Canadian Occupational Safety

22 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com falls, injuries and workplace violence. Some home care organizations, Dunlop says, require workers to call or text when they arrive at and when they leave the client's home. "You have a dedicated person at head offi ce who knows about your destination, estimated time of arrival, time of departure. So, if they know the worker is visiting Client B at a certain time and a check-in call is not received by that specifi c person, that would trigger a call to the client's home to say, 'Did they just forget or did they not arrive?'" "Person check" procedures should include: • the designated person who will establish contact • time intervals between checks • a check at the end of the shift • a procedure to follow in case the worker cannot be contacted. The most common technology used by lone work- ers in lower-risk industries are devices that work on a cellular network. A worker may have a cellphone with phone num- bers programmed. In an emergency, the person can quickly send a message to another worker, supervi- sor, family member, monitoring station or to 911. Alternatively, the worker could be wearing, around the neck or waist, a small panic button that can be programmed to send a call for help. Both the cellphone and wearable panic buttons can provide the GPS location of the device, says Brad McIntosh, president of Calgary-based Lone Worker Safety Solutions. By pressing a button, a worker sends a quick message to alert the responder that she requires assistance. The message displays a hyperlink to the person's location. "All the responder needs to do is click on that link in the text message and it brings up the worker's loca- tion on a Google map," he says. Cellular panic buttons, worn as small pendants, are good for home health workers. If they are in trou- ble, they have something that is quick and discreet, so they don't bring attention to themselves. In recent years, managing lone worker safety has been transformed by smartphone check-in apps, McIntosh says. At the start of the shift, a worker opens up the app, sends a message saying he is about to start a lone worker session and selects when his next check-in will be, often in two or four hours. Then, in the note fi eld, he types information such as where he is going and what he is doing. He hits "start" and goes to work. "In a couple of hours, your phone is going to beep and buzz and tell you you're about to miss a check-in. You can extend your session or you can end you ses- sion. But if you don't do something with this missed check-in, then whoever is monitoring or watching over you is going to get an alert and say, 'I think we have a problem; the person might be in danger.'" Phone apps typically have a monthly subscrip- tion. However, because they use GPS technology, they have a strong advantage over manual check-in systems, McIntosh says. With manual check in, if a person goes missing, nobody knows where she is. At Mississauga, Ont.-based Bayshore Health Care, Andrew Anderson, national manager of health and safety, says the organization uses a check-in system with GPS tracking. Moreover, whenever a home health-care worker is about to visit a new client, she does a risk assessment of the client's home — including information on the client's medical situation and potential hazards — and loads that assessment into her smartphone. "They can be apprised of what's going on, what they can expect. And our smartphones have 911 that is a speed dial away. They can text, they can email, they can get help from their supervisor if there's a situation that they're encountering that's a little bizarre," he says. "The smartphone is key. We try to focus as much information as we can into that device, so they have all the resources in the palm of their hand." Workers who work in remote areas, outside cellular coverage, must use other devices, such as those based on satellite networks, which work everywhere outside cellular phone areas. They also send GPS map points. They gener- ally require subscription to an airtime package. Less used today are radio systems. Radios are often used in vehicles and may have panic buttons. Radio technology is also used to make radio-frequency identifi cation system (RFID) tags. Sometimes worn by nurses, these tags can be used to send an alarm to security personnel in the hospital. Another, lower-tech device that lone work- ers often carry is a personal, audible alarm, such as a whistle, which helps to deter a potential attacker. Employers should ensure their lone workers are properly trained in check-in system proce- dures, how to use communication devices and how to execute the emergency response plan. They also need to be trained on job-specifi c techniques that will help preserve their safety. For example, late night retail employees should be taught to stay alert and aware of surroundings and not to resist a threatening person or situation. Home health-care workers should be trained on the medi- cal equipment they will need to use in the home to limit potential hazards. Mark McLean, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), says the initial training course agents receive includes discussions on playing it safe and emphasizes the importance of being careful. On its social media site, the board issues alerts to notify agents of potential dangers — if, for example, there have been reports of a person claiming to want to buy a house but whose activities are suspicious. For agents, a valuable safety tool is the cellphone. "When they meet someone, they might have 911 pre-dialled or have someone on standby on the line. They might have their cameras ready. They can do a number of things to work towards a safer environ- ment; for example, if they're in a condo, they can talk to the concierge," says McLean. At Bayshore, workers are trained on how to use their phones and the various helpful tools they come with. Managers go through the risk assessment with their employees. "They're taken through what's required of the care plan," says Anderson. "The care plan and the risk assessment go hand-in-hand because we need to know what care we're expected to deliver." Sometimes, care workers will be asked if they can do other tasks, such as change a light bulb in a ceil- ing or a stairwell, which could lead to injury. "The worker needs to know that is not their job," he says. Workers should also receive training on proper safety precautions when they are travelling and work- ing alone. Some tips from WorkSafeBC include: • planing the safest route to a client's home and stay- ing on well-travelled roads and streets • parking in well-lit areas and avoiding underground parking lots and dark alleyways • locking the car while driving • avoiding getting on or off at bus stops that are poorly lit or where there are few people. In the days following the murder of the conve- nience store employees in Edmonton, the Alberta Federation of Labour called for stricter laws to pro- tect people working alone at night. They asked the provincial government to enforce a policy requiring employers to have two workers on duty late at night or install protective locked barriers. In response, Kathleen Ganley, justice minister, says her department will be reviewing the rules governing workers working alone, adding, "These incidents are both tragic and disturbing," she says. "Every worker should come home safe at the end of the day, regardless of when they work or what work they do." Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto. She can be reached at lindajohnson@sympatico.ca. McIntosh says. At the start of the shift, a worker For example, late night retail employees should be WORKERS AT RISK Workers who work alone can be grouped into 5 broad categories: • Workers who handle cash. This includes convenience store clerks, retail food outlet workers and taxi drivers. • Workers who travel away from their base offi ce to meet clients. This includes sales workers, home care workers, social services workers and law enforcement offi cers. • Workers who do hazardous work but have no routine interaction with customers or the public. This includes workers in the logging and oil and gas industries. • Workers who travel alone but have no routine interaction with customers or the public. This includes truck drivers and business people in transit. • Workers who are at risk of a violent attack because their workplace is isolated from public view. This includes security guards and custodians. Workers who work alone can be grouped into 5 broad categories: • Workers who handle cash. This includes convenience store clerks, • Workers who travel away from their base offi ce to meet clients. This includes with customers or the public. This includes workers in the logging • Workers who travel alone but have no routine interaction with customers or Visit www.hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide Looking for health and safety products and vendors? Visit www.hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide and select the Health and Safety category to search for companies across Canada. HR VENDORS GUIDE HR VENDORS GUIDE HR VENDORS GUIDE

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