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Purpose
To ensure the health and safety of Employees who are required to work alone or in isolation.
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Policy Statement
All Departments shall identify situations where Employees are required to work alone or in isolation and develop procedures to be followed in such situations.
Definition:
Work alone or in isolation: means to work in circumstances where assistance would not be readily available to the worker:
- in case of an emergency;
- in case the worker is injured or in ill health.
Responsibilities:
Managers shall:
- identify situations where Employees are required to work alone or in isolation.
- ensure working alone procedures are developed for their division;
Supervisors shall:
- identify working alone situations;
- develop and implement working alone procedures;
- instruct their Employees regarding the working alone procedures and provide them with a copy of same;
- review and update Working Alone procedures at least annually.
Employees shall:
- participate in recording safety deficiencies in working alone situations;
- comply with working alone procedures;
- assist in identifying working alone or in isolation situations.
NOTE: Working alone is prohibited when work involves:
- confined space entry;
- installation or maintenance work on equipment that has a nominal working voltage of 750 volts or more;
- energized electrical conductors or equipment in tunnels or manholes that has a nominal working voltage of 750 volts or more;
- trenching and excavation;
- a portable ladder that exceeds a length greater than 6 meters (approx. 20 ft.), or where the ladder is likely to interrupt the normal flow of traffic;
- the use of fall protection equipment;
- scaffolding;
- quick acting, highly toxic chemicals;
- the use of a vehicle or heavy equipment around power lines where there is a possibility of contact;
- the use of vehicle or heavy equipment where the operator does not have a clear or full view of the intended path of travel;
- the risk of drowning.
WORKING ALONE GUIDELINES
- Identify working alone situations through the Hazard Assessment process.
- Identify the working alone contact person/call-in location
- Provide the working alone contact with a list of on-call Supervisors and the Employees who will be working alone.
- Determine the frequency of contact between the Employee and the working alone contact. (Maximum time between contacts is two hours).
- The Employee must make contact with the contact person on arrival and at the completion of the site visit. In case of a longer site visit, contact must be made every 30 minutes until they are clear of danger and the visit is over.
- Identify method of contact (i.e. two-way radio, cell phone, pager etc.) Ensure that your method of contact is charged and functioning.
- Provide the working alone contact with a list of working alone Employees and frequency and method of call-in.
- If the Employee fails to make contact within the allotted timeframe, the working alone contact shall try to contact the Employee.
- If the Employee cannot be contacted, the working alone contact shall contact the on-call Supervisor. The Supervisor shall then go to the last known location of the Employee.
- The working alone contact should maintain a log sheet of working alone situations and a copy is to be sent to the user departments on a regular basis.
- Working alone procedures must be communicated to all affected Employees and they should be provided with a copy.
Where Employees are required to work alone during normal business hours, contact should be made once in the morning and once in the afternoon with their departmental staff.
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Application
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Responsibilities
All departments and employees.
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Monitoring and Contravention
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Approvals
Special Meeting of Council, May 2, 1994. Finance and Administration Standing committee report - October 28, 2009. Regular Meeting of Council - November 9, 2009.
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Review Period
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