Perform your own Lone Worker Risk Assessment

Risk assessments and action plans aim to make health and safety management more proactive.

 

5-Step Risk Assessment

1. Identify any possible hazards by examining:

• The nature of the job
• The type of clients or customers the employee may work with or may encounter
• The places, locations, times and environments that are relevant
• The views of the staff
• Incident reports, including any near misses

 

2. Define the who & how:

• Which staff and types of employees might be harmed?
• What type of injury or ill health might occur – for example, through violence if employees are attacked, or by doing something against the customer’s wishes?

 

3. Risk & precautions: Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions

• Are the existing precautions adequate or should more be done?
• Are there systems in place aimed at eliminating or reducing the risk?
• Does your company have a clear policy, procedure, and guidelines for visiting or dealing with clients while alone?
• Is there a clear audit trail to ensure colleagues know the whereabouts of an employee in the event of they don’t return?
• Do staff have personal alarms, mobile telephones or mobile panic alarms that can alert the employer to the employee’s location?

 

4. After you have completed the risk assessment (step 1-3) you should:

• Record findings
• Design an action plan
• Communicate the information to employees

 

5. Review and keep your action plan up to date by:

• Reviewing the plan on a regular basis, but at least once a year
• Changing and amending the plan as required
• Ensuring the action plan is completed and implemented