Hi There,
The question I'd like your help with is in regards to lone working, our company has offsite storage and some engineers stop to collect items on their way to work ... is this classified as lone working? And if so, what can I do to address the risks?
Thank you.
Lone Worker Question - Help Plz
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- Alexis
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Re: Lone Worker Question - Help Plz
Hi.
If your Engineers are required to collect items in order to complete daily tasks in hand and have to go to an offsite work area alone, then yes an assessment should be done to see if there are potential risks within the storage area that are not covered in their normal RA.
In order to address the risks, I would suggest you discuss your current RA with your Engineers who attend this offsite storage and find out what risks could potentially happen whilst they are within the storage area and work with them to set out an updated, or even new RA, specific to remote working.
If the storage is isolated in such as a walk-in confined space storage unit with shelving, a heavy door, no-one else there etc etc, then yes, there is a duty of care from your organisation to apply a lone/remote working risk assessment and to ensure your Engineers are aware they too have a duty of care to themselves.
This HSE pdf has lots of advice you could apply to your situation. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg73.pdf
You could also think about the possibility of your Engineers not having to go to an offsite area at all, which would eliminate this particular remote problem.
Hope this is of some help.
If your Engineers are required to collect items in order to complete daily tasks in hand and have to go to an offsite work area alone, then yes an assessment should be done to see if there are potential risks within the storage area that are not covered in their normal RA.
In order to address the risks, I would suggest you discuss your current RA with your Engineers who attend this offsite storage and find out what risks could potentially happen whilst they are within the storage area and work with them to set out an updated, or even new RA, specific to remote working.
If the storage is isolated in such as a walk-in confined space storage unit with shelving, a heavy door, no-one else there etc etc, then yes, there is a duty of care from your organisation to apply a lone/remote working risk assessment and to ensure your Engineers are aware they too have a duty of care to themselves.
This HSE pdf has lots of advice you could apply to your situation. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg73.pdf
You could also think about the possibility of your Engineers not having to go to an offsite area at all, which would eliminate this particular remote problem.
Hope this is of some help.
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Re: Lone Worker Question - Help Plz
You could also set up a remote cctv camera so that the area is under observation from your main office, not too expensive and it could be activated by motion sensor. This would help with your RA and security of the location.
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Re: Lone Worker Question - Help Plz
you could also look to set up a lone working procedure, we have done something similar at remote sites.
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