FMJ.CO.UK HEALTH & SAFETY FOCUS
SOLITARY PEOPLE
Given the dispersal of staff owing to social distancing rules during the Coronavirus, protecting facilities
management’s legion of lone workers has never been more important says Peoplesafe CEO Naz Dossa
JULY 2020 35
The diverse set of services required to manage
any large premises o en means facilities
managers will call on several di erent teams or
individuals during all hours of the day - o en
outsourcing to multiple contactors. Orchestrating
the smooth operation of a site is always a complex
task, and one that is made even more di icult
right now.
As lockdown eases, facilities managers have some
high hurdles to jump - and their primary focus will
be health and safety. There will be a whole host of
new considerations to add to their usual checklist, all
of which combine to ensure that they uphold their
common and statutory duty to protect the health,
welfare and safety of their employees.
For those who manage in-house teams and
for those who send their sta to work in various
locations, there is one important aspect which cannot
be overlooked: lone worker safety. Lone workers are
defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
in the UK to be ‘anyone who works by themselves
or without close or direct supervision’. This covers
those who are completing tasks out of direct sight
or earshot of colleagues and supervisors, as well
as those who travel alone to a location to do their
work. In terms of facilities roles, the definition could
cover security guards, night workers, receptionists
and cleaning sta . It could also extend to catering
operatives or grounds maintenance workers,
depending on the circumstances of their work.
Coronavirus has increased the already high
numbers of lone workers in the FM setting; depleted
workforces, budget constraints and the need for
social distancing measures have led to altered shi
schedules and more tasks being fulfilled by one
person rather than two - sometimes in unfamiliar
surroundings. It is therefore vital that every employer
understands the steps they should be taking to
protect their lone workers appropriately.
UNDERSTANDING THE RISKS
The first step to working out how to protect lone
workers is understanding the risks they face. The
problem isn’t necessarily that the job they are
doing is a more dangerous one; it’s that there is
no-one to call on if things go wrong. Threats from
the public or from slips, trips and falls become more
likely to lead to significant harm. And while some
lone workers will value the autonomy of their role,
working alone can also have negative psychological
e ects. Lone workers are far more likely to su er from
psychological distress, anxiety and loneliness than
their team-working counterparts.
When it comes to making on-the-spot decisions,
lone workers are once again faced with an increased
risk. No opportunity for a second opinion means a
raised possibility of poor decision making - in some
cases leading to workers placing themselves in
unnecessary danger or in situations that can quickly
escalate and become unmanageable for one person
alone.
MITIGATING THE RISK
The risks to lone workers are best understood
and reduced through the use of a detailed risk
assessment. Anyone with responsibility for
employees will need to assess the dangers inherent
in their daily tasks and identify ways to reduce
those risks. An employer’s responsibilities are laid
out by the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974),
with requirements for risk assessments made more
explicit through the Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999. It is here that
employers can find detailed guidance on what
precisely a risk assessment should entail - and this is
broken down into practical steps on the HSE’s own
website .
It’s important to note that, alongside this, the HSE
has recently updated its guidance on lone workers,
in recognition of the fact that there will always be
greater risks to those working alone. The guidance
requires that lone workers are properly trained,
monitored and supervised, and also that employers
‘keep in touch with them and respond to any
incident’.
FACILITATING BETTER COMMUNICATION
When it comes to fulfilling the regulatory requirement
to monitor, supervise, stay in touch with and respond
to incidents a ecting their lone workers, today’s
facilities managers are fortunate to have access
to a wide range of communications technology;
from smartphones that have become a part of
everyday life to dedicated personal safety devices
with GPS tracking, two-way audio and fall detection
capabilities built in. Lone worker safety expert
Peoplesafe provides a broad range of solutions;
giving employers the option to select a mixture of
di erent devices for di erent lone working roles.
And to give busy managers extra peace of mind, all
devices are connected to its purpose-built 24-hr
Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).
The best next step for FMs reopening their sites
will be to revisit and refresh risk assessments; to
determine how health and safety changes will a ect
the physical and mental health of their employees
and to consider what additional equipment might be
needed to protect and reassure lone workers.