Deploying a lone worker monitoring system can help your organization streamline the management of remote workers, while protecting them from the dangers of working alone or in isolation. In this guide, you will discover what lone worker monitoring is, as well as why and how to do it.
Lone worker monitoring is the practice of managing employees who work alone, in isolation, or remotely, in real-time—while collecting information about their GPS locations and movements, work activity/shift details, live safety statuses, and other related data.
The most common and efficient way that employers do this is through a digital lone worker safety and management solution, such as a lone worker smartphone app.
There are a few reasons why all organizations who employ lone workers should monitor them in real-time.
The primary purpose of monitoring lone workers is to ensure their safety.
With a digital monitoring system, employees can typically share their real-time locations and activities, check-in periodically, and more. If an emergency occurs, employees can activate their duress, notifying managers or authorities so that immediate assistance can be dispatched.
By staying aware of lone workers’ activities via a remote worker monitoring system, managers can better streamline workflows, eliminate hazards, schedule activities, communicate with employees, and run detailed activity reports, thereby cutting costs.
This article details 7 ways that monitoring lone workers can improve operations management.
Some governments require employers to safeguard their employees and keep in touch with them as they work alone, especially at night. In some countries, keeping historical records of their safety incidents may also be a requirement.
In Australia, employers are legally required to provide safe work environments; safe ways of working; supervision, information, training, and instruction needed for safety; and to monitor the health of workers and conditions at the workplace.
In the United States, all employers must provide work and workplace environments that are “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) code 1915.84 – Working alone states that employers must account for employees whenever they work alone, throughout each shift at regular intervals to ensure the employee’s health and safety, and at the end of each job assignment or shift (whichever occurs first).
Some countries specifically state that lone workers should be monitored. According to the United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive, “Lone workers face the same hazards at work as anyone else, but there is a greater risk of these hazards causing harm as they may not have anyone to help or support them if things go wrong. As an employer, you should provide training, supervision, monitoring and support for lone workers.”
Deploying a lone worker monitoring system enables organizations to easily keep track of employees’ safety, while facilitating compliance with government workplace health and safety requirements.
Employees who work alone in-high risk industries often report feeling more confident and safe in knowing that, if something goes wrong, their employers will find out immediately and send emergency services. On the other hand, managers can go home every day, knowing that their employees will do the same.
Jeremy Buckmaster, Community Rehabilitation Manager of Epworth HealthCare manages healthcare professionals who work alone in community settings and are at risk of experiencing antisocial and aggressive behavior from their patients – as well as other members of the public. According to this case study, Jeremy states that, “Since using SHEQSY, employees report that they feel much more secure knowing that they have SHEQSY monitoring their sessions. As a manager, I find it much easier to track the productivity and safety of my employees when working in the community.”
Though the primary reason for monitoring lone workers is improving safety, another positive side effect is increasing employee efficiency and productivity, while possibly also deterring unwanted behaviors.
All organizations that employ lone, isolated, or remote workers should consider deploying a lone worker monitoring system.
Industries whose lone workers are particularly prone to high-risk health and safety hazards include:
Healthcare & Hospitals: Community-based nurses, doctors, and therapists, allied health, mental health, and aged care professionals
Energy & Utilities: Water, power, and gas service technicians, meter readers, operators
Culture & Community: Social services, charity, advocacy groups, Non-Government Organizations
Government: Council and city workers, parking attendants, inspectors, health services, planning
Property & Maintenance: Valuers, agents, lenders, planners, inspectors
Construction: Surveyors, planners, workers’
Oil & Gas: Operators, technicians, mechanics, drivers, engineers, supervisors, well testers
Retail: Service station attendants, shop assistants
Mining: Production managers, geologists, electricians, engineers, inspectors, machinery operators, fitters
The above is not an exhaustive list of industries who typically employ at-risk lone, isolated, and remote workers. Presently, more employees are working remotely than ever before, and each job type and workplace presents a unique and dynamic set of hazards and risks.
Carrying out a lone worker risk assessment will help you determine if monitoring your lone workers in real-time will help mitigate the safety risks they face. (Spoiler alert: Almost all organizations find that it is.)
When employers introduce monitoring systems, employees sometimes voice concerns over their personal privacy, and rightly so.
For this reason, it is important to be clear with employees about the type of data that is being collected, as well as when, how, and why. Make sure to emphasize that the primary purpose for monitoring employees is to keep them safe. If your organization has other reasons for deploying a monitoring system, then be forthcoming with that information as well. Including all of this information in your lone worker policy is a must.
Even more important, is ensuring that the system you deploy is employee-enabled. This means that each employee has the ability to activate real-time monitoring and location sharing when they start a work activity or work shift, and to turn it off when they are finished working – giving them complete control over when their data is collected. Monitoring employees strictly during working hours eliminates most employees’ privacy concerns.
The best way to monitor lone workers is through an automated and digital solution.
Some organizations still rely on manual systems, such as check-in and check-out whiteboards when mobile workers arrive and leave the main work hub, such as an office, to carry out activities in the community. Systems such as these fail at keeping track of employees adequately.
Today, there are much more sophisticated and effective systems to ensure lone worker safety and efficiency. It is time for all organizations to move to digital systems.
The most versatile and cost effective system is a lone worker app that can be deployed across mobile workforces via smartphones (and, as necessary, integrated lone worker devices) and managed via a cloud-based online administrator dashboard/portal.
To learn more about the different types of lone worker solutions, explore this Lone Worker Solution Comparison Guide. It covers the many different types of solutions—from personal safety devices to smartphone apps—so you can select the most effective one for your organization.
When deploying a lone worker monitoring system, there are a few different features you should look for.
Real-time GPS location tracking
Employee-enabled monitoring
Duress alarm activation and SOS alerts
Automated check-ins
Activity countdown timers
Overtime alerting
Near-miss, hazard, and incident reporting
Safety checklists and forms
Location notes
Emergency roll calls
2-way communication
Integration with Bluetooth wearables
Integration with handheld satellite devices
Optional 24/7 professional monitoring and response center
Calendar, scheduling, navigation, and reporting integrations
Public APIs for integration with other platforms
SHEQSY is the leading lone worker safety solution, encompassing all of the above safety and management features.
With SHEQSY, organizations can move from reactive to proactive lone worker safety with ease.
SHEQSY’s lone worker app (for iOS & Android) can be deployed across your mobile workforce within minutes, protecting them with real-time location monitoring, duress alarms, periodic check-ins, and more.
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Mitti (by SafetyCulture) Content Team
Mitti (by SafetyCulture) Content Contributor
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