Lone Worker Safety Training
- 2. TRAINING OBJECTIVES • Participants will understand the importance of taking responsibility for own safety, first and foremost, through awareness and planning; second, how this can influence effectiveness of assistance to others in need. • Participants will become familiar with Display Pack emergency communication procedures and expectations for responding in crisis situations. • Participants will work through case scenarios applying communication protocols and safety tips to gain an understanding and become comfortable with recommended safety practices.
- 3. WHO IS THELONE WORKER? • Self-employed • Work away from business’ base • Work outside normal business hours • Mobile workers • Work from home • Staffed with one worker Anybody who works alone is classified as a lone worker.
- 4. SAFETY CONCERNS • Securityin customer service areas • Controlling restricted areas • Working irregular hours • Robbery • Suspicious mail • Bomb threats • Domestic violence • Irate or aggressive customers, vendors
- 5. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES • Ensurelone workers have no medical conditions which can make them unsuitable for working alone • Be aware that some tasks may be too difficult or dangerous to be carried out alone • Provide some level of supervision • Put contact procedures in place for emergencies so the alarm can be raised if needed • Make provisions for lone workers who may be faced with workplace violence • Check whether there are specific legal requirements
- 6. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES • Takereasonable care to look after your own health and safety • Safeguard the health and safety of other people affected by your work • Co-operate with your employer’s health and safety procedures DISPLAY PACK’S POLICY ON SAFETY • Use tools and other equipment properly, in accordance with relevant safety instructions and any training provided • Not misuse equipment provided for health and safety • Report any accidents and incidences that occur • Report any safety concerns your may have
- 7. SAFETY AND INCIDENTPREVENTION TOOLBOX • Situational Awareness • Intuition • Verbal De-escalation Skills • Environmental Controls • Communication System • Action Checklists
- 8. AWARENESS AND INTUITION SITUATIONALAWARENESS Be aware of your surroundings and the activity around you Do not allow yourself to become distracted Have a plan in mind if you need to react quickly Play the “What If” game TRUST YOUR INTUITION Pay attention to your instincts Error on the safe side Report and document your concerns
- 9. VERBAL DE-ESCALATION BASICS • Try to appear calm an self-assured • Use a modulated tone of voice • Do not be defensive • Be aware of back-up resources • Be very respectful and treat person with dignity • Never turn your back for any reason • Always be at the same eye level • Allow extra space between you and the person • Do not maintain constant eye contact
- 10. VERBAL DE-ESCALATION BASICSCONT…. • Do not point or shake your finger • Do not smile • Do not touch • Keep hands out of pockets and ready to defend • Do not argue or try to convince • Don’t be judgmental • Suggest alternatives or give choices If techniques aren’t working, end the conversation.
- 11. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS • Arrangeoffice furniture and partitions so that employees in daily contact with the public are surrounded by “natural” barriers. • Establish an area nearby where employees and/or customers can escape to if they are confronted with violent or threatening people. • Arrange desk close to an exit or interior doorway in case employee should need to make a quick exit.
- 12. COMMUNICATION SYSTEM • Makeregular visits to a lone worker or set up a check-in system • Establish code words to alert coworkers and supervisors that help is needed • Provide a means of internal communication ( two-way radios, panic alarms, intercoms, etc.) • Implement a “buddy system”
- 13. ACTION CHECKLISTS • BombThreats • Emergency Communication • Incident Reports Always keep near phones and readily accessible Document each and every event regardless of severity or length of time Review documentation and responses after each incident to determine effectiveness and any necessary changes in procedures.
- 14. WORKPLACE SCENARIO ONE THEBOMB THREAT You return from lunch and notice an envelope taped to the front entrance door. The envelope has letters cut out from magazines that spell out the word “DANGER.” The note inside states that a bomb will detonate within your facility between 1:30 and 2:00pm. No other info is provided. You look at the clock and it is now 1:15pm. As you ponder what to do, the phone rings, you answer and the caller identifies himself as the individual who left the note. WHAT DO YOU DO?
- 15. BOMB THREAT FACTS •The majority of bomb threats are verbal. • Bomb threats are used as a means of retaliation by employees with real or fancied grievances. • Also bomb threats in workplaces are higher when companies are forced to reduce manning levels to cut costs, some victims of layoffs use bomb threats as means of revenge. • The majority of bomb threats turn out to be hoaxes.
- 16. WORKPLACE SCENARIO TWO THEIRATE CUSTOMER A gentleman in a dress suit walks into the front lobby and asks to speak with someone immediately in regard to his account. He is pacing and seems very agitated. As you are asking him for more info, he slams his briefcase down and pulls a knife out from his pocket and demands to speak with someone NOW! WHAT DO YOU DO?
- 17. WORKPLACE SCENARIO THREE THEESTRANGED HUSBAND A co-workers husband walks in demanding to see his wife who is in a meeting. You explain this to the man and he refuses to leave until he sees her. You are aware that this couple is going through a divorce and she has filed a Personal Protection Order against him. WHAT DO YOU DO?
- 18. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTHE WORKPLACE • Department of Justice estimated 13,000 domestic violence incidents are committed in the workplace annually (Ehow, 2011). • 74% of employed battered women say they were harassed by their partner while at work (Safework, 2009). • Women are much more likely than men to be victims of on-the-job intimate partner homicide. Spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends and ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends were responsible for the on- the-job deaths of 321 women and 38 men from 1997-2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.3 • In 2008 relatives and other personal acquaintances committed 28 percent of all workplace homicides in which women were victims, and just four percent of all workplace homicides in which men were victims.4 • According to a 2006 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one in four large private industry establishments (with more than 1,000 employees) reported at least one incidence of domestic violence, including threats and assaults, in the past year.5 • A 2005 phone survey of 1,200 full-time American employees found that 44 percent of full-time employed adults personally experienced domestic violence's effect in their workplaces, and 21 percent identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence.6
- 19. WORKPLACE SCENARIO FOUR THETERMINATED EMPLOYEE Ralph was fired from ________ six months ago. He stops in to ask if Mike is available. You call Mike’s office and he comes to the lobby area to speak with Ralph. As they are conversing in the lobby, Ralph pulls out a gun and threatens to kill Mike for ruining his life. WHAT DO YOU DO?
