Protecting the safety of your employees isn’t just a nice thing to do, but a legal requirement, with fines being applied for failure to do so. Here we take a look at five steps you can take to improve the safety of your employees:
- Conduct a risk assessment
Risk assessments document potential risks your lone workers may face at work and the appropriate steps everyone must take to eliminate or mitigate them. Some risk assessments cover day-to-day work, others are for specific projects and tasks, and all should be regularly checked and updated.
- Put a lone worker policy in place
It’s important to develop and implement a robust Lone Worker Policy to safeguard your lone workers. You should review the policy regularly, ideally after each lone worker incident, and when new challenges, regulations, and tasks occur.
- Communicate and train
Communicate all relevant information to your lone workers, and offer training for all employees, especially those assigned to work with sensitive, or at-risk members of the public. Specific training to identify and de-escalate incidents can be the difference between a safety incident occurring, and everyone being okay.
- Create a positive safety culture
It’s vital to create an open culture of safety where workers feel comfortable speaking up about potential safety issues. Knowing that action has been taken to protect their safety creates a safer working environment for all employees, especially lone workers.
- Get a lone worker safety app
A lone worker safety app that includes a panic button, easy check-in functionality, fall protection with non-movement alerts, and low signal modes helps lone workers to feel safer in any situation. In the event of an emergency, your employees can raise an alarm discreetly to get help immediately.
Following these five steps not only puts you in the best position to protect your employees, it also means that you are following some of the latest OSHA recommendations for keeping healthcare workers safe.
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