Lone Worker Safety USW-G10

From a remote field or forest to a far-off cell tower site, an office building at 10 p.m. or a convenience store at 2 a.m., lone workers can be found in a wide variety of settings and industries. Defining the term “lone worker” comes down to several key factors, says Dave Nickel, who is senior consultant and health and safety director, Midwest and South Atlantic, for Minneapolis-based ERM. The consulting firm has clients in more than a dozen industries, including oil and gas, mining and metals, chemical, manufacturing, and automotive. “The way we categorize a lone worker is if we have workers who can’t be heard or seen by another individual during the course of work,” Nickel said. “They aren’t anticipated to be visited by someone throughout the course of a day. Nobody is visiting or dropping off supplies.” Often, lone workers are in locations with limited emergency response and perform jobs with nonstandard work hours, so preparation is critical to their safety.

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