Posted By SeanThompson
I'm looking into lone worker risk assessments, what sort of things do people look for when conducting one of these?

Posted By Kieran J Duignan
Sean

A valid risk assessment of a 'lone worker' depends on the complexity of hazards to which s/he is exposed, the complexity of tasks s/he undertakes, the physical/social/electronic environments in which s/he operates, his/her levels of competence, health and versatility.

As the risks can vary from moderately to extremely complex, your assessment and guidance on appropriate management should match the level of complexity involved. In many ways, the risks are similar to those of people working in association with others with the exception an incident or accident can have disproportionately adverse consequence due to the worker's isolation.

Posted By David Bannister
Hi Sean, in classic consultant mode: it all depends!

If the job is likely to be predictable and the hazards well known it is possible to carry out a risk assessment that will lead to a set of safe working procedures applicable to most situations eg postal delivery workers.

If the nature of the lone working changes from one time to another or is less predictable then it (RA) may need to be done on a job by job basis or for each lone working exposure. Also if lone working is a new part of a job or one-off situation then an individual assessment may be needed.

Just like any other risk scenario, the assessment must be reviewed in light of changing circumstances and experience.