Rank: Forum user
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Hi I have seen the guidance for lone working from the HSE but I can't find a true definition to what lone working actually is, for instance if I am at my desk typing away in my office out of site but there are other people in the building is that an example of lone working?
I can't write a procedure on the matter without a true definition.
Also I see that some companies have automatic warning devices which activate when they go horizontal for more than 20 seconds but these require someone to monitor them like a security hut which our company doesn't have, is sufficient enough to have something in place where the lone worker has to check in with another member of staff at a set frequency or are their purpose built boards where they can sign in etc....
Risk based their are no activities that on their own could render a person unconcious, no machinery they can get their hands stuck in, the only thing that could happen is if they had an underlying medical condition or slipped over and banged their head
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Rank: Forum user
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I can only give you an example we had: An external security guard died through a medical condition over the last Christmas period, his wife raised her concerns because he failed to phone at a certain time (apparently he was always precise with this). Police and LA were involved but the security company showed that they contacted each other (can't remember if it was every 15 or 30 minutes) and the authorities seemed content and no further action was taken. Please be aware that various LA's can vary in consistancy though.
It has got to be risk based, we now have lone worker alarms that activate when horizontal and by lack of activity (an employee could be trapped in our racking in an upright position).
You mention a signing in board but how can you sign in if you are unable to reach it?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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There is no 'true definition' of lone working, just as there is no unequivocal definition of confined space working. It all depends on the circumstances and moreover, what controls you can apply to mitigate the risks. Some tasks require an element of lone working, like occupational driving, there are few meaningful controls which can mitigate the risk of lone working and driving. Hence the definition of lone working per se is partially based on the controls which can be implemented.
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Rank: Forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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The business link definition is good but broad. We have site that is working 24/7 – 365 days a year. We have small numbers of staff regularly coming in at weekends and often they are lone working in the sense that they are alone in their offices. They’re not alone on the site though and our security guards are supposed to keep an eye on them and check in every 2 hours or so. By contrast we have people working away from base (who’s base is not even the main site, they might even be home based). They might be visiting ports, garden centres even farms and woodland. They have been known to go out at night to do this work. That is also lone working but a different sort. What I am trying to get at is that there are different types of lone working and you require different solutions for the different types of work activity based on a risk assessment.
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Rank: Forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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Not a definition but the HSE state that lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision (indg 73)
'True' definitions in H&S are rare. Best not to get hung up on 'definitions' but instead the reason why lone working can be considered to be a risk and therefore it will help you understand whether you have a problem and whether action is required.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I concur with Clairel’s advice, including the need to avoid getting bogged down with definitions. In addition to occupations which readily spring to mind as involving people working on their own in remote places, there are many others which entail occasional or regular lone working. For example, teachers tend to work on their own in school classrooms after their pupils leave each day. If their school buildings are reasonably secure against unauthorised entry, are such employees at significant risk? Probably not, unless they like taking chances with unsafe methods for affixing displays at height on walls. Also many headteachers and caretakers tend to remain working on their own in schools long after other employees have left each day/evening. Again, they’re probably not at significant risk until it’s time for them to leave their buildings. Therefore, for each school, the elements of leaving, locking up, accessing cars and driving/walking off sites especially those which are remote or not overlooked by neighbours need to be assessed so that appropriate measures can be considered. One simple but effective measure where two employees are working late is for them to pre-arrange to leave at the same time. If they’re using cars, each should ensure that the other can start their car and actually drive off site.
p.s. On a totally whimsical and hypothetical note, it’s possible that older forum users with memories of TV from the 1950s/early 1960s might wonder if anyone was inspired to do a risk assessment for the “Lone Ranger” bearing in mind the big clue from his title/nickname. Perhaps that’s why Tonto the Indian scout worked with him so as to minimise his lone working! :-)
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Rank: Forum user
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The "Direct supervision" definition has been quoted earlier, but of course you may be working with a junior member of staff or even in a public area or other workplace, so not directly supervised or lone working. I've tried to instill the idea of significance to determine if and when lone working is an issue: Significantly more potential of an incident occurring because your lone working and/or significantly less potential to obtain suitable support should an incident occur. The majority of lone working that occurs in our trade is no more dangerous than a postmam or someone out walking their dog (probably much less so) so we try not to treat people like children.
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Rank: Super forum user
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How many people nowadays actual work under direct supervision, in the sense that someone is there looking over you and making sure you are doing it right. I think that went out with cotton mills and rickets. Most people are given a task to do and sent away to do it. Does that count as lone working?
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Rank: Super forum user
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I don't think that 'direct supervision' is intended to be too literal, rather someone to hand who will assist or advise a sub-ordinate, if required. If it was the case, Quis curate ipsos curator - who supervises the supervisor?
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Rank: Super forum user
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To add to those comments already made. There is lone working, and there is lone working, so be careful not to try comparing apples with pears but concentrate on each of your risks in turn. I don’t see that you need to get ‘bogged down’ too much in trying to find a ‘definitive definition’ (if that makes sense?) in order to be able to understand and consider the risks and then design and implement any necessary controls including if necessary, a procedure. Keep it simple.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Beware of online translation tools! That fake Latin doesn't actually mean anything at all, as it is strung together totally ungrammatically.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Thanks Kate for highliting that, it was my own interpretation from my Latin phrase book and was intended to be tongue in cheek...I'm not planning to give up the day job!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Just a thought that being a ticket checker/issuer on trains and buses can be a lonely and unenviable job at times. Even though numerous passengers may be present, there's no guarantee that their presence will deter some passengers from being abusive or even violent to such employees - or that passengers will necessarily intervene in such situations. In addition, as such employees will be carrying cash received in payment for some of the tickets they issue, they're presumably also vulnerable to being assaulted and robbed.
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Rank: Super forum user
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In response to Graham's post (one of his shorter ones) when I was working on the DLR the Passenger Service Agents on the trains were not identified as lone worker's per se, which I though strange because to all intent and purpose they fulfilled the criterion of a lone worker. Sometimes it was not a nice job as they were often subjected to insults and even physical violence as well as having to deal with other anti-social behaviour.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I am sitting in my own office on my own, am I lone working in a confined space (the office is about 10X10?
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Rank: Super forum user
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During my early years with a local authority my OS&H boss was asked if there was any law against crematorium staff working on their own. This stemmed from the apparent fact that it was and perhaps remains either a legal requirement or nationally agreed practice for all bodies received at each UK crematorium to be cremated as soon as practicable after receipt and not kept overnight for cremation next day. Therefore, during the winter months when there is a reportedly greater incidence of elderly people dying from respiratory disease, there is a greater likelihood that crematoria workers need to work longer hours, sometimes into the evenings. Though it's preferable to have two employees working together, there are times when lone working is unavoidable. My boss's response to the query was that there was no specific law against lone working in crematoria. Furthermore, though some employees might find it spooky to be working alone, there were no OS&H grounds against it. As I found a few years later when I shadowed my employer's crem staff, most of their work consists of monitoring the cremators and the progress of each cremation. The use of height-adjustable proprietary trolleys for moving coffins and loading them into the cremators minimises the need for manual handling.
p.s. Perhaps my boss suggested that lone crem workers might be afforded some psychological 'company' by being allowed to use radios or cassette tape players after all the funeral services had been held each day. If so, I'd recommend brass band music as suitably uplifting. Furthermore, some brass band enthusiasts might suggest "Blaze Away!" (by Abe Holzmann) as a tune with a particularly appropriate title! Has anyone got any other suggestions? :-)
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