Addressing lone worker concerns with technology

Lone workers operate in a countless number and variety of industries, from civil enforcement to critical infrastructure to social care. They work in all types of environments from crowded urban areas to remote oil fields. Regardless of who and where, as the name implies, lone workers are on their own, needing to be largely self-sufficient — with wearables they don’t have to be.

Concerns About Safety

Among the most common concerns employers have for its lone workers are injury and violence. There are of course laws and regulations to help minimize the possibility of such events, but oftentimes they are vague and difficult to implement. One example is the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 under OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in the U.S. The Act includes a “working alone” section, but the language is vague and does not provide any clear guidelines for employers. As such, employers and companies that provide lone worker solutions must be proactive in implementing their own guidelines to protect workers.

Among the biggest concern employers have when it comes to safety is violence and aggression toward these workers. “Lone workers must enter various environments where the risk of encountering aggressive members of the public is significantly increased,” said Richie McBride, MD of Edesix. “One survey, conducted by the Royal College of Nursing, found that nearly 40 percent of respondents had been harassed or assaulted while at work in the last year. Without support from colleagues or sufficient emergency processes, lone workers can quickly find themselves in the middle of a potentially dangerous situation.”

Injury is another concern for lone workers. Without help around or nearby, injury of a lone worker on the job could lead to death. Even with lone worker solutions in place, there is no guarantee of safety especially if the solution is not being properly monitored. This was the case in 2013 when a water tank worker drowned in the U.K. Even after activating his lone worker alarm after his fall, the company did not respond until four hours later, which by then was too late. Events such as this only highlight the importance of having proper procedures in place and the need for conducting thorough risk assessment.

Lone Worker Concerns

Lone workers are subject to numerous dangers the average worker is not. As a result, employers must take special care when assigning and monitoring its lone workers. “Clearly there is health and safety and human resources legislation, where employers have a duty of care to protect their staff whilst they are doing their job. In the U.K., the legislation has become more punitive in recent years where fines have increased, prison sentences can be imposed on management and publicity orders can be imposed by courts,” said Will Murray, Marketing Director of Guardian24. “A robust lone worker solution externally certified to highest industry standards, offers employers and the organization defense from litigation should the worse happen, in that they have implemented and invested (as far as reasonably possible) in a solution to protect their staff and meet their duty of care."

Data security is also becoming increasingly important, as lone worker protection providers hold and process sensitive and personal data on employees, or vulnerable individuals. “Suppliers which are certified to the relevant standards and security screen their staff, are well placed compared to many other companies and industries to ensure there are no serious data breaches,” Murray said.

He also pointed out that employees can be resistant to change, in learning new lone working policies, procedures and of course about the devices and technology. “Employers don’t want to invest in technology for their staff if it is not being used by many of them, or not being used effectively.

A good supplier will work with the organization during field trials, the implementation and training phases to ensure that staff buy-in to the concept and are comfortable using the technology. However, management should involve staff as early as possible and ensure they have a say in the decision making process, particularly ensuring they are involved in trailling different products to find the ones that meet each staff’s risk profile and job role’s requirements.”

Trade unions can also reject the idea of lone worker solutions, as they sometimes believe management will use the technology to track their staff’s whereabouts. “Unions should be consulted and heavily involved in the whole process of selecting a lone worker solution,” Murray advised. “Also, suppliers should have the ability to turn off tracking functionality, or staff can simply switch off the device when it’s not required. Also, this can be legally stipulated in employment contracts to further safeguard staff members.”

Cameras for Lone Workers

The body worn camera market is expected to reach $990 million by 2023, at CAGR of 17 percent between 2017 and 2023, according to one research firm. Although BWCs are most commonly associated with law enforcement, companies such as Edesix have applied this technology to various fields of lone workers. 

“Over the years wearable cameras have been shown to de-escalate heated situations and prevent abusive outbursts toward parking attendants, housing workers, civil enforcement officers and other lone workers; with some local authorities reporting up to 90-percent reductions in complaints and incidents,” McBride said. “Together with radio support and an effective safety framework, BWCs are one of the most successful avenues for reducing occupational risk inherent to the day-to-day activities of lone workers. The ability of BWCs to prevent verbal and physical attacks, while capturing courtready evidence, has now made the technology a necessity within many industries for adequate worker protection.” 

McBride pointed out that in order to deliver the benefits, a BWC system must be simple to deploy, simple to manage and simple to use. “The body worn camera is a tool for the user to protect themselves and those around them — but it isn’t the focus of their job, nor should it be. It is essential they are easy to use and easy to deploy with minimal training. While the back-office management suite needs to be secure and able to deliver court-admissible evidence packages.” 

Taking into account the usefulness of BWCs, as well as the need for smaller, lighter and more discreet devices, Edesix introduced the VideoTag series of cameras. “These devices are much smaller and lighter than traditional body worn cameras, and have been designed for less frequent use,” McBride said. “Where a standard BWC can record shift-long footage, (something which is often not required for non-security staff), the VideoTag series can record for only a couple of hours, but remain on standby for months. This is perfect for lone workers who only record every so often, but require a low maintenance wearable device that is ready to record at any moment.” 

The use of BWCs can make staff feel safer and less vulnerable to abusive behavior. Furthermore, footage from a BWC could act as evidence of a task undertaken in the event that member of staff is questioned.