drive though safe roots, always carry protection tool with you. Apart from that do not share your personal information with the clients and try to meet with your clients in public. Management must provide proper information about market, value, and rates of different sites so lone worker never hesitates while presenting to the clients and deliver a presentation with real facts and figures. For lone worker management should provide safety measures such as applying sunscreen, protect lone workers through natural or artificial shades or making some changes in schedule so the lone workers can protect themselves from hot weather.

Sanitary services:

A service in which workers job is to empty people’s dustbin and take the rubbish away for recycling or disposed of. The sanitary worker’s duty to check the draining system & remove all the blockages, cross bores or damages. lone worker can face hazards such as exposure of harmful gases; methane, Hydrogen sulfide. Lone workers affected by many infections while working such as hepatitis, skin problems. Cuts, scratches, penetrating wounds are the regular hazards that they are facing horribly. The lone worker hazards increase when they do work underground in different pipelines, they are facing problems such as breathing, hydrogen, lack of light, limited resources. The main hazards are that they get injured from different insects during the work. They don’t wash hand properly after performing their duty due to lack of awareness and knowledge

The management should take medical measures on regular bases to detect any health disorder or problem in lone workers. Lone workers must provide proper dress, gloves, and shoes so they can save themselves from cuts, scratches and penetrating wounds. Provide them proper masks and torches to perform their work properly. Proper awareness and education must be given to lone workers. Teach them how to clean hands after doing jobs so they can keep safe themselves from different health diseases.

In this article we briefly talk about the major sectors that are affected by the lone worker’s issues, therefore, we have suggested the solution of each sector. By implementing the above solutions and integrate these solutions as a part of planning, management can reduce these hazards and increase the performance and output of their lone workers. The success of an organization is totally depending upon the performance of employees especially lone workers; if the organization facilitated their lone workers then they can achieve their targets and desired goals.

Lone worker safety: Time To Get Serious (A10002)

Safety Tips for protecting your Lone Workers (A10001)

A Lone worker is someone who works alone, away from normal facilities without close or direct supervision and works in the most hazardous sectors such as construction, natural resources, healthcare, enforcement or transportation. There are mainly two categories of lone workers. First, are those who work at a given/provided work station; those who work within the premises of the business i.e. A person who comes first in the office do activities like opening gates, cleaning office or go home late after locking each thing at the office. Second, are those with mobility; the mobile lone workers who are in remote areas and work outside of the business premises. As for as Laws & regulations are concerned it is the responsibility of the organization to provide job-related safety to the lone workers. Here we will discuss the common risk associated with the lone workers, how companies currently ensure the safety of the workers and the modern solutions to these chronic problems.

The common risks to Lone Workers

• Dangerous slips or fall: It usually happens when a lone worker is working on the trestle, flat roof, ladder or on height. The main causes behind the fall can be wet surface, Stair and steps, falls in the bathroom and damages surface. Another reason can be a non-professional attitude, for instance, wearing non-resistance footwear at work which may lead towards slipping on the surface another example can be not having safety while working on the height.
• Health emergencies: The most common health-related emergencies to lone workers are heart attack and strokes which can turn into a major health-related problem if first aid is not provided on a priority basis. Among the cases of workplace-related stress; Critical incident stress is a more dangerous one. Critical incident stress is an accident, injury or any fatal incident at the workplace which may cause a person emotional trauma. Especially in lone workers critical stress can lead to major accidents.
• Workforce violence: When a single worker works in a remote area there are chances a member from the public can turn against him and harm him and the organization cannot respond on the time. Other workforce violence can be the noise coming from the work through which this person can feel sick or loss his/her listening ability.
• Fire and explosion: Workers who are working on the mines or dealing closely with electric related stuff; they can become victims of fire and explosion. This can be minimized by using proper tools & strict adherence to SOP. However, fire is a source of ignition which may lead to an explosion and lone workers cannot deal with this situation alone. Lone workers should be trained enough to deal with such instances.
• Chemical exposure: Lone workers working in the lab are continuously exposed to chemicals which may lead to a problem of severe health issues especially breathing.

Current Status: How does the company ensure the safety of Lone Workers:

Currently, companies are using different methods to deal with the common risks that lone workers are facing. Firstly, the most common method is to provide them Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) which can help them to deal with the unwanted situations. Secondly, organizations are using the signs of non-verbal communication in order to avoid any severe miss-hap i.e. when the floor is wet, they place sigh there similarly when chemicals are present in the lab, they have signs of danger. In addition to that organizations go for regular visits and communication through radio and mobile phones are the common ways to deal with the situation. All these conventional methods are being used across the organizations in order to provide Add Form their workers with a safe & healthy environment. But as the world is changing; so, as the approaches and methodologies to prevent these unwanted situations. iHelp is a complete one-stop solution for all your above-mentioned concerns. Our product iHelp not only provides a solution to these issues but it is also user-friendly. The world is changing, preferences are changing, aren’t we supposed to change? iHelp can make your work-related issues smoother and easier; Have a brief overview below;

iHelp – Man Down System – Lone Worker Safety Solution

It is the world’s smallest 3G GPS tracking device that provides a complete package of solutions for lone workers. It comes with a sim and also includes a GPS tracker which will give you real-time monitor status of lone workers. Apart from that, it has a fall detection sensor as well which sends accurate fall alert to supervisors. It also offers you a free smartphone application through which you can monitor your lone workers. You may wonder how this device operates. When a lone worker is in danger, he can press the button on the device which will send a message with location and call you as well. Secondly, if a person falls from the Height its sensory algorithm will send you an automatic message which includes its location. However, you can also set a certain location for the employee if he goes outside of that area a message will be delivered to you with his location. It also enables you to have two-way voice communication with lone worker, through this you can talk to them and know about the exact situations they are facing. It also has a feature through you can check the location history of lone worker by this you can know where he has been working in the past. In short, it gives your full solution to monitor lone workers and minimize the most common risks associated with lone workers.