Environment risks

Environment Risks

Employers are well-versed with the risks faced in a general office environment, but not everyone works behind a desk in a shared space. When thinking about the risks faced by lone workers, where they are working is an important factor to consider.

Are they:

Working at height?
In a rural or isolated area?
In a confined space?
Travelling by public transport/own vehicle/on foot?

Furthermore, when are they working? Is it during unsociable hours when there are fewer people around leaving them more isolated?

Working at height

Falls from height are the most common type of fatal accident for workers in the UK. Similarly, slips, trips and falls are the most common type of accident that causes injuries. Therefore, the level of risk is evident when any employee is being asked to work at height.

It is imperative that staff working at height have the relevant levels of experience and training as well as the correct equipment to ensure their safety. Health and safety managers must vigilantly enforce safe working practices to mitigate this risk, especially for those working alone.

Peoplesafe personal safety devices and apps can be equipped with a fall detection feature that uses three factors to mimic a falling motion. If all three factors are sensed, an alarm will automatically be raised to our Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) with the user's GPS position for help to be sent to them.

Could your employees benefit from fall detection technology?

Yes
No

Remote locations

Working in a remote area – either as part of a team or individually – is an everyday business activity across a range of industries, including job roles such as surveyors, engineers, foresters and construction workers.

People in remote areas are twice as likely to require hospitalisation due to an injury because if an incident were to occur while working in a remote area, employees may have greater difficulty in seeking help and getting the response they need. In addition, mobile signal may be very poor or have ‘blackspots’ in some particularly rural areas, which can make calling for help near impossible.

Communication with lone workers is key, particularly if they are operating in remote locations. To minimise the risk of communication failure, employees should have multiple means of communication. For example, they could be supplied with a roaming sim, a satellite phone or even an emergency response beacon.

Hazardous areas

Certain industries by nature involve employees working in and amongst areas where fire and explosion can occur. Manufacturing plants, construction sites and oil and gas instrumentations are just a few workplace environments that pose much higher risks.

As well as the usual risk assessments, staff training and standard safety protocol, it’s essential that organisations go above and beyond to protect those working in hazardous environments. Employees could be supplied with an intrinsically safe device that is specially designed to operate in explosive hazardous areas.