Lone working

What you need to know

Many people working in the forestry industry spend part, or all of their day working alone, or working at some distance from others. This fact is too often taken for granted, but the ability to keep in contact with others is important, especially if there is an accident or incident when urgent assistance is required.

Read these case studies about lone workers who did not have any contact with their colleagues or family.

If someone suffers an injury and cannot call for assistance themselves, there should be a robust system to maintain contact throughout the working day.

Traditionally, the tree work sector has relied on informal contact arrangements with work colleagues or family members, with contact often not made until the end of the day.

What you need to do

• Define and identify your lone working staff.
• Define the risks they face.
• Control the risks they face.
• Write policy and guidelines around those controls.
• Implement your policy, manage and maintain it.