Fifteen percent of today’s employees work by themselves, according to National Safety Council (NSC) statistics. To better protect those lone workers, a new NSC report recommends monitoring technology.
Lone workers have become increasingly more commonplace in modern worksites, the NSC said. However, working under such conditions could increase the risk for job-related serious injuries and fatalities.
A report from the NSC, based on research done by its Work to Zero initiative, found that monitoring technology can help employers identify and use new solutions to keep lone workers safe.
Benefits, risks of lone workers
There are benefits to lone workers for both organizations and employees, including more flexibility and more efficient use of resources. Despite that, there’s a heightened risk for the individual worker attached to the practice.
“According to a 2021 survey, nearly 70% of organizations reported a safety incident involving someone working by themselves in the past three years, and one in five of these incidents were described as ‘quite or very severe,'” said Katherine Mendoza, NSC senior director of workplace programs.
Using Lone Worker Monitoring Technology to Protect Workers is “a playbook for understanding the unique hazards isolated workers face and how industry-specific technology can be used to save lives and prevent injuries,” Mendoza added.
Monitoring tech ‘ideal in high-risk industries’
This report uses findings from several academic databases and two case studies to assess the use of monitoring technology for lone workers. The technology evaluated ranged from fall detection devices and proximity sensors to mobile apps and panic alarms.
The research found that monitoring technology “can be ideal for lone workers in high-risk industries such as construction, mining or agriculture.”
NSC identified three key benefits of this technology for use by lone workers, including:
- enabling two-way communication, without having to rely on the use of cell phones or cell phone signals
- enhancing safety capabilities because many monitoring devices are packaged with additional EHS functionalities for detecting and alerting users to hazardous situations, and
- increasing cost-savings by helping to streamline “the otherwise cumbersome task of checking in with lone workers” through phone, email or other means of communication.
The report also provides guidance to help safety managers select the best monitoring solutions for their organization by helping them to:
- identify their industry and the type of risk associated with the workflow
- consider the ease of scalability and how these new devices will integrate with pre-existing technology, and
- use monitoring technology holistically.
Data privacy concerns may need to be discussed
Some limitations do exist with current monitoring technology, according to the NSC.
For example, these devices don’t eliminate workers’ exposure to hazards. They also call on employers to conduct thorough audits of operations to help reduce the root causes of the risks that may be present. Further, organizations are “encouraged to participate in regular drills to ensure lone workers and leaders are adequately trained and informed on emergency responses.”
There’s also the “enduring concern over worker and data privacy.” There’s no doubt that these devices could help prevent worker injuries and deaths, but some employees may feel as if they’re being spied on while performing their job duties.
To mitigate those concerns, NSC recommended involving workers in the adoption process and educating them on the benefits and limitations of the devices. Employers should also be transparent on how data will be used, stored and encrypted.