- 20. WORKPLACE SHOOTING FACTS • 10% of work-related deaths per year are shootings • Shootings are 2nd highest cause of work- related deaths • Shootings accounted for 80% of all homicides in 2008 • Co-workers and former co-workers were assailants in 12% of all shootings
- 21. WORKPLACE SCENARIO FIVE THEHOMELESS WOMAN A woman dressed in torn clothing with an unkempt appearance walks into your lobby as it begins to rain outside. You saw her across the street earlier sitting on the sidewalk, talking to herself. She proceeds to make a bed out of the contents in her purse and lies down in front of your desk. When you tell her she cannot be here, she becomes irate and begins ranting at the top of her lungs and asks you what you are going to do about it. WHAT DO YOU DO?
- 22. TOP FIVE TAKE-AWAYS 1.Anticipate potential for crisis. 2. Know your company’s emergency response plan. 3. Be aware and trust your instinct. 4. Communicate with one another. 5. Have a plan in mind in case of the need for a quick response.
- 23. REFERENCES AND RESOURCES Bristow& Sutor. (2011). Ensure the Safety of Lone Workers. http://online.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/printguide?r.i=1074427325&r.11 =107385879... Department of Homeland Security Insurance and Services Office, Inc. (2000). Bomb Threat Management. http://www.pmagroup.com/riskcontrol/bombthreatmanagment.pdf Skolnik-Acker, Eva, LICSW. (2008). Verbal De-Escalation Techniques for Defusing or Talking Down an Explosive Situation. http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=290&printp age=-true U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 24. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REFERENCES 3.U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2010. Occupational Homicides by Selected Characteristics, 1997-2009. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/work_hom.pdf 4. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2010. Workplace Shootings Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/osar0014.htm#1 5. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2006. Survey of Workplace Violence Prevention, 2005. Washington, DC. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osnr0026.pdf 6. CAEPV National Benchmark Telephone Survey. 2005. Bloomington, IL: Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. Available at: http://www.caepv.org/getinfo/facts_stats.php?factsec=3
Editor's Notes
- #4 Increasing numbers of people work alone, either some or all of the time. Whether its by choice, due to downsizing of business, or simply the necessity of the work being completed. Obviously, there are safety concerns with occupations that are expected to perform job duties alone. What are some of your concerns, if any?
- #6 An employer of lone workers has the same health and safety responsibilities as for others who work for them. Display Pack recognizes the need to provide its front desk staff with training and the tools to work both safely and productively.
- #7 At the same time, you as Display Pack employees also have responsibilities to yourselves, your employer and your coworkers when it comes to working safely.
- #8 These are some of the most basic considerations when working alone. Each of these items can be extremely effective in the prevention of negative workplace incidences. We will discuss each of these areas in detail to give you a better understanding of how that is.
- #9 BE ALERT! This is your best defense to becoming victimized. Be aware of what is going on around you always.Be aware of nearest exits in case you need to escape.Know where the nearest fire alarm is located.Be aware of emergency numbers. PREPROGRAM YOUR CELL PHONE AND OFFICE PHONE.Don’t bring valuables with you if not needed.If a repair person, courier, visitor etc requests admittance to building refuse entry until verification is made with proper employee.Human beings are the only animal that don’t follow our instinct of the time. Out of fear of being wrong, embarrassing others, etc.
- #10 See checklist.Verbal de-escalation techniques are used for defusing or talking down a potentially explosive situation. Two important concepts to keep in mind:Reasoning with an enraged person is not possible. The first and only objective in de-escalation is to reduce the level of arousal so that discussion becomes possible.De-escalation techniques are abnormal. We are driven to fight, flight or freeze when scared. However, in de-escalation, we can do none of these. We must appear calm and centered even when we are terrified. Therefore, we must practice these techniques before they are needed so they will become “second nature.”
- #11 Ultimately, you are trying to transfer your sense of genuine interest in what the person is saying, of calmness and of respectful, clear limit setting in the hope that the individual will respond positively and respectfully in return. Do not be a hero and do not try to de-escalate when a person has a weapon. In that case, simply comply.
- #12 Does the furniture act as protection in violent and threatening situations?Is outsiders access to areas other than customer areas prevented?Is there a “secure” room nearby where personnel can retreat in case of an incident? the room should have a phone, a steel door, first aid equipment, etc.
- #13 This is crucial when there are no cameras or windows into the area where the lone worker is stationed. A supervisor or coworker should physically check on the employee on a regular basis.Use a “buddy system” when locking up and opening the lobby area, when walking to and from parking lot, etc.
- #14 In work packet. Briefly peruse and discuss.
- #15 See Bomb Threat Checklist and Procedures.Bomb threats are usually received by telephone, but they may also be received by note, letter or email.All bomb threats should be taken very seriously and handled as though an explosive were in the building.If you receive a bomb threat, get as much information from the caller as you can.
- #17 This is one scenario where you may want to initially try de-escalation techniques. However, once the knife becomes a factor, you want to comply with the customers demands as carefully as possible.
- #22 This is another example of when de-escalation techniques could be a means of resolving the issue.