Re: [TheThinkTank] Anyone have a Lone Working Policy? Looking for a template to build ours from!
Doireann:
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I had never heard of a Lone Working Policy. Evidently, employers are obligated to see to the safety of lone workers in the event of mishap such as a slip and fall, or an attack by hostile customers. After conducting a few web searches, I gather that these policies are more widely used in the UK and Canada than in the US, where our Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has no Lone Working policy requirement.
If it helps at all, a web search turned up this template for Lone Working Policy from the UK. This one doesn't seem very helpful, but still better than nothing. I expect that a determined searcher will find that many other examples are available online.
https://positivelyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sample-Lone-Worker-Polic...
In addition, I found some commercial web sites that furnish sample Lone Working Policy templates by email, in exchange for your contact information. Undoubtedly a sales person will be contacting me shortly. :-)
Although my non-profit shop does not have an official Lone Working Policy, this may be due to only having two paid employees working with many volunteers. Unofficially, the shop policy seems to be, "Don't work alone."
In the past, when my shop has needed advice for issues like this, we have been able to turn to another local non-profit organization that provides free legal support and sample language. I hope that you too have such a resource that can provide assistance tailored to your particular country's requirements.
When you complete your own Lone Working Policy, please post a copy so the rest of us can see it.
On Tue, Apr 5, 2022 at 1:03 PM < thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
From: Doireann Lalor doireann@bsbcoop.org Hi lovely Bikey people, Do any of you have a Lone Working Policy for your workshop/organisation that you’d be happy to share with me? We need to make one for Broken Spoke (Oxford, UK), and I find it’s always easier to make policies using a good template from a similar organisation. Would be super useful!
This isn't from a bike shop, but afaik all Canadian universities have some kind of Lone Worker program or policy. Here's what I found with a quick search:
http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/general/gp39.html http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/general/gp39.html https://www.queensu.ca/risk/security/services https://www.queensu.ca/risk/security/services (Ctrl+F for Lone Worker)
And the BC provincial safety body has a page: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/working-alone/ https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/working-alone/
The general theme is just to check in and check out when you are going to be working alone. Another worker or supervisor should react when someone doesn't check out, and maybe the supervisor should do a check in the middle of a long solo shift. Not taking on risky tasks while working alone is also mentioned: e.g. not working on ladders, using harmful chemicals, etc, wait until you are not solo for that stuff.
This could easily translate into a bike shop scenario. The hazardous work could be things like taking stuff down from elevated storage, using a parts degreaser bath, or maybe test rides depending on your situation.
Jean-François
On Apr 12, 2022, at 16:02, Gordon Hamachi gordon.hamachi@gmail.com wrote:
Doireann:
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I had never heard of a Lone Working Policy. Evidently, employers are obligated to see to the safety of lone workers in the event of mishap such as a slip and fall, or an attack by hostile customers. After conducting a few web searches, I gather that these policies are more widely used in the UK and Canada than in the US, where our Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has no Lone Working policy requirement.
If it helps at all, a web search turned up this template for Lone Working Policy from the UK. This one doesn't seem very helpful, but still better than nothing. I expect that a determined searcher will find that many other examples are available online.
https://positivelyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sample-Lone-Worker-Polic... https://positivelyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sample-Lone-Worker-Policy.pdf
In addition, I found some commercial web sites that furnish sample Lone Working Policy templates by email, in exchange for your contact information. Undoubtedly a sales person will be contacting me shortly. :-)
Although my non-profit shop does not have an official Lone Working Policy, this may be due to only having two paid employees working with many volunteers. Unofficially, the shop policy seems to be, "Don't work alone."
In the past, when my shop has needed advice for issues like this, we have been able to turn to another local non-profit organization that provides free legal support and sample language. I hope that you too have such a resource that can provide assistance tailored to your particular country's requirements.
When you complete your own Lone Working Policy, please post a copy so the rest of us can see it.
