© imperial college londonpage 1 lone working policy julia cotton college safety auditor

© Imperial College London

Lone Working Policy

Julia Cotton

College Safety Auditor


Summary

• What is lone working

• Policy statement

• Definitions of terms

• Low, high risk and prohibited activities

• Responsibilities

• Procedures to follow for low and high risk activities


What is lone working?

• Works by themselves without close or direct supervision or contact with others:

• No one to provide immediate assistance in the event of an emergency (risk increases outside normal working hours).

• Workers working by themselves away from their fixed base.

• Working with a patient or client in a segregated area.


POLICY STATEMENT

• Avoid when reasonably practicable

• Carry out a risk assessment, put controls in place

• Let other employers know what dept hazards and controls are if they have contractors on our campus

• Every one to comply

• Prohibit if you cannot control risks


Definitions

• Normal Working Hours. Defined by Head of Department/ Division. Provision for first aid and security must always be made, regardless of the time period.

• Core Services First aid and security. Arrangements vary between campuses.

• Building Access Periods times which particular building is accessible. Varies between buildings and campuses. Usually from 7am to 6pm.

• After 6pm buildings are accessible only by swipe card until 11:00 p.m.

• Secure Areas – Red or Amber-labelled rooms containing high risk or high value items for example. Owners must make provision for entry in event of emergency to isolate plant or machinery


Low Risk Activities

• Certain activities may be classified by risk assessment as low risk (e.g. office work)

• Departments may conduct generic risk assessments for low risk activities.

• People covered by these risk assessments will be permitted to lone work without the express permission of their HOD.

• Must also consider site- specific issues relating to personal security (e.g. leaving work alone during hours of darkness).


High Risk Activities

• Certain tasks and entry into certain areas will be identified by risk assessment as high risk.

• Where the risk cannot be lowered, conducting these tasks or entering these areas is PROHIBITED

• Any tasks deemed unacceptable to be performed by a lone worker under any circumstances must be documented in your written record of risk assessments


Prohibited activities

1. Entry into Confined Spaces.2. Use of ladders greater than 1.5m in height where the

ladder cannot be secured/lashed and requires ‘footing’ by another person.

3. The erection/dismantling of scaffolding. 4. Electrical work involving manipulation of live,

uninsulated power conductors. 5. Work on or near bare live conductors where assistance

is needed - for example to keep other persons away from the hazardous area.

6. Use of dangerous machinery unless the worker has received sufficient training to work at such machines

Such machines include woodworking machines, metal milling machines, certain catering equipment. Sufficient Training - period of 1:1 instruction on associated hazards and control measures - A written record of training must be kept.


RESPONSIBILTIES

• Head of Department

• Head of Section (PI, Line manager)

• Lone worker

• Head of Security

• Building Managers


HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

• Systems to identify / control risks from lone working to staff, students, visitors and contractors

• Set normal working hours and access periods (where they control them) and inform personnel.

• Ensure provision of first aid and security at all times• Grant permission /ensure control measures in place• Provide information about hazards / emergency

procedures to all affected (including contractors).• Review• Taking appropriate action on non-compliance


Line manager

• Carry out risk assessments - if task delegated, ensure person is competent

• Ensure any identified control measures are implemented, validated and monitored.

• Emergency contacts• Procedures to deal with fire, first aid, spillages, power

failures and other emergencies, including for secure areas.

• Lone worker competent in the work, control measures and emergency procedures.

• Written permission from Head of Department/ Division for high risk lone work.

• Monitoring and checking scope of work not exceededif a regular occurrence


Lone worker

• Obtain prior permission line manager• Check identified control measures are implemented. • Familiar with local arrangements for fire, first aid,

spillages, power failures and other emergencies.• Adhere to agreed protocols for emergency contact,

such as:• Providing a contact number to his or her Head of Section.• Informing his or her Head of Section, a work colleague or a friend

of the time that he or she expects to leave the premises.• Filling out the building entry log book • Inform Head of Section immediately if there are any

problems or changes to agreed arrangements.• Keep within scope of the agreed work and work areas.


Head of Security• Providing up-to-date information on local security arrangements to Heads

of Departments/ Divisions and Building Managers.• Ensuring that he or she works with Heads of Department/ Division to

control access to their Departments/ Divisions, both during and outside normal working hours.

• Ensuring that a building entry log book is in place wherever it is feasible to use one effectively.

• Providing an out-of-hours service for emergency response and general first aid requirements.

• Ensuring that those working alone outside normal working hours are authorised to do so.

• Granting staff and students access to buildings and areas as authorised by the relevant Head of Department/ Division.

• Granting contractors access to only those places and for those periods as authorised on the relevant College “permit to work” form except when parts of a building have been handed over to the contractor during refurbishment

• Informing Heads of Department/ Division of instances of non-compliance on the next working day.

Security will not, at any time, provide specialised first aid services, or be able to access secure areas.


Building Managers• Consult with relevant Heads of Department/

Division, to determine times when building will be accessible and drawing-up appropriate out-of-hours procedures for the buildings for which they are responsible.

• Informing Heads of Department/ Division of the local security arrangements, building access times and core service provisions.

• Ensuring building occupiers are informed of facilities management and building-related issues which might increase the risk to those who work alone or outside of normal working hours.


PROCEDURESLow risk activities

• Departments must identify their low risk activities and conduct generic risk assessments, to be agreed and signed off by the Head of Department and entered into the risk register.

• Staff and students must be informed of the limits of low risk lone work upon joining the department.

• Generic risk assessments require review in the event of an incident or change to the building and department access times, or to core services.


PROCEDURESHigh risk activities

• Any person contemplating working alone on a high risk activity must seek permission to do so from his or her Head of Section in the first instance.

• When a Head of Section receives a request from a member of staff to be given permission to undertake lone working, he or she must review the risk assessment and ascertain whether the suggested control measures are adequate to enable the applicant to work by themselves safely.

• The Head of Section is then to seek written permission from the Head of Department/ Division, inform the applicant of the decision, and where lone working has been authorised, and ensure that the necessary control measures have been implemented.

• Where the lone working is carried out regularly over an extended period, the Head of Section is to monitor the effectiveness of the control measures and to review them at regular intervals. The Head of Department/ Division will need to give permission to extend access after the agreed time.

• Access outside normal building access periods should not be regarded as a ‘right’ and should only be granted for the minimum amount of time to the smallest number of people. Any such access should be reviewed regularly by the Head of Department/ Division.


Access to Secure Areas

• The Head of Department must ensure that the policy for Access into Secure Areas is followed


Posters on Safety Department web site


What next?• Safety Champion to introduce at College Management

board• Principals of Faculties to cascade via Faculty

Management meetings to HoDs and FOOs• CHASE to HODs, cc’d to DSOs, FSMs etc• CHASE to Campus H&S Committees• Publicised in College publications• DSO/FSM to discuss with HoD and Department/Division

Executive committees and H&S Committees• DSO/FSM to advise on and monitor implementation• Ask PIs to identify lone working activities, assess if high

or low, check controls in place and effective• Enter information into Dept Risk Register• Monitor and review

© imperial college londonpage 1 lone working policy julia cotton college safety auditor

Documents

imperial college londonpage

emergency risk

high risk lone work

generic risk assessments

machinery slide

noncompliance slide

lone worker competent

work colleague