Things to consider when assessing remote worker safety

Remote work is an everyday part of your business. Your employees get their assignments, load up their company vehicles, and head out to their current job sites. If everything goes smoothly, they finish on time, sign out for the day, and head home, ready to get up and do it all again tomorrow.

Unfortunately, every job has its issues, which are often heightened by the distance between the job site and your main office. While some of these problems have quick, painless solutions, others can pose serious dangers to your company and, most importantly, your employees.

1. Isolation
People in remote areas, specifically remote job sites, are twice as likely to require hospitalization due to an injury. The combination of these heightened dangers and the implications of isolation put your workers at risk.

2. Lack of communication
Communication is the highest priority in a high-risk job. Make sure your workers have the ability and properly-maintained equipment to check in with your main office throughout the project. It is critical that workers can contact local emergency services quickly and efficiently, no matter the situation.

3. Workplace conditions
When you send employees to any job site, to ensure your workers’ safety, do your own job site inspection before starting any work. Check for safety regulation compliance and available support.

4. Travel
As your employees travel, they are at increased risk for accidents and injuries, with 46% of all fatal road crashes and 48% of accident fatalities occurring in rural areas. Poor road maintenance, mechanical failures, collisions, and bad weather can also create dangerous driving conditions.

5. Emergency situations
Emergencies happen all the time. Whether it’s a workplace accident or dangerous weather conditions, your workers need to be prepared for any situation. If the job requires long hours in dangerous heat, is there a place for your employee to cool down and plenty of water for hydration? Do your workers need to worry about dangerous local wildlife? Will your employee have ample warning of incoming weather and a safe place to shelter nearby? Address these potential situations before the project begins and give your worker the knowledge and equipment to handle any issues that occur.

Despite the dangers that remote workers face, there ARE technological solutions that can aid workplace safety. While at remote job sites, do all you can to monitor and support your employees. By using personal safety devices in your workforce, you can always monitor and protect your workers. Alert-based technology, along with man-down, fall, or inactivity features will alert your office when your employees are under duress. With regular check-ins, you can continuously monitor your employees’ well-being. Use incident management and personal safety devices to allow two-way communication, location tracking, and emergency alerts for all situations.

To find out more about locate global, and how we can help you as remote workers, please contact info@locate.global or call +44 (0)208 057 6402.