On Tue, Apr 5, 2022 at 1:03 PM <thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org mailto:thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote: From: Doireann Lalor <doireann@bsbcoop.org mailto:doireann@bsbcoop.org> Hi lovely Bikey people, Do any of you have a Lone Working Policy for your workshop/organisation that you’d be happy to share with me? We need to make one for Broken Spoke (Oxford, UK), and I find it’s always easier to make policies using a good template from a similar organisation. Would be super useful! ____________________________________
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Also using power tools! I'm un the U.S, but it's something I think about a lot when building things alone. Pretty much very time I start up the circular saw, I imagine the scenario for "ok what if I slip and saw myself".
This reminds me of the protocols for caving in places with active water tables; always let someone know your coordinates and expected timetables so that there will be a check-in if you go outside those parameters. Sort of a deadswitch (ideally to **prevent** the dying O_O! ). This just seems like smart protocol/policy for any potentially dangerous activity conducted in isolation.
Thanks for bringing this up Doireann!! It's something we in the U.S., including myself, should think more about.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2022-04-12 23:59, Jean-François Caron wrote:
This isn't from a bike shop, but afaik all Canadian universities have some kind of Lone Worker program or policy. Here's what I found with a quick search:
http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/general/gp39.html http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/general/gp39.html https://www.queensu.ca/risk/security/services https://www.queensu.ca/risk/security/services (Ctrl+F for Lone Worker)
And the BC provincial safety body has a page: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/working-alone/ https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/working-alone/
The general theme is just to check in and check out when you are going to be working alone. Another worker or supervisor should react when someone doesn't check out, and maybe the supervisor should do a check in the middle of a long solo shift. Not taking on risky tasks while working alone is also mentioned: e.g. not working on ladders, using harmful chemicals, etc, wait until you are not solo for that stuff.
This could easily translate into a bike shop scenario. The hazardous work could be things like taking stuff down from elevated storage, using a parts degreaser bath, or maybe test rides depending on your situation.
Jean-François
On Apr 12, 2022, at 16:02, Gordon Hamachi gordon.hamachi@gmail.com wrote:
Doireann:
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I had never heard of a Lone Working Policy. Evidently, employers are obligated to see to the safety of lone workers in the event of mishap such as a slip and fall, or an attack by hostile customers. After conducting a few web searches, I gather that these policies are more widely used in the UK and Canada than in the US, where our Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has no Lone Working policy requirement.
If it helps at all, a web search turned up this template for Lone Working Policy from the UK. This one doesn't seem very helpful, but still better than nothing. I expect that a determined searcher will find that many other examples are available online.
https://positivelyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sample-Lone-Worker-Polic... https://positivelyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sample-Lone-Worker-Policy.pdf
In addition, I found some commercial web sites that furnish sample Lone Working Policy templates by email, in exchange for your contact information. Undoubtedly a sales person will be contacting me shortly. :-)
Although my non-profit shop does not have an official Lone Working Policy, this may be due to only having two paid employees working with many volunteers. Unofficially, the shop policy seems to be, "Don't work alone."
In the past, when my shop has needed advice for issues like this, we have been able to turn to another local non-profit organization that provides free legal support and sample language. I hope that you too have such a resource that can provide assistance tailored to your particular country's requirements.
When you complete your own Lone Working Policy, please post a copy so the rest of us can see it.
On Tue, Apr 5, 2022 at 1:03 PM <thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org mailto:thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote: From: Doireann Lalor <doireann@bsbcoop.org mailto:doireann@bsbcoop.org> Hi lovely Bikey people, Do any of you have a Lone Working Policy for your workshop/organisation that you’d be happy to share with me? We need to make one for Broken Spoke (Oxford, UK), and I find it’s always easier to make policies using a good template from a similar organisation. Would be super useful! ____________________________________
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
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cyclista＠inventati.org -
Gordon Hamachi -
Jean-François Caron