Working alone — what do you need to pay attention to?

There are jobs and activities where you are on your own: Whether it's a night-time check by a security guard in the company or the man at the machine who has to produce the last parts for the urgent order on the late shift. They could both have a problem. What if something happens to you in this situation? It is up to the entrepreneur to take precautionary measures in this case.

Whether as a warehouseman in large industrial buildings, building cleaners in public institutions or construction workers on confusing construction sites. Lone worker, whose jobs are increased Hazard risk Bergen, is available in every sector. Especially in times of personnel austerity measures and progressive automation, in the future more and more Standalone workstations arise.

However, how exactly is working alone defined?

There is solo work,”when a person performs work alone, out of call and sight of other people” (Section 2.7.2 DGUV-R 100-001”).

A single workplace or also known as an individual workplace (EAP) is therefore spatially separated from other workstations. It can be stationary or mobile. It is also known as working alone when assistance cannot be provided immediately to a person working alone in an emergency.

Whether in industry, trade or crafts, dealing with the issue of working alone affects every sector and company size.

Examples of individual workplaces at risk:

-Mechanical cutting, milling, planing and dressing work

-Carrying out chemical tests in the laboratory

- Forest work

-welding work in or on particularly hazardous objects (e.g. in confined spaces and containers, near potentially explosive workplaces, etc.)

- Forklift driver in the warehouse

-Work on or test with parts that are under tension.

Statutory regulations

For working alone, there is regulations, which in accordance with Occupational Health and Safety Act must be observed so that people working alone can immediately seek help in the event of an accident. As an employer, you are required to hazards to assess employees at work and, from this, the necessary Occupational safety measures to deduce. Professional associations in particular demand professional protective measures; the requirements for this are set out in DGUV Rule 112-139.

Personal emergency signal system (PNA)

Technical safety measures — such as the use of Personal emergency signal systems (or personal emergency signal device) — can companies and organizations help Duty of care to comply.

Operational measures

Every vulnerable (individual) workplace should, in accordance with professional associations (see DGUV rule 112-139 ) be equipped with an emergency signal device that allows employees to contact a permanently staffed position. This could be, for example, the gate or the central office or a certified emergency call center. For activities that are assigned to a low risk level, a voice connection is usually sufficient. Since the employee always carries the emergency signal device with him, the emergency call, also known as a “will-dependent or willful” alarm, can be triggered at the push of a button (SOS button).

Functional diagram using the example of Life Tel 2-M

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Detailed information about working alone can be found here

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