Safety Knights

There are no standards specifically addressing it. OSHA would only be able to cite you under the General Duty Clause.

The type of lone worker program is based on your hazard assessment. You're ideally going to have a completely different program addressing a lone worker working at heights that may need a potential rescue versus a person that's working alone in another building down the street doing administrative work. I've always prohibited operating any type of heavy equipment, hot work, and working at heights while using a PFAS.

Some key components to include are communication methods and how you will check-in with the person periodically, what type of work/tasks and in what location(s) working alone is authorized, emergency procedures, and what training is needed. Think about access and egress options. If something were to happen to the worker, how easily could someone get to them? On the opposite, could they get out of their environment easily if they needed to in an emergency? Are they in an area where dogs are prevalent and maybe need something to use during a dog attack? Don't forget about the worker when they're traveling long distances, too! Plan the trips out, make sure they have a cell phone, etc.

There are several personal gas meters and other devices on the market that have lone worker features built into them to detect when a person is motionless and possibly "down". You need to have procedures in place to determine when you need to send someone out to check on them. Is it after no contact for 30 minutes? 1 hour?

I've created a "Working Alone Assessment" form that we give customers when we develop their working alone program. It's a 1-page document, but helps identify the major areas and assist in making a decision as to whether or not the lone work should be authorized.

Hi David,

One thing I'd spend some time on is defining what is meant by working alone? I've seen different definitions but the CCOHS (Canadian reference) suggests that a person is 'alone' when they are on their own; and cannot be seen or heard by another person. Under this definition it's not just people working out in the community alone, it could also be a receptionist in a large office building or even a construction worker in a bathroom to name a few. It's not always obvious. Beyond the General Duty Clause, some States and Provinces have specific laws/guidelines for different occupation types. I'm not a Lawyer, but New Jersey, Washington, California are a few States that come to mind re: needing certain provisions like panic buttons or check-in requirements in hotels etc. Alyssa's Law is also enacted in New Jersey, Florida, New York and coming in many more states, which requires schools to have panic buttons etc.

Drew - I'd love to take a look at your assessment doc if you are willing to share?

Cheers,
Mike

No work at heights and no ladder use. No hot work. No forklift or overhead crane use. No high complexity jobs. What's left is mostly very simple maintenance jobs and visual inspections.