On a Tight Budget? Here’s how to Protect Your Lone Workers Without Breaking the Bank
This is the second article of a three-part series: Setting Up a Lone Worker Safety Program, we look at how a company can implement a lone worker safety program on a budget. These days, budgets are stretched thin and are uncertain, making it difficult to allocate funds for areas such as lone worker safety. But lone worker safety should be a priority when you look at the potential legal, reputational and financial costs if one of your lone workers unfortunately experiences an accident that could have been prevented or mitigated by the organization. The good news is that you can implement effective lone worker safety if budgets are tight.
If your organization has multiple departments, you can implement your lone worker protection program in stages instead of one costly, overall application. We recommend that you prioritize the department or group of lone workers who are most vulnerable. The first thing you need to do is perform a risk assessment, outlining all of the hazards these workers are facing.
Develop a lone worker safety program
Once you’ve identified all of the risks your lone workers are facing, you need to develop a lone worker safety program and a check-in system to mitigate these hazards. At the very least, you should have a manual check-in system, which can be effective but are time and labour intensive, and is at risk of human error. An automated system not only saves time and money but considerably improves insurance costs emergency outcomes.
Device flexibility
If you do choose an automated lone worker protection system, make sure it does not require you to purchase any additional devices for lone worker staff. Look at systems that can be used on existing equipment and devices like smartphones, tablets, computers or even landline telephones. Not only will this lower costs, but it will be easier to implement with staff as they are using devices that they are comfortable and familiar with.
Minimal training
When training staff, time is money and you need to pick a lone worker system that is instinctive and easy to use, requiring as few important work hours as possible. SafetyLine is incredibly easy to use, and also incredibly effective, reliably protecting your staff 24/7. SafetyLine is a managed service and you don't have to worry about servers, security, software or hosting. We make sure the system is always dependable and functional, with all of the backups required for consistent up-time. You don't even need to install special software on your computers.
Save money down the road
Look for a system that is future-proof or will adapt to any advances in lone worker safety technology in the future, saving you costs down the road. SafetyLine evolves with the latest technological advances, and adheres to the principles of industry standardization, scalability, and flexibility. Companies adopting SafetyLine can do so without purchasing a new infrastructure. We maintain SafetyLine’s infrastructure, and the software is constantly updated. SafetyLine is a service that works in “the cloud,” where you can access it from anywhere.
Create a culture of safety
Most importantly, you need to build a culture of safety at your organization, making sure everyone is on board and are comfortable to speak up if they feel like their safety is at risk. A big component of this promoting positive mental health amongst your team which goes hand in hand with a strong safety culture – cultivating a respectful safety culture is essential to protecting mental health in the workplace.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Develop Your Free Lone Worker Program for Small Teams
If you have lone workers on your team, your confidence in their safety is essential. Managers across many industries have reported that their employees who work alone often do not have the back-up resources or safety measures needed to manage an emergency at work. One way to protect your people is to have a check-in system in place. For small teams, developing a free lone worker check-in system is a simple process that any organization can implement.
You will instantly gain access to a complete guide that contains:
A step-by-step breakdown on how to develop your own free lone worker program
A comprehensive program checklist that’s easy to follow and will keep you on track
A simple worksheet that breaks down the components of developing your program
Additional information on automating your check-in system
A discussion on the benefits of an automated lone worker check-in system
A brief comparison of manual versus automated check-in systems